A hilltop castle with four towers and a deep dry ditch on a rock spur where the Seifenbach meets the Göltzsch, built probably about 1180 under Barbarossa as a seat of lordship to open up the forest for settlers, mostly Franconian colonists with a thin Sorb population.
The market of Reichenbach grew up under its protection. Its lords, the family of Milin, are first named in 1214; in 1200 the castle stands but who commands it is not recorded.
Who he is
- Name
- Not pinned (the lords of Milin are first named in 1214)
- Title
- The castle's lords, later called of Mylau (de Milin)
- Since
- The castle was built probably about 1180
- Family
- The lords of Milin, presumably the king's ministeriales (the king's sworn officers of unfree birth); their relation to the Vögte of Weida is not stated in the source.
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia Burg Mylau
Overlord
The king (the castle was built under Barbarossa as a seat of lordship for the settlement of the Vogtland)
What it holds
- Mylau castle above the Göltzsch
- The market settlement of Reichenbach under the castle (date of the market not pinned)
- The cleared villages of the Göltzsch valley round Netzschkau and Limbach
How it was acquired
Built about 1180 under Barbarossa during the settlement of the Vogtland.
Allies and rivals
Neighbours of the Vögte of Weida at Greiz and Plauen and of the king's Pleissenland round Zwickau.
How things stand that morning
The castle stands; its commander that winter is not named. Royal castle in Philip's hands if, as built, it is still the king's.
Wealth
New clearings, the road from Zwickau to Plauen and Hof across the Göltzsch.
Military
One strong castle; no recorded fighting in 1198-1199.
Threats
- The growing lordship of the Vögte of Weida round it
Places of note
- Mylau castle: The castle, built probably about 1180
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: One article; the castle's status as royal rests on its foundation under Barbarossa.
On the map: The castle and the villages nearest it; the forest east and south (Lengenfeld, Treuen, Auerbach, Falkenstein) is left undrawn.
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.