Löwenstein castle, built about 1090 by the Calw counts as a centre on the salt road from Heilbronn to Hall, is the seat of a Calw side line.
Who he is
- Name
- Not pinned (a count of the Calw-Löwenstein line)
- Title
- Counts of Löwenstein
- Family
- A side line of Calw, named from Löwenstein since 1123; Berthold (count of Calw 1156, later of Löwenstein) and Konrad I (of Löwenstein 1174) are the last named before 1200 in the source used. In 1277 Count Gottfried sells the county to Würzburg.
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia (Löwenstein; Grafen von Calw).
Overlord
The duke of Swabia and the king.
What it holds
- Löwenstein castle on the salt road between Heilbronn and Hall
How it was acquired
Inheritance.
Allies and rivals
The Weinsberg ministeriales and the counts of Lauffen nearby.
How things stand that morning
The line holds Löwenstein on 1 January 1200; the count's name is not pinned. Throne war: not pinned.
Wealth
Toll and traffic of the salt road (not pinned).
Military
Löwenstein castle.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: No count is named for 1200.
On the map: Castle district only.
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.