Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine

Frederick I (c.942 – 978) was the count of Bar and duke of Upper Lorraine. He was a son of Wigeric, count of Bidgau and count palatine of Lorraine, and Cunigunda.

In 954, he married Beatrice, daughter of Hugh the Great, count of Paris, and Hedwige of Saxony. He received in dowry the revenues of the abbey of Saint-Denis in Lorraine. He constructed a fortress at Fains, on the frontier between France and Germany, and exchanged fiefs with the bishop of Toul. Thus, he created his own feudal domain, the county of Bar.

The duchy of Lorraine was at that time governed by the archbishop of Cologne, Bruno, who was called the archduke on account of his dual title. In 959, he, in concert with his brother, the Emperor Otto I, divided the duchy, appointing as margraves (or vice-dukes) one Godfrey in Lower Lorraine and Frederick in Upper Lorraine. After Bruno's death, in 977, Frederick and Godfrey were styling themselves dukes.

As duke, he favoured the reform of Saint-Dié and Moyenmoutier.

By Beatrice, he had:

• Henry (died between 972 and 978)
• Adalberon II (958-1005), bishop Verdun and Metz
• Thierry I (965-1026), count of Bar and duke of Upper Lorraine
• Ida, married Radbod of Altenbourg, who built the castle of Habichtsburg and is thus an ancestor of the great Hapsburg family which dominated Europe in the sixteenth century

Duke of Upper Lorraine 942 – 1027

Succeeded by: Thierry I