Weinsberg castle, famous for the siege of 1140 when the women carried out their husbands, is the king's (castrum Wimsperch, listed second in the 1188 dower), kept by a ministerial family that took its name.
The town below it was founded about 1200 with the castle lords' involvement, and the Johanneskirche was begun about then: not pinned whether before 1 January 1200.
Who he is
- Name
- The lords of Weinsberg (the head of the family in 1200 is not pinned)
- Title
- Keepers of the king's castle of Weinsberg
- Since
- After 1140
- Family
- A Staufen ministerial family from Lindach near Gmünd, installed at Weinsberg after Conrad III took the castle (21 December 1140); it held the castle as an imperial fief until 1450.
- Confidence
- medium
de.wikipedia (Weinsberg); the 1188 pact (castrum Wimsperch).
Overlord
The king.
What it holds
- Weinsberg castle
- The settlement and church below it
How it was acquired
Royal appointment after 1140.
Allies and rivals
The counts of Löwenstein and Lauffen nearby.
How things stand that morning
Held for Philip.
Wealth
Vineyards and the road from Heilbronn to Hall.
Military
Weinsberg castle.
Places of note
- Weinsberg castle: Royal castle (castrum 1188).
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The family's first named members are not given in the sources used.
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.