The great salt town of the eastern Alps: brine springs worked since Roman times, boiled by the burghers, St Zeno's canons and many abbeys in bronze pans, with Salzburg owning about a third for some five hundred years.
In 1193 Reichenhall men crossed the Hallthurm pass, walled up Berchtesgaden's salt workings and broke its pans, and the town withheld its dues to Salzburg; in 1196 Archbishop Adalbert came with a punitive force and burned it to the ground, sparing only St Zeno. Rebuilt smaller and newly walled, it is watched by the archbishop's Hallburg on the Streitbichl, while Hallein's new salt takes its trade. The duke of Bavaria and the Peilstein counts have their own rights here, and after 1218 Bavaria will take the court.
Who holds it
- Name
- Archbishop Adalbert III (a third of the springs, the Hallburg), with the count of Peilstein (court, Karlstein, St Zeno) and the duke of Bavaria (the salt-count's rights taken over by Henry the Lion after 1169)
- Title
- Lords of the town and springs (shared)
- Since
- Shared rights; the archbishop dominant since 1196
- Confidence
- low
de.wikipedia (Bad Reichenhall).
Lord in 1200
Shared and disputed: the archbishop dominates since 1196; the count of Peilstein holds the court district and Karlstein; the duke's rights are not pinned for 1200. The old salt-counts (Hallgrafen) of Attel and Reichenhall are the ancestors of Count Dietrich of Wasserburg (Bavaria file, Wasserburg), married to Duke Louis's sister Heilika; whether he still holds any salt-count right here in 1200 is not pinned.
How things stand that morning
Recovering from 1196 under Salzburg's watch; no fighting attested for the winter of 1199-1200, so no belt is drawn.
Charter
'castrum Halla' in 1144; called a civitas in 1159; a 'stat' from 1285. No charter pinned.
Council
None pinned; the salt-boilers' community acts together (the raid of 1193, the withheld dues).
Communities
Salt-boiling burghers; the canons of St Zeno (advocates the Peilsteins); outside owners of springs (Salzburg, Berchtesgaden, many abbeys).
Militia
The townsmen were armed enough to raid Berchtesgaden in 1193.
Walls and castle
New wall after 1196; the Hallburg (Salzburg) on the Streitbichl; Karlstein (Peilstein) above the town.
Trade and crafts
Salt boiling and the salt trade by road and by the Saalach and Salzach; the salt-count (Hallgraf) office organised it from about 1070.
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.
- 1200 (not pinned)Hallein's competition deepens Reichenhall's grievance; a new archbishop may seek terms with the town and the duke.Depends on: Adalbert's death and the duke's stance. Stopped by: A settlement or a new rising.
Where the sources disagree
- The 1185 purchase of the Dürrnberg salt by Adalbert (de.wikipedia, Bad Reichenhall) sits beside the mining attested in 1191 and the 1190 restart (de.wikipedia, Hallein; Geschichte des Landes Salzburg).
Evidence: 1193 and 1196 events dated in de.wikipedia; the division of lordship in 1200 is an inference.
Primary sources for Salzburg (Adalbert III)
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.