A transshipment town above the Rhine Falls, where goods coming down from Lake Constance must be unloaded and carried round the falls.
Count Eberhard of Nellenburg had the mint right in 1045 and founded the abbey of All Saints (1049); in 1080 the abbey was given the town with its market and mint, and in 1190 abbey and town were placed directly under the emperor. Philip granted the imperial advocacy over town and abbey to Berthold V in 1198 as part of the price of his withdrawal.
Who holds it
- Name
- The abbot of All Saints (town lord since 1080), with Berthold V as imperial advocate since 1198
- Title
- Lord of the town
- Confidence
- high
Lord in 1200
The abbot of All Saints (town lord since 1080), with Berthold V as imperial advocate since 1198
Charter
Market and mint rights given to All Saints in 1080; immediacy under Henry VI in 1190; advocacy to the Zähringen 1198.
Militia
No numbers in the sources.
Walls and castle
Walls not dated before 1299 in the source read; no fixed bridge before 1259.
Trade and crafts
Portage round the Rhine Falls, river trade, the ford; the abbey mint.
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.