Eger is one of the oldest towns of this corner of the sheet: named in 1061, it passed with its land to Frederick Barbarossa in 1167 and was made a town before 1179.
Beside it the Staufen built a palace (Kaiserpfalz) on the rock above the Ohře, with a Romanesque double chapel raised in 1179-1188. It lies on the road from Nuremberg and Regensburg into Bohemia, and belongs to the diocese of Regensburg, not to Prague. The bishop-duke Henry Břetislav of Bohemia died here in June 1197 (mor's research). Its town law of Nuremberg (1242), its rise to an imperial town (1277) and the Golden Bull issued here by Frederick II (1213) are later.
Who holds it
- Name
- King Philip of Swabia; his officers in the palace (not pinned by name)
- Title
- Lord of Eger
- Since
- 1198 (the land Staufen since 1167)
- Family
- Staufen
- Confidence
- medium
de.wikipedia (Cheb, Egerland): first named 'Egire' on 13 February 1061; Staufen from 1167; raised to a town before 1179; the palace's double chapel 1179-1188; Nuremberg law 1242; Bohemian only from the late 1260s.
Lord in 1200
King Philip, through his officers and ministeriales of the land of Eger.
How things stand that morning
Held by King Philip's officers.
Charter
A town before 1179 (de.wikipedia); the Nuremberg law is 1242. The terms of its twelfth-century status are not pinned.
Communities
German townsmen; the king's ministeriales; the parish of St Nicholas (later given to the Teutonic Order). Jews are recorded later; their presence in 1200 is not pinned.
Walls and castle
The Staufen palace and castle with the double chapel (1179-1188); the town's walls in 1200 not pinned.
Trade and crafts
The road between Nuremberg and Prague and the Ohře valley; the market of the Egerland.
Places of note
- Kaiserpfalz Eger: Staufen palace with the double chapel
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The town's age and the palace are well attested; its officers and institutions in 1200 are not.
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.