The Altland is the land King Géza II gave his German guests about 1147-1150, on the Cibin, the Harbach and the Olt above the Red Tower pass, described in their later charter as 'deserta' because the Székelys who had lived there were moved away.
Settlers from the Rhine, the Moselle and the Low Countries (called Flandrenses and Theutonici; the name Saxons comes later) founded planned villages: in the chapter of Hermannstadt, Hermannstadt, Stolzenburg, Großscheuern, Burgberg, Hammersdorf, Neppendorf and Schellenberg among them; in Leschkirch, Alzen, Kirchberg and Leschkirch; in Schenk, Großschenk, Mergeln and Schönberg. Since 1191 they have had their own church, a free provostry at Hermannstadt exempt from the bishop of Transylvania, which in 1192 the pope confined to the Germans of Géza's grant, leaving the Germans of Broos, Mühlbach and the Maros villages to the bishop. They act as a body in church matters through the provost and in daily life through their village heads, the gerébs, who lead their armed men to the king's host.
They are the king's, not the voivode's or any lord's (the later charter forbids grants of land among them). The single Saxon province with one count and one law, the Andreanum, is not made until 1224; the count of Hermannstadt first appears in 1210 or 1211.
Who holds it
- Name
- No leader named for 1200. Church head: the provost of Hermannstadt (praepositus Cibiniensis), name not pinned for 1200. No royal count of Hermannstadt is recorded before Joachim (1210 or 1211).
- Title
- The community of the king's German guests (hospites Theutonici, Flandrenses) under their village heads (gerébs, Gräfen), with their own provost
- Since
- Settlement from about 1147-1150 under Géza II; provostry confirmed by Pope Celestine III on 20 December 1191
- Confidence
- medium
en.wikipedia (Sibiu, Transylvanian Saxons) and de.wikipedia (Hermannstadt, Siebenbürger Sachsen): settlers from about 1147; the provostry confirmed in 1191, with Hermannstadt, Leschkirch and Großschenk as its territory; the 13 first villages of the Hermannstadt chapter, three of Leschkirch and three of Schenk. Makkai: a papal letter of 1192 confined the provostry to the Germans 'living on the deserted land granted by King Géza to his Germans', leaving other Germans to the bishop; the land is called 'deserta' in the 1224 charter; its Székely inhabitants had been moved away. The name Saxones is first used in 1206 for the 'first guests of the realm' at Krakkó, Igen and Romos (outside the provostry).
Overlord
King Emeric: the guests hold their land of the king and owe him a yearly payment and armed men. In church matters they are exempt from the bishop of Transylvania and answer through their provost to the archbishop of Esztergom.
What it holds
- The chapter of Hermannstadt: Hermannstadt, Neppendorf, Hammersdorf, Schellenberg, Großscheuern, Stolzenburg, Burgberg and their neighbours (13 first villages)
- The chapter of Leschkirch: Leschkirch, Alzen, Kirchberg
- The chapter of Großschenk: Großschenk, Mergeln, Schönberg
- Their own parish priests and the free provostry of Hermannstadt (1191)
How it was acquired
Royal grant of Géza II (1141-1162); the provostry founded under Béla III and confirmed in 1191.
Allies and rivals
The bishop of Transylvania, Adrian, is their rival over parishes and tithes. Neighbours: the Székelys to the east and west, Vlach and Pecheneg border guards in the mountains and in the Olt land, the royal salt of Vízakna.
How things stand that morning
A self-managing community of royal guests in the Altland, acting as one body in church matters through the provost; no lay leader or count is named for 1 January 1200.
Wealth
Grain farming on planned village fields, cattle and pigs in the oak woods, crafts at Hermannstadt; the road to the Red Tower pass.
Military
The guests' armed men under their gerébs; mounted, armed Saxones appear in 1206. Fortified church hill at Hermannstadt (earthworks or palisades). No figures for 1200.
Threats
- The bishop of Transylvania's claims over their churches
- A Cuman raid through the Red Tower pass
- Royal grants of their land to lords (forbidden later by the Andreanum)
Customs and courts
Royal guests' freedom: personal liberty, land held of the king, free use of waters and forests (written down only in 1224). Village heads (gerébs) lead the communities; the provost and the parish clergy hold the church. Their own courts and the election of priests and judges appear in the Andreanum (1224): how much of that is already custom in 1200 is not pinned.
Obligations
A yearly payment to the king (Béla III's revenue list counts the Transylvanian guests among his main incomes) and armed men for the royal host; the Andreanum of 1224 later fixes both. Saxons served in Géza II's war with Manuel I (1152, de.wikipedia).
Places of note
- Leschkirch (Újegyház): Head of the Leschkirch chapter
- Großschenk (Nagysink): Head of the Schenk chapter
- Stolzenburg (Szelindek): One of the first villages of the Hermannstadt chapter
- Krakkó, Igen and Romos: the 'first guests of the realm' (1206): German villages outside the provostry, under the bishop; privileged in 1206 (later)
Where the sources disagree
- The provostry's foundation is dated 1191 by the papal confirmation of 20 December 1191 (en.wikipedia, Sibiu; de.wikipedia, Hermannstadt); Makkai cites the restricting letter of 1192. Both precede 1200.
Evidence: Papal letters of 1191-1192 and the provost's title; the villages from the chapter lists and the foundation legend; customs from the 1224 charter read backwards.
On the map: The provostry's bounds are inferred from the three chapters and their first villages; the later Saxon seats (Mediasch, Schäßburg, Reps, Mühlbach, Broos, the Burzenland and the Nösnerland) are not drawn as Saxon land for 1200.
Primary sources for Transylvania (voivode Legforus)
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The Deeds of the Hungarians, by the Anonymous Notary of King Béla, Anonymus (P. magister) (about 1200 to 1210, the date disputed). Not a record of events but a picture of the kingdom's nobility and geography as a courtier of about 1200 wished to see it: the clans and their lands, the castles and counties, the Vlachs, Cumans and other peoples of the Carpathian basin, all projected back onto the conquest. Read online
- Hungarian royal charters: Fejér's Codex diplomaticus and Szentpétery's critical calendar of the Árpád kings (documents of the 11th to 13th centuries; Fejér published 1829 to 1844, Szentpétery vol. 1 in 1923). The documentary base for Hungary in 1200: King Emeric's grants to Pannonhalma, the bishops, the Templars and Hospitallers, Duke Andrew's acts in Croatia and Dalmatia, and the papal letters of 1200 to Emeric about his brother's rebellion and about heresy in Bosnia. Read online
Sources and studies
- Sibiu, en.wikipedia (history)
- Hermannstadt, de.wikipedia (history)
- Siebenbürger Sachsen, de.wikipedia
- Transylvanian Saxons, en.wikipedia
- L. Makkai, Saxon Settlement and the Reorganization of the Southern Border Defences, History of Transylvania I
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.