Facing Magdeburg across the Elbe, the country round Burg on the Ihle was settled under Albert the Bear and Archbishop Wichmann by Flemish colonists, who founded the lower town with its St Nicholas church (built 1162-1186), brought cloth-making and lived under their own law.
By the early 13th century Burg was one of the most important and best fortified towns of the region. This record marks the archbishop's land east of the river between the Elbe crossing and the Fläming; the Rhineland map's Magdeburg outline already covers it in general.
Who he is
- Title
- The archbishop's officers east of the Elbe
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia (Burg (bei Magdeburg); Erzstift Magdeburg).
Overlord
Archbishop Ludolf of Magdeburg.
What it holds
- Burg, the Flemish settlement on the Ihle, with its two churches (St Nicholas 1162-1186; Our Lady first named 1186)
- The villages east of the Elbe crossing at Magdeburg
How it was acquired
Archbishop Wichmann's lordship (1152/54-1192).
Allies and rivals
The margrave's Möckern and Ziesar side to the east; Leitzkau's canons (Church map).
How things stand that morning
The archbishop's; officers not pinned.
Wealth
Cloth; the roads east from Magdeburg to Brandenburg.
Military
Town walls (shared fortification of the upper and lower town in the early 13th century). No figures.
Places of note
- Burg: Flemish cloth town.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The Flemish settlement is well attested; dates of the law and the officers are not.
On the map: Rough block; same realm as the Rhineland map's outline beneath it.
Primary sources for Magdeburg
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.
- Annals of Pegau; Annals of Magdeburg (12th and 13th centuries; Pegau continued to 1227). The annals of the Wettin lands and of Magdeburg. Read online
- Chronicle of the Lauterberg (Petersberg near Halle), Konrad of Lauterberg (about 1225). The house chronicle of the Wettin foundation on the Lauterberg, sharp-tongued and well informed on Saxony, Meissen and Magdeburg. Read online
- Chronicle of Reinhardsbrunn; Chronicle of St Peter's, Erfurt (Erfurt chronicle in the 13th century; Reinhardsbrunn compilation about 1340 to 1349 from older annals). The two Thuringian chronicles. Read online
- Chronicle of the Slavs, by Arnold of Lübeck, Arnold of Lübeck (about 1209 to 1210). Arnold continues Helmold and writes from Lübeck, close to Danish, Welf and Baltic affairs. Read online
- Royal Chronicle of Cologne (in stages from about 1175 to about 1250; the section on 1198 to 1220 written soon after the events). The fullest German narrative of the throne war from the Welf and Cologne side. Read online
- Deeds of the archbishops of Magdeburg (main text to 1142, continued in the 13th and 14th centuries). The Magdeburg house history, with a continuation covering Archbishop Ludolf of Kroppenstedt (1192 to 1205), a firm supporter of Philip who hosted the king's Christmas court at Magdeburg on 25 December 1199. Read online
- The political songs of Walther von der Vogelweide, 1198 to 1201, Walther von der Vogelweide (about 1198 to 1201). Three stanzas of the Reichston, composed between 1198 and 1201 after Walther left Vienna, lament the disorder of the double election and call on Philip to take the crown. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.