History

By the beginning 14th century, they were the most powerful family of eastern Switzerland, separating into four lines, Alt-Landenberg, Landenberg-Greifensee, Hohenlandenberg and Breitenlandenberg.
The main line was extinct early, Rudolf I and his son Pantaleon both falling in the battle of Morgarten

Battle of Morgarten

The Battle of Morgarten occurred on November 15, 1315, when a Swiss Confederation force of 1,500 infantry archers ambushed a group of Austrian soldiers of the Holy Roman Empire near the Morgarten Pass...

 in 1315. The Landenberg-Greifensee line was the most successful during the 14th century but was outlived by the Hohenladenberg and Breitenlandenberg ones. Breitenlandenberg proved the most successful in the longer run, rising to significant power in the 15th century and lasting into the 19th.

The influence of the Landenberg-Greifensee line peaked in the 1350s with Hermann IV, whose sons came into financial difficulties and had to sell a number of castles, among them Alt-Landenberg and Greifensee. The reasons for this decline was their close ties with the house of Habsburg

Habsburg

The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...

, which was itself struggling with difficulties and losing its hold over the territory due to both the rise of the city of Zürich

History of Zürich

Zurich was continuously inhabited since Roman times. The name Zurich is possibly derived from the Celtic dur . It is first mentioned in 807 under the form Turigus, then in 853 as Turegus...

 and the growth of the Old Swiss Confederacy

Growth of the Old Swiss Confederacy

The growth of the Old Swiss Confederacy began as an alliance between the communities of the valleys in the Central Alps to facilitate the management of common interests such as free trade and to ensure the peace along the important trade routes through the mountains...

.

The Breitenlandenberg and Hohenlandenberg lines overcame this crisis by allying themselves with Zürich, adopting Zürich citizenship. Their territorial influence remained confined to the Zürcher Oberland

Zürcher Oberland

The Zürcher Oberland in Switzerland, is the hilly south-eastern part of the Canton of Zurich, bordering on the Toggenburg, including the districts of Uster, Hinwil, Pfäffikon as well as the Töss Valley as far as the district of Winterthur. The territory gradually fell under the control of the city...

 due to the pressure of territorial expansion from both Zürich and the Swiss Confederacy, but by the end of the 14th century they became again very wealthy and gave out major credits to the cities of Winterthur and Constance.

The Hohenlandenberg line owned Andelfingen

Andelfingen

Andelfingen may refer to:*Andelfingen, Germany*Andelfingen, Switzerland...

 until 1434.
The Breitenlandenberg line rose to great importance in Zürichgau in the 15th century. They had Zürich citizenship from the 14th century, and often intermarried with families of the Zürich patriciate. They also entered the Old Zürich War

Old Zürich War

The Old Zürich War , 1440–46, was a conflict between the canton of Zürich and the other seven cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy over the succession to the Count of Toggenburg....

 on the side of Zürich, and Wildhans von Breitenlandenberg was beheaded with his entire garrison at the siege of Greifensee

Greifensee

Greifensee is a small lake in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland.- Geography :Lake Greifen is located to the northeast of the city of Zurich, separated by the Pfannenstiel from Lake Zürich...

 in 1444. The knights of Breitenlandenberg also fought with Zürich, this time on the side of the Swiss, in the Burgundy Wars.
They declined from the 16th century and sold the ancestral Breitenlandeberg castle in the 17th century, residing mostly in Zürich, although they retained jurisdiction in a number of communes, at Salenstein

Salenstein

Salenstein is a municipality in Kreuzlingen District in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland.Salenstein was the home village of Napoleon III, who lived at Castle Arenenberg in his youth.-History:...

 into the 18th century. The male line of Breitenlandenberg was extinct in the 1870s.

Landenberg-Greifensee

• Hermann I
• Hermann II (d. 1306)
• Hermann IV (d. 1361), son of Hermann II, married Elisabeth of Schellenberg (d. 1340) and Diemut von Roteneck

Hohenlandenberg

• Beringer II, known for his belligerence and fraud, which resulted in the castle of Hohenlandenberg being destroyed in 1344
• Jakob, married Barbara of Hegi
  Hegi
  Hegi is a quarter in the district 2 of Winterthur.It was formerly a part of Oberwinterthur municipality, which was incorporated into Winterthur in 1922....
  
  
  • sons Ulrich and Hugo IV, the latter bishop of Constance in 1496
• Ulrich

Breitenlandenberg

• Hermann I (d. before 1377), married Adelheid of Radegg-Blumberg. From 1330 at Turbenthal.
• Albrecht I (d. 1388, at the battle of Näfels
  Battle of Näfels
  The Battle of Näfels was fought on 9 April 1388 between Glarus with their allies, the Old Swiss Confederation, and the Habsburgs. It was a decisive Glarner victory despite being outnumbered sixteen to one.-History:...
  
  ), married Verena of Ebersberg
• Hermann IV "Schöch" (d. 1437), married Ursula Truchsess of Diessenhofen
  Diessenhofen
  Diessenhofen is a municipality in Frauenfeld District in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland.-History:Diessenhofen is first mentioned in 757 as Deozincova. In 2000, the village of Willisdorf was incorporated into the municipality...
  
  
  • sons of Hermann IV were Hermann, bishop of Constance, Kaspar, abbot of St. Gall abbey, Wildhans von Breitenlandenberg who fell in the Old Zürich War
    Old Zürich War
    The Old Zürich War , 1440–46, was a conflict between the canton of Zürich and the other seven cantons of the Old Swiss Confederacy over the succession to the Count of Toggenburg....
    
    , and Rudolf V.
• Rudolf V (d. 1460), married Agathe Muntprat (d. 1505)
• Frischhans (1446-1516), married Margaretha of Büsingen
  Büsingen
  Büsingen am Hochrhein is a German town entirely surrounded by the Swiss canton of Schaffhausen and, south across the Rhine, by the cantons of Zürich and Thurgau. It has a population of about 1,450 inhabitants...
  
  
• Hans (d. 1540), married Blanchefleur of Rechberg
  Rechberg
  For the mountain, see Rechberg .Rechberg was the name of a noble comital family in Swabia during the Holy Roman Empire period.*Ulrich I von Rechberg, ca. 1140-1206, auf Hohenrechberg, Swabian Marescalc, married Edilhardis von Ramis and Berchterad von Biberbach*Hildebrand von Rechberg, fl...
  
  , knighted in 1476 at the battle of Grandson
  Battle of Grandson
  The Battle of Grandson, took place on 2 March 1476, was part of the Burgundian Wars, and resulted in a major defeat for Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy.- Siege of Grandson, February 1476 :...
  
  
• Johann Rudolf (d. 1551)
• Hans Rudolf (d. 1606)
• Hans Dietrich (1571-1620), at Salenstein
  Salenstein
  Salenstein is a municipality in Kreuzlingen District in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland.Salenstein was the home village of Napoleon III, who lived at Castle Arenenberg in his youth.-History:...
  
  
• Hartmann Friedrich (1617-1677) at Salenstein
• Wolf Dietrich I (1655-1733), at Salenstein
• Wolf Dietrich (1712-1796), at Salenstein
• Hans Caspar (1735-1798)

External links