According to the current state of historical research, Guntram the Rich (d. 984–990) is regarded as the progenitor of the House of Habsburg. He is believed to have lived in the 10th century in what is now the Swiss canton of Aargau and to have originated from Alsace. Guntram was lord of Muri, count in the Breisgau, and possessed extensive lands along the Upper Rhine and in Aargau. His grandson, Radbot (born c. 970–980), together with his wife Ita of Lorraine, founded the influential Abbey of Muri and, along with his brother Bishop Werner of Strasbourg (d. 1028), had the Habichtsburg in Aargau constructed a castle that can still be visited today. Otto II (d. 1111) appears as the first Count of Habsburg.

With Count Rudolf IV (1218–1291), a member of the House of Habsburg was elected King of the Romans for the first time on 29 September 1273 in Frankfurt. This election ended the Interregnum in the Holy Roman Empire and brought about significant changes for the Habsburg dynasty. Although Rudolf succeeded in significantly expanding his family’s territory through the acquisition of the Kyburg inheritance, his imperial policy forced him to turn his attention increasingly to regions further east.

The following centuries were marked by recurring conflicts, summarized in historiography as the Swiss Habsburg Wars (1291–1511), during which the Habsburgs were gradually driven out of the Swiss Confederation. The final act was the second treaty concluded on 7 February 1511 with Emperor Maximilian I (1459–1519), the so‑called Erbeinung (hereditary agreement), which no longer included any military assistance obligations on the part of the Confederates toward the Emperor. A similar hereditary agreement with all Three Leagues followed in 1518.