A royal town laid out by Barbarossa about 1171-74 on high ground round St John's church, beside the Benedictine abbey of St Mary founded by Lothar III about 1136, which had a market privilege from Conrad III in 1143.
About 1200 (timbers felled 1199, 1200 and 1208) the town is being moved down into the river valley, with a new parish church of St James at its centre; whether Henry VI or Philip is the founder of the valley town is not settled. First called civitas in 1216.
Who holds it
- Name
- The king (the Staufen hold the patronage of St John's); the Benedictine abbey of St Mary beside it
- Title
- Lord of the place
- Since
- Royal town founded about 1171-74
- Confidence
- medium
Lord in 1200
The king (the Staufen hold the patronage of St John's); the Benedictine abbey of St Mary beside it
How things stand that morning
Royal; being rebuilt in the valley that winter.
Charter
Royal town; civitas in 1216.
Communities
Benedictine monks; German settlers.
Walls and castle
Walls first mentioned 1264.
Trade and crafts
Market on the road from Leipzig and Altenburg to Bohemia.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Archaeology and dendrochronology dated.
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.