House of Matsch

The House of Matsch, also written Maetsch, Mätsch, Metsch or Mazzo (Italian) is an old Swiss-Austrian noble family. Their origin is uncertain; they may have come from the Upper Valtellina from the village of Mazzo or may have been a sideline of the lords of Tarasp. The seats of the lords of Matsch were the castles of Obermatsch and Untermatsch in the Matscher Tal (Matsch Valley, Val di Mazia). Later they captured the Churburg at Schluderns in the Vinschgau (Venosta) valley and turned that into their main residence. For a time the lords of Matsch were one of the most powerful noble families in the Vinschgau and in present-day Graubünden.

History

The Matsch were documented for the first time around the middle of the 12th century. A certain Egino I von Matsch (*c.1160) is regarded as the founder of the family. The Matsch officiated as bailiffs over the monasteries of Marienberg in Burgeis and St. John in Müstair. Later they also acquired the bailiwicks over the subjects of the bishop of Chur in Vinschgau, Münstertal, in the Lower Engadin and in Puschlav. The Matsch were almost constantly feuding with the bishops of Chur, of whom the Matsch were ministeriales.

The Matscher's own estates were in Vinschgau, Veltlin, Münstertal, Puschlav ( mines) and around Tarasp. In the 13th and 14th centuries, they came into the possession of the Lordship of Vaduz for a time as a pledge. They were also able to take possession of the castles and estates of Reichenberg, Ramosch, Ardez, Greifenstein, Alt-Süns in Domleschg and Klingenhorn near Malans. In 1338 they took over the courts of Schiers and Castels in the Prättigau. A long-standing dispute between the Counts of Toggenburg and the Matsch family over the ownership of the two courts was only resolved through the marriage of Elizabeth of Matsch to Frederick VII, Count of Toggenburg. Through the marriage, the Matsch were drawn into the Old Zurich War. In 1348 the family lost the bailiwicks of Chiavenna, Bormio and the Puschlav to the Duchy of Milan.

Like many other Graubünden noble families, the Matsch family was constantly involved in feuds and conflicts with other families and the bishops of Chur.

Ulrich IV, Lord of Matsch acquired the County of Kirchberg near Ulm, through his wife Agnes in 1366, and therefore held the title Count of Kirchberg. He was also Vogt of Matsch. From Ulrich IV onwards, some members of the family were also provincial governors of Tyrol; the last representative of the family, Gaudenz, Lord of Matsch (1436–1504), belonged to the council of Sigismund, Archduke of Austria, regent of Tyrol and Further Austria. In 1487 he fell out of favor and, as a fugitive, lost his possessions through confiscation and pledging.

Most of the Matsch possessions in today's South Tyrol fell to the Barons von Trapp .

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the von Matsch family has three transverse blue eagle wings in silver. On the helmet with red and silver covers a red and silver inturned hifthorn with shackles in mixed colors. It can be found under the original spelling "MAeTSCH" on the Zurich coat of arms roll.

Lords of Matsch

House of Matsch

Ruler	Born	Reign	Death	Ruling part	Consort	Notes
Hartwig I	?	c.1160-1167	1167	Lordship of Matsch	Unknown two children	Founder of the family (and the lordship).
Egino I	c.1140?	1167-1192	1192	Lordship of Matsch	Matilda two children	Children of Hartwig I, ruled jointly. Ulrich's son Arnold was Bishop of Chur.
Ulrich I	?	1167-1192	1192	Lordship of Matsch	Unknown one child
Egino II	c.1180?	1192-1238	25 November 1238	Lordship of Matsch	Adelaide of Wangen two children
Hartwig II	1214	1238-1249	20 December 1249	Lordship of Matsch	Sophia of Moosberg two children
Albero	c.1240	1249-1280	10 January 1280	Lordship of Matsch	Adelaide of Rumus no children Sophia of Velthurns (d.10 August 1308) 14 March 1263 three children	Children of Hartwig II, ruled jointly.
Egino III	?	1249-1277	1277	Lordship of Matsch	Adelaide of Montfort three children	Children of Hartwig II, ruled jointly.
Egino IV	?	1280-1341	1341	Lordship of Matsch	Clara of Homberg 1305 three children	Cousins, ruled jointly. Egino IV was Egino III's son, and Ulrich II was Albero's son. Ulrich II's sister Euphemia was Countess of Gorizia.
Ulrich II	?	1280-1309	9 July 1309	Lordship of Matsch	Margaret of Vaz (d.1343) 29 October 1295 three children
Ulrich III	c.1295	1341-1366	25 October 1366	Lordship of Matsch	Adelaide of Werdenberg (c.1300/10-1365) 21 March 1322 one child	Cousins, ruled jointly. Ulrich III was Ulrich II's son, and Hartwig and John (who left no children) were Egino IV's children.
Hartwig III	c.1305	1341-1360	1 February 1360	Lordship of Matsch	Unmarried
John I	c.1305	1341-1360	c.1360	Lordship of Matsch	Unmarried
Ulrich IV	c.1325	1366-1402	28 September 1402	Lordship of Matsch (with County of Kirchberg, de facto until 1390, de jure from 1390)	Agnes of Kirchberg (I) (d.12 March 1401/07) six children	Since 1366 Ulrich IV acquired (by inheritance) the County of Kirchberg. However, in 1390, the family returned back the majority of the Kirchberg lands they had acquired. They kept the title Count of Kirchberg for themselves, at least until 1434. From 1390, he associated his eldest sons to the government: Ulrich V and John II, and both predeceased him.
Ulrich V	?	1390-1396	27 May/30 July 1396	Lordship of Matsch (with County of Kirchberg, de jure)	Kunigunde of Montfort-Tettnang (d.1429) c.1390 four children
John II	?	1390-1397	1397	Lordship of Matsch (with County of Kirchberg, de jure)	Margaret of Rhazuns (d.1437) one child
Ulrich VI	?	1402-1444	1444	Lordship of Matsch (with County of Kirchberg, de jure until 1434)	Barbara of Starkenberg (d.1430) 1415 three children	Ruled jointly. Ulrich VI was Ulrich IV's son (and younger brother of Ulrich V and John II). He associated his nephews Ulrich VII and William (sons of his brother John) to the co-rulership, and both predeceased him. In 1434, the return of the County of Kirchberg to the original family was officialized by the Holy Roman Emperor. They probably stopped styling themselves as Counts of Kirchberg from this point onwards. During Ulrich VI's reign, his sister Elizabeth of Matsch held control, as widow, of the County of Toggenburg, increasing the influence of the family.
Ulrich VII	c.1390	1402-1431	1431	Lordship of Matsch (with County of Kirchberg, de jure)	Unmarried
William	c.1390	1402-1429	1429	Lordship of Matsch (with County of Kirchberg, de jure)	Anna of Nogarelis no children
Ulrich VIII	?	1444-1461	1461	Lordship of Matsch	Teela of Freundberg no children	Son of John II, ruled alongside Ulrich IV and Ulrich VI since 1397.
Ulrich IX	1419	1461-1489	1489	Lordship of Matsch	Agnes of Kirchberg (II) (d.1472) four children	Son of Ulrich VI. Ruled with his cousin since 1444.
Gaudenz	1436	1489-1504	1504	Lordship of Matsch	Hippolyte of Simonetta three children	Left no descendants; Through his sister Barbara, the Matsch possessions fell to the Barons von Trapp.

Family tree

Descent (among others after Justinian Ladurner^[1]):

1. Hartwig I of Matsch († after 1167).
- 1. Ulrich I of Matsch (* 1161).
  - 1. Arnold von Matsch († 1221), Bishop of Chur (from 1209/10).
- 2. Egino I. Vogt von Matsch and the monastery of Marienberg (1160-1192); Heir of the Matsch bailiffs.
  - 1. Egino II Vogt von Matsch and Marienberg, (* 1189; † November 25, 1238) ∞ Adelheid von Wangen, daughter of Albero von Wangen.
    - 1. Hartwig II Vogt von Matsch and Marienberg (* 1214; † December 20, 1249) ∞ Sophie von Moosburg.
      - 1. Albero I Vogt von Matsch (* 1242; † Jan. 10, 1280) ∞ Sophie von Velturns († after Aug. 10, 1308), daughter of Hugo von Velturns and Elisabeth von Eppan († 1273); their father was Ulrich, Count of Eppan († after 1233) from the noble family of Eppan .
        1. Ulrich II Vogt von Matsch (1273–1328) ∞ Margaretha of Vaz († after 1343), daughter of Walter V Herr von Vaz (from the Barons von Vaz family ), and the Liukarde von Kirchberg († May 24, 1326); whose parents were Eberhard III, Count von Kirchberg († before 1283) and Uta von Neuffen (from the Neuffen family).
        1. Offmei Utehild von Matsch (* 1301; † after 1353) ∞ Albert II, Count of Gorizia († 1327).
        
        2. Ulrich III. Vogt von Marienberg and Chur, pledgee of Vaduz and Greifenstein († Oct. 25, 1366) ∞ Adelheid von Werdenberg († 1365) from the Alpeck side line of the Counts of Werdenberg-Sargans .
        1. Ulrich IV Vogt von Matsch and first Count of Kirchberg (1349–1402), Governor of Tyrol 1361–1363 ∞ Agnes Countess of Kirchberg († 1401).
        1. Ulrich V. († 1396) ∞ Cunigunde Countess of Monfort-Tetnang.
        1. Ulrich VII (1396-1431), Governor of Tyrol 1410-1411 and 1429-1431.
        
        2. Wilhelm († 1429), ducal Governor of Trento 1408, governor of Tyrol 1417-1429.
        
        2. Johann II († 1397) ∞ Margareth, Baroness of Rhäzüns.
        1. Ulrich VIII (1396–1461), governor of Tyrol 1431–1448, 1446–1448 also steward ∞ Teela von Freundsberg († 1439).
        
        3. Elisabeth († after 1443 ^[2]) ∞ Frederick VII Count of Toggenburg († 1436).
        
        4. Ulrich VI Count of Matsch († 1444) ∞ Barbara von Starkenberg († 1425); Daughter of Sigmund von Starkenberg († 1401) and Osanna von Ems († after 1418) [3] († 1407), granddaughter of the knight Ulrich I von Ems from the house of the Lords of Ems and a daughter from the noble family Schellenberg .
        1. Ulrich IX Count of Kirchberg and Matsch (1419–1489), governor of Tyrol 1471–1476 ∞ Agnes Countess of Kirchberg-Udalriching and Werdenberg-Sargans (4th great-granddaughter of the above-mentioned Eberhard III. of Kirchberg and Uta von Neuffen).
        1. Gaudenz von Matsch (1436-1504), governor of Tyrol 1478-1482, steward and general in the Venetian War of 1486; last male offspring of the Matscher.

Important members of the family

Egino I of Matsch (1160–1192)
Arnold of Matsch, Bishop of Chur (1210–1221)
Elizabeth of Matsch (died after 1443), later widow of Frederick VII, the last Count of Toggenburg
Gaudenz of Matsch (1436–1504)

References

^ P. Justinian Ladurner: Die Vögte von Matsch, später auch Grafen zu Kirchberg.
^ Since she was his widow and heiress, she can only have died after 1436. In 1442 she is said to have retired to the Rüti monastery, in 1443 it is mentioned that she had to flee from the Rüti monastery to Rapperswil. Christian Sieber: Der Vater tot, das Haus verbrannt. Der Alte Zürichkrieg aus der Sicht der Opfer in Stadt und Landschaft Zürich, in: Peter Niederhäuser – Christian Sieber (Hrsg.): Ein «Bruderkrieg» macht Geschichte. Neue Zugänge zum Alten Zürichkrieg (= Mitteilungen der Antiquarischen Gesellschaft in Zürich 73), Zürich 2006, S. 76.

Sources

Justinian Ladurner, Die Vögte von Matsch, später auch Grafen von Kirchberg, in: Zeitschrift des Ferdinandeums für Tirol und Vorarlberg, 1st Section: Issue 16 (1871), pp. 5–292; 2nd Section: Issue 17 (1872), pp. 1–235; 3rd Section: Issue 18 (1874), pp. 7–158.