Kings and their demesnes · Otto IV: Welf and royal lands · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Aachen (king's)

Charlemagne's palace city and the coronation church of St Mary, the king's own town since the Carolingians, with the land round it.

Philip of Swabia's knights held it in the spring of 1198; Otto took it and was crowned there on 12 July 1198 by Archbishop Adolf of Cologne with copied regalia, because Philip had the real ones. Otto keeps it until Philip is crowned there on 6 January 1205. The king's officers in the town (the advocate, the Schultheiss, the ministeriales of the palace) are not named for 1200 in the sources used.

Who he is

Name
Otto IV, holding Aachen since July 1198
Title
King of the Romans (disputed)
Since
Otto was elected at Cologne on 9 June 1198; Aachen, held by Staufen knights, fell to his forces about three weeks later; he entered on 10 July and was crowned there on 12 July 1198
Born
About 1175
Family
Welf; son of Henry the Lion and Matilda of England
Confidence
high

de.wikipedia Otto IV (HRR) and Deutscher Thronstreit

Overlord

The crown itself

What it holds

  • The palace and the chapel of St Mary (the coronation church, with its chapter)
  • The town under the 1166 privilege of Frederick Barbarossa (market and mint)
  • The Barbarossa wall, begun 1171
  • The villages of the Aachen land (Würselen and the later 'Aachener Reich')

How it was acquired

Royal since the Carolingians; taken by Otto's forces in late June or early July 1198.

Allies and rivals

Cologne and Brabant hold the region for Otto; Limburg (Philip's) borders the Aachen land on the west and south; the abbeys of Burtscheid and Kornelimünster (Church map) lie beside it.

How things stand that morning

In Otto's hands; the town is the symbol of his kingship (crowned at the right place by the right archbishop, though with the wrong regalia).

Wealth

Market and mint under the 1166 privilege; the road from Flanders and Brabant to Cologne; pilgrims to the relics of St Mary's.

Military

The Barbarossa wall (about 2.5 km, begun 1171); the palace.

Threats

  • Philip's party at Limburg next door
  • The loss of Cologne's support (which comes in 1204-1206)

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

  1. 6 January 1205 (later course)Philip is crowned at Aachen by Adolf of Cologne after a new election.Depends on: Adolf's defection (1204). Stopped by: Cologne and Brabant staying loyal to Otto.

Places of note

  • Palace and St Mary's: Coronation church
  • Burtscheid abbey: Abbey beside the town (Church map)
  • Kornelimünster: Imperial abbey (Church map)

Where the sources disagree

  • The Goettingen residences handbook (adw-goe B 1 Otto IV) dates the coronation 12 June 1198; de.wikipedia gives 12 July (entry on 10 July). July is the usual date.

Evidence: Otto's capture of Aachen and his coronation are well attested; the town's officers that winter are not.

On the map: The later 'Aachener Reich' is used as a guide; Burtscheid and Kornelimünster are abbey lands.

Primary sources for Welf

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.

18 more in the sources library for The Rhineland, the Low Countries and the Swiss Lands.

Sources and studies

  1. Otto IV. (HRR) (de.wikipedia)
  2. Deutscher Thronstreit (de.wikipedia)
  3. Geschichte der Stadt Aachen (de.wikipedia)
  4. Residenzen-Kommission, B 1 Otto IV (adw-goe.de)

Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.