The oldest town of the duchy, named 'the eastern city called Cremisa' in 995, at the mouth of the Krems on the Danube where the Wachau opens out.
Merchant and administrative quarters grew round the Hoher Markt from the 10th century. Krems struck the oldest Babenberg coins (about 1130-1190) before the mint moved to Vienna. With its twin Stein, a ducal toll station on the river by 1200, it is the duke's chief Danube town above Vienna.
Who holds it
- Name
- Duke Leopold VI
- Title
- Lord of the town
- Since
- 1198
- Confidence
- high
Krems an der Donau (de.wikipedia).
Lord in 1200
Duke Leopold VI
Allies and rivals
Passau's Mautern across the river.
How things stand that morning
Ducal town; the mint has moved to Vienna, but Krems with Stein remains the duke's Danube market above Vienna.
Charter
No written charter survives from before 1200; the oldest written town law is of 1305 but is thought to go back to the Babenbergs. The town seal is first attested about 1250.
Council
Not recorded for 1200.
Communities
Not recorded for 1200.
Fairs and markets
Not pinned for 1200.
Militia
Not recorded.
Walls and castle
Not pinned for 1200.
Trade and crafts
Danube shipping and the toll at Stein; wine of the Wachau and the Kremstal; grain and salt brought down the river.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Early dates from de.wikipedia; institutions in 1200 not documented.
Primary sources for Austria
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 Jarloch (Gerlach), abbot of Milevsko, Jarloch of Milevsko (about 1200 to 1220). The last Bohemian narrative before 1200, continuing Vincentius of Prague. Read online
- Annals of Schäftlarn and the Bavarian annals (12th and 13th centuries). Brief Bavarian annals. Read online
- The Austrian and Salzburg annals (kept in the 12th and 13th centuries, with continuations to the late 13th century). A family of monastic annals from Austria, Styria and Salzburg, printed together. Read online
- Regesta Imperii V: calendar of the acts of Philip, Otto IV and Frederick II, 1198 to 1272 (calendar of documents of 1198 to 1272, published 1881 to 1901). A dated calendar of every known act of King Philip and King Otto IV, with the acts of popes and princes that bear on the Empire. Read online
- The Registers of Pope Innocent III for 1199 to 1201, Innocent III and the papal chancery (22 February 1199 to 21 February 1201). The pope's outgoing letters for the year, in his chancery's own copy, touching nearly every realm in the atlas. Read online
- Bavarian monuments: the charters of the Bavarian monasteries and bishoprics (charters from the 8th century onward, published 1763 to 1916). The great charter series of Bavaria, arranged by monastery and bishopric. Read online
- The political songs of Walther von der Vogelweide, 1198 to 1201, Walther von der Vogelweide (about 1198 to 1201). Three stanzas of the Reichston, composed between 1198 and 1201 after Walther left Vienna, lament the disorder of the double election and call on Philip to take the crown. Read online
- Constitutions and public acts of the emperors and kings, volume 2, 1198 to 1272 (documents of 1198 to 1272, edited 1896). The public documents of the throne war in full text: the election notices of 1198, the princes' declaration of Speyer of 28 May 1199 to Innocent III, the pope's replies, Philip's and Otto's letters and promises, and the imperial acts of 1200 and 1201 including Otto's promises at Neuss in June 1201. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.