Upper Lusatia is checked Bohemian on 1 January 1200.
The land of the Slav Milceni round Bautzen (Budyšín, the Ortenburg) was given by Henry IV to Duke Vratislaus II of Bohemia as an imperial fief in 1076 or 1081, governed by Wiprecht of Groitzsch from 1084 to 1108, back in Bohemian hands after 1135, held by the Wettin Margrave Conrad of Meissen in 1143-1156, and granted again to Vladislaus II in 1158 with the royal crown. From 1158 to 1243-1253 it is a dependent land (Nebenland) of the Bohemian crown, ruled from the royal castles of Bautzen and Görlitz by castellans. The province of Zagost round Seidenberg south-east of Görlitz belongs to the Bautzen land; the Queis is the frontier with Silesia.
The bishop of Meissen holds old estates here (Göda and its villages since 1007 and 1091, property in Zagost by 1144) and the land is in his diocese. Sorbian farmers have been clearing new land since about 1100, and from the mid-twelfth century the Bohemian kings and the bishops of Meissen bring in German settlers. Bautzen, at the crossing of the Via Regia over the Spree, has a market settlement below the castle and is a town by 1213 at the latest; at Görlitz a planned market town round the Untermarkt is laid out about 1200.
Who he is
- Name
- Not pinned for 1200 (the first named castellan of Bautzen in the sources reached is Jindřich of the Ronovci, 1232-1237)
- Title
- Castellan (burgrave) of Bautzen for the king of Bohemia, with the castellan of Görlitz
- Since
- Not pinned
- Confidence
- low
Bohemian rule from 1158 to the Ascanian pledge of 1243-1253 is from de.wikipedia (Oberlausitz, Bautzen, Görlitz). de.wikipedia (Görlitz) names a Bohemian royal officer resident in Görlitz only in 1234 and 1238.
Overlord
Ottokar I, king of Bohemia, who holds the Bautzen land as a fief of the Empire
What it holds
- The Ortenburg at Bautzen and its castle district (Milsko)
- The castle of Görlitz (Yzhorelik, rebuilt by Duke Soběslav I in 1126 and 1131) and the Görlitz land
- The province of Zagost round Seidenberg (Zawidów) to the Queis
- The tolls of the Via Regia (Leipzig, Bautzen, Görlitz, Silesia) and the Frankenstraße
- Overlordship of the Sorbian villages and the new German settlements
- The bishop of Meissen's estates (Göda and its villages, property in Zagost) lie inside the land: Church map records
How it was acquired
Imperial grant to the Bohemian duke in 1076 or 1081; renewed to Vladislaus II in 1158.
Allies and rivals
Neighbours: the margrave of Meissen (Dietrich) to the west beyond the Pulsnitz, whose house held the land in 1143-1156; the margrave of Lusatia (Conrad II) to the north; the bishop of Meissen inside; the Silesian duke beyond the Queis. The Meissen quarrel over Adelaide's repudiation makes the western frontier the one to watch.
How things stand that morning
Held for the king of Bohemia by his castellans. No fighting is recorded here in 1199. The border with the bishop of Meissen's lands is not yet fixed (the boundary charter is of 1241).
Wealth
The Via Regia tolls and the markets at Bautzen and Görlitz; the tribute of the Sorbian villages; new land being cleared.
Military
The castles of Bautzen and Görlitz with their districts; the frontier forest on the Queis. No numbers.
Threats
- A Wettin claim from the 1143-1156 tenure, sharpened by the Meissen grievance over Adelaide
- Encroachment by the bishop of Meissen's settlers and officers
Places of note
- Ortenburg, Bautzen: Royal castle and seat of the castellan
- Görlitz castle: Royal castle on the Neisse crossing of the Via Regia
- Göda: The bishop of Meissen's old estate centre (1007)
- Seidenberg (Zawidów): Centre of the province of Zagost
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Bohemian rule is well attested; the castellans of 1200 and the northern line of the land are not.
On the map: The western line follows the Pulsnitz and the later Upper Lusatian frontier with Meissen; the northern heath line round Hoyerswerda, Weisswasser and Rothenburg is rough; the Zittau basin is drawn with Bohemia proper, to which it belonged in 1200.
Primary sources for Kingdom of Bohemia (Ottokar I)
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 Jarloch (Gerlach), abbot of Milevsko, Jarloch of Milevsko (about 1200 to 1220). The last Bohemian narrative before 1200, continuing Vincentius of Prague. Read online
- The Austrian and Salzburg annals (kept in the 12th and 13th centuries, with continuations to the late 13th century). A family of monastic annals from Austria, Styria and Salzburg, printed together. 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 Registers of Pope Innocent III for 1199 to 1201, Innocent III and the papal chancery (22 February 1199 to 21 February 1201). The pope's outgoing letters for the year, in his chancery's own copy, touching nearly every realm in the atlas. Read online
- Charters and letters of the kingdom of Bohemia, volume 2, 1198 to 1230 (documents of 1198 to 1230, edited 1912). The critical edition of every Bohemian and Moravian charter and letter from Ottokar I's accession to 1230.
- Constitutions and public acts of the emperors and kings, volume 2, 1198 to 1272 (documents of 1198 to 1272, edited 1896). The public documents of the throne war in full text: the election notices of 1198, the princes' declaration of Speyer of 28 May 1199 to Innocent III, the pope's replies, Philip's and Otto's letters and promises, and the imperial acts of 1200 and 1201 including Otto's promises at Neuss in June 1201. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.