The lords of the village and market of Salza (later Langensalza) on the Unstrut road between Gotha and Mühlhausen.
Their town castle, the Dryburg, is dated 'about 1200' and may not stand yet. Salza is not yet a town: it gains town rights only in the 13th century (allegedly from Otto IV in 1212, after he besieged the Dryburg). Other powers have rights here: in 1196 Duke Bernhard of Saxony (the attribution is doubted) and the Welf count palatine Henry gave the church of St Stephen at Salza to Homburg abbey, and Hersfeld held land here from of old.
Who he is
- Title
- Lords of Salza
- Family
- The family of Hermann von Salza, the later grand master of the Teutonic Order (grand master from about 1209-10); usually held to be of Thuringian ministerial stock in the landgraves' service.
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia Bad Langensalza
Overlord
The landgrave (ministerial service, not pinned in detail).
What it holds
- Salza village and market
- The Dryburg (about 1200, not pinned as standing)
Allies and rivals
The landgrave; Homburg abbey; the Welf count palatine had rights here in 1196.
How things stand that morning
Hold Salza; allegiance follows the landgrave (not pinned).
Wealth
Market on the road from Gotha to Mühlhausen; Unstrut farmland.
Military
Castle (if built). No numbers.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: No member named for 1200.
On the map: One cell.
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.