Köpenick, on an island where the Dahme meets the Spree, was the chief castle of the Sprevane (Spree Slavs) and the seat of Jaxa of Köpenick, the prince who held Brandenburg for a few months in 1157 and struck his own coins.
What happened after Jaxa is unknown. One reading (de.wikipedia, Barnim) has a Pomeranian duke take the castle about 1180, from whom Margrave Conrad II of Lusatia took it by 1209 at the latest; another (de.wikipedia, Teltow-Krieg) reports an alleged Wettin conquest about 1178, or Wettin rule from 1210. Köpenick is first named in a charter of Conrad II in 1209.
On 1 January 1200 it is a Slav castle with its suburb, holding the Spree and Dahme crossings between the unsettled Teltow and Barnim; it is coloured here as Pomeranian.
Who he is
- Name
- not pinned: probably a castellan or Slav lord under the dukes of Pomerania (Bogislaw II and Casimir II, minors under Danish overlordship)
- Title
- Lord or castellan of Köpenick
- Since
- not pinned (a Pomeranian duke probably took Köpenick about 1180)
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia (Barnim; Teltow-Krieg; Berlin-Köpenick; Schloss Köpenick).
Overlord
Probably the dukes of Pomerania; alternatively the Wettin margrave of Lusatia (see the notes).
What it holds
- Köpenick castle on the island at the Dahme mouth
- The Spree and Dahme crossings
- The Slav villages of the lower Dahme and the Spree valley
Allies and rivals
The margrave at Spandau down the Spree; the archbishop of Magdeburg's Zinna and Jüterbog to the south; the Wettins of Lusatia pushing north (Köpenick theirs by 1209); the Polish dukes in the Lebus land to the east.
How things stand that morning
A Slav castle; its overlord that winter is not pinned (Pomeranian most likely, Wettin possible). Not a town (town rights about 1232).
Wealth
Crossing tolls; fish; trade along the Spree.
Military
The island castle (a German castle replaced the Slav one after 1209). No figures.
Threats
- The Wettins of Lusatia (who hold it by 1209)
- The margrave's settlers moving east from Spandau
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.
- by 1209 (not yet)Margrave Conrad II of Lusatia holds Köpenick (charter of 1209).Depends on: A Wettin push north while the Pomeranian dukes are tied up with Denmark and Rügen. Stopped by: A Pomeranian or Ascanian garrison holding the castle.
Places of note
- Köpenick castle: Slav island castle; Jaxa's seat in the 1150s.
Where the sources disagree
- The two de.wikipedia articles disagree on who held Köpenick between Jaxa and 1209 (a Pomeranian duke from about 1180, or the Wettins from about 1178 or 1210). Pomerania is followed for the colour; confidence low.
Evidence: No written source between the 1150s and 1209; archaeology and later inference.
On the map: The district's extent is unknown; drawn small round the castle.
Primary sources for Pomerania
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 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
- Chronicle of the Slavs, by Helmold of Bosau, Helmold of Bosau (about 1167 to 1172). Background only. Read online
- The Danish annals of Lund, Ryd and other houses (12th and 13th centuries; Lund continued to 1307, Ryd to 1288). Short dated entries from Lund, the archbishop's seat, and from Ryd in Schleswig. Read online
- Deeds of the Danes, Saxo Grammaticus (about 1185 to 1208). Saxo was writing at Lund in 1200 under Absalon, who died in March 1201, and his last books are an insider's history of Valdemar I and Knud VI to 1185: the Wendish wars, the taking of Rügen, the submission of Pomerania in 1185, the Danish fleet, Absalon's power and the Danish quarrel with the Empire. Read online
- Short history of the kings of Denmark; The Law of the Retainers, Sven Aggesen (about 1185 to 1188). A short Latin history of the Danish kings to Knud VI's Pomeranian victory of 1185, with the Lex castrensis, Sven's version of the law of the royal household. Read online
- The saga of the descendants of Knut (the kings of Denmark) (about 1250 to 1260). An Icelandic kings' saga of Denmark that draws on Saxo and Danish tradition and ends in 1187 with Knud VI and Absalon's Wendish wars. Read online
- Pomeranian charter book, volume 1, 786 to 1253 (documents of 786 to 1253, edited 1868). All known charters for Pomerania and Rügen to 1253. Read online
- The Danish diplomatarium: charters and letters concerning Denmark, with Danish translation (documents of 789 to 1448; the online edition is continuing). Twenty-seven documents are dated to 1200: Innocent III's letters of February and March 1200 to Philip Augustus and Queen Ingeborg and his order for the interdict on France, Otto IV's letter to the pope expecting King Knud VI to move into Saxony, the reports of the legate Octavian and the French bishops on the lifting of the interdict in September, the pope's letters to Knud VI asking him to send advocates for his sister, Knud VI's ordinance on manslaughter for Skåne of 28 December 1200, and private gifts to Roskilde and Næstved. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.