Counts with their castle at Beichlingen on the Schmücke ridge north of the Unstrut, holding Kölleda and, from early times, Kelbra and Brücken in the Goldene Aue.
They are the counts of Lohra's near kin and will inherit Lohra in 1227. Frederick III is the count attested from 1192 to 1216.
Who he is
- Name
- Frederick (Friedrich) III
- Title
- Count of Beichlingen
- Since
- by 1192
- Born
- not pinned (alive 20 July 1216)
- Family
- A line of the Sizzonen, kin of the Käfernburg and Schwarzburg counts and closely related to the counts of Lohra; his forebear Frederick married Hilburg of Gleichen. Wife not identified.
- Confidence
- medium
FMG Thuringian nobility (charters of 21 October 1192, 12 July 1200, 23 May 1205, 1215, 20 July 1216); de.wikipedia Beichlingen (Adelsgeschlecht)
Overlord
The king and the landgrave (county jurisdiction).
What it holds
- Beichlingen castle
- Kölleda
- Kelbra and Brücken (early holdings; their state in 1200 not pinned)
How it was acquired
Inherited.
Allies and rivals
Kin of Lohra, Käfernburg and Gleichen; neighbours of the landgrave's Weissensee and of the lords of Heldrungen.
How things stand that morning
Holds Beichlingen; allegiance not pinned.
Wealth
Unstrut and Schmücke farmland.
Military
Beichlingen castle. No numbers.
Places of note
- Beichlingen castle: Seat
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Name and dates from FMG; lands from a thin de.wikipedia article.
On the map: Core only.
Primary sources for Thuringia
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.
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Regesta Imperii V: calendar of the acts of Philip, Otto IV and Frederick II, 1198 to 1272 (calendar of documents of 1198 to 1272, published 1881 to 1901). A dated calendar of every known act of King Philip and King Otto IV, with the acts of popes and princes that bear on the Empire. 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.