Conrad I was a member of the
edelfrei von Raabs family. He was a son of Gottfried I of Gosham and a grandson of Ulrich of Gosham, the family's ancestor, who ruled an area northwest of
Melk when the
House of Babenberg ruled the
Margraviate of Austria. The family takes its name from their ancestral castle in
Raabs an der Thaya, which is now in
Lower Austria. In 1105,
Nuremberg Castle and the city became entangled in a dispute between Emperor
Henry IV and his son
Henry V. The city and castle were partially destroyed. In order to better protect the castle and city in the future, the emperor appointed Conrad I and his brother Gottfried II as
Burgmann and made them responsible for the protection of the castle, making them burgraves. However, their official job title was
Castellan; the title was first used by
Gottfried III of Raabs. In the following years, Conrad I acted primarily to extend his territorial base to the west of Nuremberg. This brought him into conflict with the
Bishopric of Bamberg; a document in Bamberg even calls him
Conrad tyrannus. He appears to have lived in the area west of Nuremberg during this period, and occasionally called himself "Conrad of Riedfeld", after his castle near
Neustadt an der Aisch. After his brother's death, Conrad became the sole lord of
Nuremberg Castle. After his death, he was succeeded by his nephew, Gottfried II's son,
Gottfried III. == References ==