A river city on a narrow tongue of land where the Inn and the Ilz meet the Danube: the bishop's palace and cathedral, the abbey of Niedernburg at the point, the Innstadt across the Inn and the Ilzstadt across the Ilz, from which salt caravans set out on the Golden Path to Bohemia.
Passau's smiths were already noted in the early 12th century. The bishop is lord of everything here since 999; the burghers have no charter of their own yet, and the great castle of Oberhaus above the Ilz will only be built in 1219.
Who holds it
- Name
- Bishop Wolfger of Passau
- Title
- Lord of the city
- Since
- 1191
- Confidence
- high
Otto III granted the bishop jurisdiction, administration, market, mint and toll in 999; a royal burgrave ruled 1078-1099 only.
Lord in 1200
Bishop Wolfger of Erla.
How things stand that morning
Under Wolfger, at peace as far as the sources show.
Charter
The bishop's lordship rests on Otto III's grant of 999 (market, mint, toll, jurisdiction). No town law of the burghers is pinned for 1200; their rising against the bishops comes much later (1298, 1367-1368).
Council
None pinned for 1200.
Communities
The cathedral and Niedernburg households, burghers and boatmen, the salt carriers of the Ilzstadt; Jews not pinned for 1200.
Fairs and markets
Market under the 999 grant; fairs not pinned.
Walls and castle
The old town on the peninsula with the bishop's palace; the Veste Oberhaus is later (1219).
Trade and crafts
Danube and Inn shipping and tolls; salt from Reichenhall and now Hallein, carried on the Golden Path to Prachatice in Bohemia, with grain coming back; smithing; the bishop's mint.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The 999 grant and the city's parts are well known; its government in 1200 is not documented in the sources consulted.
Primary sources for Passau (Wolfger)
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 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
- 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
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.