A royal burgraviate: the Kirchberg on the Hausberg above Jena, once a royal palace and the head of a castle district (Burgward), with the neighbouring castles of Greifberg and Windberg, held by a family raised to royal ministeriales by Conrad III.
Their own seat is Kapellendorf west of Apolda with fourteen villages, and they hold Hainichen with three more. The burgrave in office that winter is not pinned.
Who he is
- Title
- Burgrave of Kirchberg (royal burgraviate above Jena)
- Since
- The family (originally of Kapellendorf) was made royal ministeriales and enfeoffed with the burgraviate shortly before 1149 by Conrad III
- Family
- Burgraves of Kirchberg, of Kapellendorf; later among the most influential families of eastern Thuringia (they found the nunnery of Kapellendorf in 1235).
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia Burggrafen von Kirchberg
Overlord
The king.
What it holds
- The Kirchberg, Greifberg and Windberg on the Hausberg above Jena
- Kapellendorf with fourteen villages
- Hainichen castle with three villages
- Lehesten
How it was acquired
Royal grant before 1149.
Allies and rivals
Neighbours: the lords of Lobdeburg (Jena), the counts of Weimar-Orlamünde, the Mainz officers at Apolda.
How things stand that morning
Royal officers in a Staufen-held Thuringia; allegiance assumed Staufen, not pinned.
Wealth
The castle district round Jena and the Kapellendorf villages.
Military
Three castles on the Hausberg. No numbers.
Places of note
- The Kirchberg on the Hausberg: Burgraves' castle above Jena
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Office and holdings known in outline; no burgrave named for 1200.
On the map: Approximate.
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.
- Annals of Marbach (compiled to 1238, the section on 1198 to 1210 written in the early 13th century). Alsatian annals on the Staufen side of the Upper Rhine. Read online
- Annals of Reiner of Saint James, Liège, Reiner of Liège (1197 to 1230, kept year by year). Contemporary annals kept inside Liège. Read online
- Chronicle of Burchard of Ursberg, Burchard of Ursberg (about 1229 to 1230, reworked by Conrad of Lichtenau). Written a generation later by a fierce partisan of the Staufen and a critic of Innocent III. Read online
- Chronicle of Otto of St Blasien, Otto of St Blasien (about 1209 to 1210). A Swabian continuation of Otto of Freising written from the Staufen side. 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
- Annals of Jarloch (Gerlach), abbot of Milevsko, Jarloch of Milevsko (about 1200 to 1220). The last Bohemian narrative before 1200, continuing Vincentius of Prague. Read online
23 more in the sources library for The Rhineland, the Low Countries and the Swiss Lands.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.