The Zähringen capital at the foot of the castle hill (castle about 1091).
Duke Konrad gave the settlement market and town rights in 1120, and Freiburg's law became the model for the family's other towns. Black Forest silver makes its burghers rich, and about 1200 Berthold V begins rebuilding the parish church on a grand scale, the later Minster.
Who holds it
- Name
- Berthold V, duke of Zähringen, the town's lord and founder's heir
- Title
- Lord of the town
- Confidence
- high
Lord in 1200
Berthold V, duke of Zähringen, the town's lord and founder's heir
How things stand that morning
The duke's own town.
Charter
Market and town rights of 1120 from Duke Konrad of Zähringen (the founding charter, known through later copies).
Council
Not pinned for 1200.
Militia
No numbers in the sources.
Walls and castle
A high medieval wall (date not pinned); the ducal castle on the Schlossberg.
Trade and crafts
Silver from the Black Forest mines; market of the Breisgau; crafts.
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 1200Building of the new parish church (the Minster) begins.Depends on: The duke's and burghers' money. Stopped by: War.
Primary sources for Zähringen
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
- 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
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.