Little is known of Heinrich's life before being elected archbishop. Before he was appointed Provost in
Bonn, he was called by the surname "Leinenhose". Heinrich was elected Archbishop of Cologne on 15 November 1225, one week after the murder of the previous archbishop,
Engelbert I of Berg. Heinrich set out immediately to punish the conspirators in the murder, and he received necessary rights and equipment from the
Holy Roman Emperor,
Frederick II, and
Pope Honorius III. A bounty of 2,000 silver marks was placed on the head of the lead conspirator,
Frederick I of Isenberg, and his castles were besieged and captured. After travelling to
Rome to have his excommunication lifted, Frederick was captured in
Liège and sold to Cologne, where he was executed on 14 November 1226 at the
Severin Gate. Heinrich continued the policy of his predecessors to increase the power and territories of the archbishopric. He entered into long and costly conflicts with the counts of
Mark and
Cleves, and the city of
Cologne. He was forced to concede the weakness of the prince-bishopric, and he had to recognise municipal rights on several
Westphalian towns. Despite the temporal failures of Heinrich's reign, spiritually Cologne flourished. Heinrich was
excommunicated in 1233. Heinrich was interred in
Cologne Cathedral after his death. ==References==