As the youngest son, Siegfried had inherited, unlike his brothers, only a few possessions from his father in the
Duchy of Lorraine. He is first mentioned in around 950 AD as having been an advocate of the abbeys of St. Maximin in Trier and Saint Willibrord in Echternach. Since at least 982 he was a "count in the
Moselgau". From 958, he sought to acquire the territories of Count Warner in the region of
Bodeux near the
Benedictine Abbey of Stavelot. However, the Abbot of Stavelot, Werinfried, reluctant to have an ambitious landowner as his neighbor, acquired the village of Bodeux himself in 959. As Siegfried's ambitions to expand towards the river
Meuse had failed, and as he was unwilling to confront the powerful episcopal cities of
Trier or
Metz which ruled out expanding towards the river
Moselle, he turned his attention towards the
Alzette valley.
Acquisition and foundation of Lucilinburhuc (Luxembourg) In the mid-10th century, Siegfried acquired the rocky promontory known as
Lucilinburhuc and its immediate surrounding area, as well as usage rights for the river from the Abbey of
Saint-Maximin in Trier in exchange for land he owned near
Feulen. The deed for the exchange was not drawn up until 987 and although the plots of land involved were tiny, the transaction was evidently a significant one, for the document bears the seals of
Bruno, archbishop of Cologne and brother of emperor
Otto I,
Henry I, archbishop of Trier and
Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine, Siegfried's brother. In 963 Siegfried built a stronghold,
castellum Lucilinburhuc on top of the
Bock rock. The structure may have been a refurbishment of an older existing building, presumably the ruins of an abandoned
Roman castellum. The site chosen for the construction of the castle of Luxembourg was not only located on an easily defendable rock, but it was also not far from the intersection of the old
Roman road Reims-
Trier and a prehistoric path leading from
Metz to
Liège. A marketplace soon arose at this intersection around which a town started to grow. Siegfried then gradually extended his territory towards the west, avoiding the Abbey's lands and those of the emperor. This act is generally regarded as the foundation of
Luxembourg City and ultimately of what would become the
County of Luxembourg. Although Siegfried constantly used the title of count, the first written evidence of the title "count of Luxembourg" is attributed to
Conrad I some 120 years later.
Servant of the Holy Roman emperors In 964, Siegfried also laid the foundations for the construction of the castle of
Saarburg. As the Duchy of Lorraine was a state of the
Holy Roman Empire, Siegfried always remained a loyal servant of the
Holy Roman emperors. From 966 to 972 Siegfried joined emperor
Otto I during the third Italian expedition to
Rome. In 982 he sent troops to southern Italy to support
Otto II in his war against the
Saracens at the
Battle of Stilo. Siegfried also served Otto II during the wars against
West Francia, in 983 he served as mediator on behalf of the emperor and met with
Hugh Capet, duke of the Franks. At the death of
Otto II in 983, Siegfried fought at the side of the dowager empress and regent
Theophanu against the ambitions of King
Lothair of France. In 985 he was briefly captured and imprisoned by the king. When Siegfried died in 998, his son
Henry I, followed him as count of Luxembourg. ==Family and descendants==