He was the son of Burchard II, Duke of Swabia and Regilinda. At a young age on the murder of his father in 926, he was sent to Saxony for his safety after the accession of the duke Herman I. In Saxony, he married a member of the Immedinger family. From this marriage came two sons: Theodoric, count of Wettin, and Burchard, count of Liesgau. His second marriage was to Hedwig, daughter of Henry I, Duke of Bavaria. Burchard built the great fortress atop the Hohentwiel, and Hedwige was the foundress of the monastery of St. George there, but their marriage remained childless.