The leading market of central and eastern Switzerland, at the outflow of Lake Zürich, with trade to northern Italy over the Chur passes and down the Rhine.
Two great churches share the place: the royal nunnery of the Fraumünster, whose abbess holds the market, mint and toll, and the chapter of the Grossmünster. Since the Lenzburg line died out in 1172-1173 the Zähringen hold the whole imperial advocacy over both minsters and their people, including the Fraumünster's valley of Uri; the old royal palace on the Lindenhof is probably the duke's seat. In 1210 Berthold V, styled advocate, claims all the king's rights in Zürich.
Who holds it
- Name
- The Fraumünster abbess (market, mint and toll) and the Grossmünster chapter, under Berthold V of Zähringen as imperial advocate (Reichsvogt)
- Title
- Lord of the town
- Confidence
- high
Lord in 1200
The Fraumünster abbess (market, mint and toll) and the Grossmünster chapter, under Berthold V of Zähringen as imperial advocate (Reichsvogt)
How things stand that morning
Held quietly for Berthold V, who backs Philip.
Charter
No town charter yet; imperial immediacy and a charter of Frederick II come in 1218-1219.
Council
None yet: the first traces of a town council are of 1220.
Communities
Townsmen in stone houses and noble towers along the Limmat; the minsters' households.
Militia
No numbers in the sources.
Walls and castle
A first town wall of the late 12th century; the Lindenhof palace; the first town hall on the Limmat (12th century, no year).
Trade and crafts
Market and transit trade on the lake and the Limmat; silk and cloth crafts are documented only from the 13th and 14th centuries.
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.
- 1218-1219 (later course)When the Zähringen die out the town and minsters become immediate to the Empire and the council gains formal powers.Depends on: Berthold V dying without heir. Stopped by: An heir.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Well documented in outline; who the duke's deputy in the town was in 1200 is not pinned.
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.