Carinthia however remained a separate entity, and in 1012 Count Adalbero I of Eppenstein, Margrave of Styria since about 1000, was vested with the duchy by Emperor Henry II, while the Istrian march was separated and given to Count Poppo of Weimar.
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In 1077, the duchy was given to Luitpold, again a member of the Eppensteiner family, which, however, became extinct with the death of Luitpold's son Henry III of Carinthia in 1122.
Eppenstein is a municipality in the district of Murtal in the Austrian state of Styria.
The origin of the Bindenschild has not been conclusively established, it possibly derived from the Styrian margraves of the Otakar noble family, who themselves may have adopted the colours from the descendants of the Carinthian duke Adalbero (ruled 1011–1035), a scion of the House of Eppenstein extinct in 1122.
He thereby was a grandson of the former Carinthian duke Adalbero of Eppenstein, who had been deposed by Emperor Conrad II in 1035.
Feldkirchen, once an estate of the Eppenstein noble family, was bequeathed to the Diocese of Bamberg in 1166.