Zumbrun Genealogy

Life Sketch
Werner, the Baron of Attinghausen, was likely born in the mid-1100s. He resided in the mighty Castle of Attinghausen. According to historians writing before the fire of Altdorf, he was married to a noble lady named Richenza Von Löwenstein.

According to Jean-François Girard, there were once records of Werner dating back to 1189. The historian Franz Vinzenz Schmid said that Werner was the very first landammann of the valley of Uri, holding the office as early as 1206. It’s unknown how the earliest landammann was selected, but very early on the process was essentially democratic. Girard says that he was still landammann in 1216. According to the old historians, he helped negotiate one of the very first alliances between the valleys of Uri, Schwyz and Unterwalden in the year 1206.

Through his wife Richenza von Löwenstein, Werner also possessed the Löwenstein Castle and the Zumbrunnen Castle. In 1209, he gave his second son Walter Von Attinghausen the possession of the Zumbrunnen Castle. Walter began to call himself Walter Zumbrunnen, thus becoming the first Zumbrunnen in history, and the founder of our family.

According to Girard, he died in 1234.

His father is unknown, but was probably Heinrich of Attinghausen or Albrecht of Atinghausen. According to a History of the Barons of Attinghausen and Schweinsberg by Theodor Von Liebenau, and supported by the ancient Necrologies of Attinghausen, we know the names of three very early barons of Attinghausen: Albrecht, Heinrich and Lamprecht. According to a 2011 article by Helmi Gasser, Lamprecht can be identified with the founding family of the castle, and thus by default Heinrich and Albrecht must have come inbetween.

The Yearbook of the St. Andreas Church in Attinghausen refers to men named Werner of Attinghausen on March 23, August 13 and October 31, but there’s no way to tell which Werner is which.

Vital Information

Name: Werner, Baron of Attinghausen.
Sex: Male
Birth: Mid-1100s, possibly around 1160
Residence: Attinghausen Castle
Offices: Baron of Attinghausen, Landammann of Uri in 1206 and 1216
Death: possibly October 31, 1234

Family Members

Father: Unknown, but probably Heinrich of Attinghausen or Albrecht of Attinghausen
Mother: Unknown, but possibly Othilia or Bertha (the two earliest known Ladies of Attinghausen)

Spouse: Richenza Von Löwenstein
Children: Werner Von Attinghausen, Walter Zumbrunnen

Sources

Werner, Baron of Attinghausen entry in the Nobiliaire Militaire Suisse.

The confusion over many men named Werner is mentioned in Theodor Von Liebenau’s History of the Barons of Attinghausen and Schweinsberg. That the Attinghausen’s took over the Löwenstein family is also mentioned in this work.

Werner is mentioned as the first landammann of Uri in the “General History of the Free State of Uri”
by Franz Vinzenz Schmid.

The Yearbook of the St. Andreas Church in Attinghausen refers to men named Werner of Attinghausen on March 23, August 13 and October 31, but there’s no way to tell which Werner is which.