The see's strongest town below Cologne, at the mouth of the Erft on the Rhine, first called a town in 1190 and walled about 1200.
A Rhine toll station of the archbishops since at least 1138. In June 1201 Otto will swear his promises to the pope here (the oath of Neuss), outside this year.
Who holds it
- Name
- Archbishop Adolf of Cologne
- Title
- Lord of the town
- Since
- 1193
- Confidence
- high
de.wikipedia Neuss
Lord in 1200
The archbishop, with his castle inside the town (the townsmen are allowed to pull it down only in 1254) and his officers (not named).
Overlord
The archbishop
How things stand that morning
The archbishop's town; Welf with him.
Charter
First called a town in 1190, when Henry VI confirmed the men of Cologne and Neuss in their freedom from the Kaiserswerth toll; town privileges confirmed by the archbishop in 1222.
Council
Not pinned for 1200; the townsmen may elect a council of 12 to 14 only from 1259.
Communities
The chapter of canonesses of St Quirinus (the minster is begun in 1209).
Walls and castle
A large wall with several gates is built about 1200; the archbishop's castle stands in the town.
Trade and crafts
Rhine and Erft trade; the archbishop's Rhine toll (since at least 1138).
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Dated privileges either side of 1200.
On the map: Town and fields only.
Primary sources for Cologne
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 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 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
- 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
- Register of Innocent III on the affair of the Roman Empire, Innocent III and the papal chancery (1198 to 1209, compiled as a separate register at the curia). The pope's own file on the German throne war: letters to and from Philip, Otto, the German princes and bishops, and the famous Deliberatio of late 1200 or early 1201 in which Innocent weighs the claims of Frederick, Philip and Otto before deciding for Otto. 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
2 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.