The royal palace town of the Pleissenland.
A castle on the porphyry rock, a Burgward given to the see of Zeitz in 976, became a royal palace ('castro Plysn', 1132) and the seat of a burgrave (1146/47-1150). Barbarossa stayed here at least seven times; Henry VI and Philip used it too. Beside the palace stands the house of Augustinian canons (the 'Red Spires') founded on Barbarossa's initiative.
The town grew from the old market on the Brühl and the New Market, first named in 1192; St Bartholomew's church is of about 1125. Duke Władysław II of Silesia lived here in exile from 1146 to his death in 1159; his sons were restored to Silesia with Barbarossa's backing in 1163.
Who holds it
- Name
- King Philip, through the burgrave of Altenburg and the royal officers
- Title
- Lord of the town
- Since
- Royal since the 1130s
- Confidence
- high
Lord in 1200
The king; the burgrave (Henry I or his son Dietrich, not pinned) and the royal reeve.
How things stand that morning
The king's; quiet. Philip comes here in 1203 and 1206.
Charter
No charter known; a royal town by custom.
Council
Not before the 13th century.
Communities
Canons of the Red Spires; royal ministeriales; German settlers.
Fairs and markets
Markets on the Brühl and the New Market (1192).
Walls and castle
The royal palace and castle on the rock; town walls with five gates (date not pinned for 1200).
Trade and crafts
Royal court supply; market for the Pleisse villages; on the road from Leipzig to Zwickau and Bohemia.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Palace and foundations well attested; the town's officers in 1200 thin.
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.