The counts of Wölpe hold the castle of Wölpe near Nienburg and a lordship stretching from the Weser to the Leine.
Bernhard II founds the town of Neustadt am Rübenberge around 1200 (not pinned whether before 1 January) and later the nunnery of Mariensee; early in the 13th century the counts move their fortified house to Drakenburg. His brother Iso will be bishop of Verden from 1205.
Who he is
- Name
- Bernhard II
- Title
- count of Wölpe
- Since
- 1176 (de.wikipedia gives 1176-1221)
- Born
- not pinned
- Family
- brother of Iso of Wölpe (born 1167), a canon who becomes bishop of Verden in 1205. The family may descend from Gerbert of Stumpenhusen (1091).
- Confidence
- medium
de.wikipedia Grafschaft Wölpe
Overlord
none resident; Wölpe castle belonged to the church of Minden when first named in 1151
What it holds
- Wölpe castle
- lands between the Weser and the Leine (Steimbke, Linsburg, Neustadt am Rübenberge)
- Drakenburg (later their fortified house)
How it was acquired
Inherited; Wölpe castle appears in 1151 as the church of Minden's.
Allies and rivals
Neighbours: the counts of Roden-Wunstorf, the Stumpenhusen counts, the bishop of Minden, the Welfs.
How things stand that morning
Bernhard II holds Wölpe. Allegiance not pinned.
Wealth
Weser and Leine lands; a new market at Neustadt.
Military
Wölpe castle.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- about 1200 (not pinned)Bernhard founds Neustadt am Rübenberge with a mill and church.Depends on: his means
Places of note
- Wölpe castle (site): the counts' seat at Erichshagen-Wölpe east of Nienburg (coordinates approximate)
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: de.wikipedia gives Bernhard II's years (1176-1221) and his foundations.
On the map: Rough block; the county's 13th-century extent is larger.
Primary sources for Empire
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
- Chronicle of Hainaut, Gislebert of Mons (about 1195 to 1196). Ends in 1195, so it has no 1200 entries, but it is the indispensable background for Flanders and Hainaut: the career of Count Baldwin V of Hainaut (VIII of Flanders), his union of the two counties, the settlement with Philip over Artois, the rights, castles, fiefs and vassals of Hainaut listed by a man who ran its chancery, and the youth of Baldwin IX, who held both counties in 1200. Read online
8 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.