Kings and their demesnes · Philip of Swabia: Staufen and royal lands · as at first light, 1 January 1200

Boppard and Oberwesel

The 'Bopparder Reich' is an old royal estate on the middle Rhine with a royal residence, a market granted in 1050, a toll from Henry IV's time and a Schultheiss as the king's chief officer; its royal ministeriales (the Beyer of Boppard, the lords of Schoeneck, the Bickenbach) form a small knightly society, and the ministerialis Konrad of Boppard builds Schoeneck castle about 1200.

Barbarossa stayed there in the spring of 1180. Upstream, Barbarossa acquired the estate of Wesel (Oberwesel) and the Schoenburg in 1166, though the Magdeburg chapter's old lordship there lingers until about 1220; a royal burgrave, Otto of Schoenburg, appears in 1213. In July 1199 Otto IV marched up the Rhine as far as Boppard and waited there in vain for his allies before turning back to Cologne.

Who he is

Name
Philip of Swabia (contested by Otto IV)
Title
King of the Romans (disputed), through his Schultheiss and ministeriales
Since
1198
Born
about 1177
Family
Barbarossa's youngest son
Confidence
low

de.wikipedia Boppard and Oberwesel; the Cologne study of 1198-1202

Overlord

None: royal land

What it holds

  • Boppard: the royal estate, market (1050), toll (Henry IV) and court under the king's Schultheiss
  • The royal ministeriales of Boppard (Beyer, Schoeneck, Bickenbach): Schoeneck castle built about 1200 by Konrad of Boppard
  • Oberwesel and the Schoenburg: acquired by Barbarossa in 1166, kept by royal burgraves (Otto of Schoenburg in 1213 and 1219)

How it was acquired

Royal estate since the Carolingians (Boppard); Oberwesel and the Schoenburg in 1166.

Allies and rivals

Trier's Koblenz downstream; the count palatine's Stahleck and Bacharach upstream; the Bolanden's Sterrenberg across the river.

How things stand that morning

Royal, and presumably answering to Philip's officers again after Otto withdrew in July 1199, but Otto's halt at Boppard shows that the town was open to him; who controlled Boppard that winter is not pinned. In 1200 Otto will refuse to meet Conrad of Mainz's envoy at Boppard.

Wealth

The Rhine toll and market at Boppard; wine; the river trade.

Military

The royal residence at Boppard, the Schoenburg above Oberwesel, the ministeriales' houses.

Threats

  • Otto IV and Cologne, who reached Boppard in 1199
  • The Welf count palatine's lands next door

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. 1200 (not pinned)Otto refuses to meet Archbishop Conrad of Mainz's envoy at Boppard; Conrad's mediation ends in the truce of the Rhenish princes until Martinmas.Depends on: Conrad's mediation Stopped by: Renewed campaigning on the Rhine

Places of note

  • Royal residence, Boppard: The king's court on the Rhine
  • Schoenburg: Royal castle above Oberwesel

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: The estate, market, toll and families are attested without dates for 1200; Otto's halt at Boppard in July 1199 is in the Cologne annals.

On the map: The extent of the Bopparder Reich is not pinned; drawn as the town cells.

Primary sources for Staufen

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.

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

Sources and studies

  1. Boppard (de.wikipedia)
  2. Oberwesel (de.wikipedia)
  3. Study of Archbishop Adolf of Cologne's politics 1198-1202 (University of Duesseldorf digital library)

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