The elder line of the Käfernburg house, holding the castle of Schwarzburg in the Schwarza valley of the Thuringian Forest, half of Stadtilm and the advocacy of the family monastery of Paulinzella.
Henry II later rises in royal service (Saalfeld and Ranis come to his family, not yet) and de.wikipedia says he supported Philip of Swabia; the date of that support is not given.
Who he is
- Name
- Henry (Heinrich) II
- Title
- Count of Schwarzburg
- Since
- 1184, when his father Günther II inherited Schwarzburg from his childless brother Henry I and gave it to him
- Born
- not pinned (died 20 February 1236)
- Family
- Sizzonen house of Schwarzburg and Käfernburg. Son of Count Günther II (died 1197) and probably Gertrud of Wettin, daughter of Margrave Conrad of Meissen. Brothers: Günther III of Käfernburg, Albert (a cleric, archbishop of Magdeburg from 1205-06), Ludolf (count of Hallermund in Saxony) and Wilbrand (a cleric).
- Confidence
- medium
de.wikipedia Schwarzburg (Adelsgeschlecht), Günther II. (Schwarzburg-Käfernburg)
Overlord
The king and the landgrave (county jurisdiction within the landgraviate); fiefs of Hersfeld and others not pinned.
What it holds
- Schwarzburg castle and the Schwarza valley
- Half of Stadtilm (Ilm)
- Advocacy of Paulinzella (house monastery)
- Shares in the family allods (Ilmenau, Remda, Plaue: which brother held which in 1200 is not pinned)
How it was acquired
Inherited 1184.
Allies and rivals
His brother Günther III; the landgrave; neighbours the counts of Orlamünde and the royal lordship of Saalfeld (now the landgrave's).
How things stand that morning
Holds Schwarzburg. Allegiance: Staufen leaning (de.wikipedia, undated); not pinned for 1 January 1200.
Wealth
Forest, timber and iron of the Thuringian Forest; the Ilm valley farms.
Military
Schwarzburg castle. No numbers.
Threats
- Partition quarrels within the house
Places of note
- Schwarzburg: Castle
- Paulinzella: Family monastery under their advocacy
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The family tree is secure; holdings in 1200 and allegiance less so.
On the map: Approximate.
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.