TheHouse of Stubenberg is the name of an oldAustrian noble family fromPitten documented since about 1160, with its ancestral seat atStubenberg, Styria. Members of the family held important posts in theHabsburg monarchy and had hereditary membership in the HungarianHouse of Magnates.
Originally fromPitten in present-dayLower Austria, the family's ancestors took their residence at Stubenberg in theMarch of Styria about 1160. One Ulrich of Stubenberg is documented as a participant of theFifth Crusade, killed atDamietta in 1218. The Stubenbergs established contacts to the risingHouse of Habsburg at an early stage and revolted against the rule of KingOttokar II of Bohemia, who finally was defeated by his Habsburg rival KingRudolf I of Germany in the 1278Battle on the Marchfeld. Under Habsburg rule, the family members were able to restore their devastated estates; in the mid 14th century they hadNeuhaus Castle (Burg Neuhaus) erected near Stubenberg and built Stubenberg Castle as their new residence.
However, about one hundred years later, the Stubenbergs fought against the Habsburg EmperorFrederick III side by side with theHungarian kingMatthias Corvinus. Once Frederick had prevailed, the Stubenberg possessions were seized and the dynasty retired to their estates inGutenberg and atOberkapfenberg inUpper Styria. From 1739 the Styrian branch of the family resided in the town ofKapfenberg.
In 1548 one Wolfgang von Stubenberg acquired the estates ofNové Město nad Metují (Neustadt an der Mettau) inBohemia from the heirs of late governorJohn III of Pernstein. The Stubenbergs had the local castle rebuilt in a lavishRenaissance style and became notable members of theProtestant Bohemian nobility. Upon the 1618Bohemian Revolt against the Habsburg archdukeFerdinand II and theBattle of the White Mountain, the Nové Město estates were seized and ceded toAlbrecht von Wallenstein. Likewise, when Ferdinand II,Holy Roman Emperor since 1619, had the Protestant nobles expelled from the Habsburg hereditary lands, several members of the Styrian Stubenbergs went into exile in theElectorate of Saxony or in theimperial cities ofNuremberg andRegensburg.
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