Albert IV, Count of Tyrol

Albert IV (or Albert III, using a different numbering schema; c. 1180 – 22 July 1253) was the last count of Tyrol from the House of the Tyrol, He was also Vogt of Trent and from 1210 also Vogt of Bolzano.

Life and Work

He was the son of Count Henry I (d. 14 June 1190) and Agnes, the daughter of Count Adalbero I of Wangen. He was still a minor when his father died in 1190, and only began to rule independently in 1202. In 1210, Bishop Conrad appointed him as Vogt of the Bishopric of Brixen. Albert also took over the sovereign rights over the Nori and Eisack valleys, which had hitherto been held by the Count of Andechs-Merania, who had been banned in 1209 for their alleged rôle in the murder of King Philip of Germany in 1208 in Bamberg.

Albert had no sons, so he made sure his daughters would be allowed to inherited. He married his daughter Elisabeth (d. 10 October 1256) to Duke Otto II of Andechs-Merania (d. 19 June 1248) and his other daughter, Adelaide (d. 26 May 1279), to Count Meinhard I of Gorizia (d. 1258). He concluded a mutual contract of inheritance with his sons-in-law. In 1248, he acquired the part of Tyrol held by the Counts of Andechs and also the part held by the Counts of Appiano.

In 1252, Albert and his son-in-law Meinhard were taken prisoner at Greifenburg by Duke Bernard of Carinthia and his son Bishop-elect Philip of Salzburg. They were only released after they ceded important possessions in Upper Carinthia, paid a large ransom and put up Meinhard's two sons as hostages.

Albert IV died in 1253 and was buried in Stams. In inheritance was divided between his sons-in-law Meinhard and Count Gebhard IV of Hischberg, the second husband of his daughter Elisabeth. Gebhard had no children, so after his death, Meinhard's son Meinhard II re-united Albert's possessions.

During his lifetime, Albert had tried to unite his possessions in the Tyrol area into a single county. In 1254, this entity was called the dominium Tyrolis or comecia Tyrolis.

Marriage and issue

Albert married around 1211 to Uta (d. 1254), the daughter of Count Henry II of Frontenhausen-Lechsgemünd (d. 1208). Albert and Uta had two daughters:

• Adelaide (c. 1218/1220 – 26 May 1279), married to Count Meinhard I of Gorizia (d. 1258)
• Elisabeth (c. 1220/1225 – 10 October 1256), married:
  1. in 1239 to Duke Otto II of Andechs-Merania (d. 19 June 1248)
  2. in 1249, to Count Gebhard IV of Hirschberg (d. 1275)

References

• Alfons Huber (1875), "Albert II.", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB) (in German) 1, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 205–207 
• Eduard Widmoser (1953), "Albert II.", Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB) (in German) 1, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, p. 133 , (full text online)