A royal county on the Hainleite and the Wipper, reaching from Worbis in the west through Bleicherode to Kleinfurra in the east, with the castle of Lohra (built about 1100, Romanesque double chapel of about 1170) and the family monastery of Münchenlohra.
The counts are advocates of the royal convent of Eschwege (1188) and of Bischofstein (1184). Großbodungen forms its own small castle district under ministeriales of Bodungen.
Who he is
- Name
- Ludwig (III), last attested 1188 as advocate of Eschwege; the count in 1200 is not pinned
- Title
- Count of Lohra
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- A comital house of Ludowingian descent through the female line (uncertain Reinhardsbrunn tradition), closely related to the counts of Beichlingen. A collateral, Berengar II, was advocate of Bischofstein in 1184; a cadet line holds Berka (see Berka). The line ends with Ludwig IV's death on crusade in 1227.
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia Grafschaft Lohra
Overlord
The king (a Salian creation with good relations to the Staufen kings).
What it holds
- Lohra castle
- Bleicherode, Kleinfurra and the Wipper villages
- Worbis (western end; later sold to the landgrave in 1289)
- Advocacy of Eschwege convent (1188)
- Advocacy of Bischofstein (1184)
How it was acquired
Inherited (first count Berengar I, 1116).
Allies and rivals
Kin of the Beichlingen counts; neighbours of the royal town of Nordhausen, the Hohnstein counts (nse) and Mainz's Eichsfeld.
How things stand that morning
Holds the county; allegiance not pinned (good Staufen ties in the late 12th century).
Wealth
Wipper valley farms; advocacy dues.
Military
Lohra castle. No numbers.
Places of note
- Lohra castle: Seat (coordinates approximate)
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: No count securely named for 1200.
On the map: Extent as described for the county; the Eichsfeld edge round Worbis may have been shared with Mainz's men.
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.