A planned town round the market on the Main, laid out in the Staufen period, most probably as a royal foundation under Barbarossa, below an imperial castle built about 1100.
In 1254 King William calls it a former town of the Empire ('que olim imperii civitas fuerat'), the first written proof of its standing. The old margraves' seat and the Peterstirn monastery passed to the see of Eichstätt in 1112.
Who holds it
- Name
- The king (Philip), as far as the evidence goes; the see of Eichstätt holds the Peterstirn monastery and the old margraves' seat (since 1112)
- Title
- Lord of the town
- Confidence
- low
See summary.
Lord in 1200
The king (Philip), as far as the evidence goes; the see of Eichstätt holds the Peterstirn monastery and the old margraves' seat (since 1112)
How things stand that morning
Staufen royal town (inferred). It will be destroyed in the war between the Henneberg counts and the bishop of Würzburg in 1240-50.
Charter
None known by 1200.
Council
None recorded.
Communities
Not recorded.
Fairs and markets
Not recorded.
Militia
Not recorded.
Walls and castle
Not recorded.
Trade and crafts
Main crossing and river trade; wine.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: See summary.
Primary sources for Staufen
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
- 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 Reinhardsbrunn; Chronicle of St Peter's, Erfurt (Erfurt chronicle in the 13th century; Reinhardsbrunn compilation about 1340 to 1349 from older annals). The two Thuringian chronicles. 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
- 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
23 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.