The Rhine valley between Cologne's Andernach and Bonn, with the king's places at Sinzig and Remagen and Cologne's Linz on the right bank, was the road of both kings' campaigns.
In October 1198 Philip crossed the Moselle and his troops burned Remagen and Bonn and razed Andernach, coming within about two miles of Cologne before withdrawing; in summer 1199 Otto's attempt to push up the Rhine to Boppard failed. Andernach is being rebuilt; Remagen was burned; the royal places at the Ahr mouth are held firmly by neither side. It is a frontier raiding zone between the Welf lower Rhine and the Staufen middle Rhine.
How things stand that morning
No truce in force on 1 January 1200; the truce of April 1200 will cover it for a time.
Who raids here
Philip's armies coming down from the Moselle and Boppard; Otto's forces pushing upstream from Cologne.
Anchoring castles
Welf side: Andernach (Cologne, in ruins), Rheineck (Cologne's burgrave), Rolandseck, the Wolkenburg and Drachenfels, Bonn. Staufen side: Boppard and the Trier lands at Koblenz upstream. Philip's Landskron above the Ahr comes only in 1206.
Last campaign
Summer 1199 (Otto's failed thrust toward Boppard); October 1198 (Philip's raid).
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The burnings of 1198 and Otto's failed campaign of 1199 are attested; that the stretch is still unfarmed that winter is an inference.
On the map: Schematic strip along the river and the lower Ahr.
Sources and studies
- Study of Adolf of Cologne and Otto IV, chapter IV (Düsseldorf)
- de.wikipedia: Remagen
- de.wikipedia: Andernach
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.