Ulrich I, Lord of Hanau

His mother had brought the district of Babenhausen, including part of the Bachgau and half of Groß-Umstadt into his parents' marriage.

In 1290, he ended a long-running dispute with the Bishopric of Würzburg and in 1303, he concluded an alliance with Frankfurt, after some violent arguments.

After Archbishop Werner of Eppstein had died, King Rudolph had terminated the fiefs Bachgau and Seligenstat Abbey and handed the administration of these possessions to Ulrich I.

He presumably needed the money to participate in a campaign of King Albert I of Germany against the Archbishop of Mainz in 1301/1302.

Four of his towns were granted city rights: In 1294, abbot Henry V of Fulda was deposed, after he had severely mismanaged his territory.

The greatest success of Ulrich I's policy was his appointment in 1300 as Landvogt of the Wetterau.

His post was meant to strengthen the King's position in his disputes with the Electors in the Rhine area, who were led by the Archbishop of Mainz.

Ulrich's jurisdiction included important cities, such as Oppenheim, Boppard, Wesel, Frankfurt, Friedberg and Gelnhausen.

The background for this marriage was an earlier conflict between the Archbishopric of Mainz and the counts of Rieneck about influence in the western Spessart region.

Ulrich's father, Reinhard I, had supported the Archbishop, Werner of Eppstein in this long-lasting conflict and when it was finally decided in Mainz's favour in 1271, one of the conditions of the peace treaty was that Ulrich would marry Elisabeth, and that her dowry would include the city of Steinau an der Straße.

The exact extent of the dowry can no longer be determined, as the relevant documents are lost.

Ulrich I and Elisabeth had the following children: The older literature also mentions a Margaret,[3] who married Count Gerhard of Katzenelnbogen.

[4][5] As the deed which call Maragaret a countess of Hanau contains more such mistakes,[4] it can be assumed to be a fake.