Oberwesel in the Middle Ages

Oberwesel in the Middle Ages 500 - 1500 AD

From the Roman to the Frankish Empire 450 - c. 900 AD

Around 450 AD, Roman rule in the Rhineland came to an end. Some of the Roman inhabitants of our region had found a new home here. As with the Celts before them, they merged with the newly settled Germanic tribes, who began to invade the region at the end of the 4th century.

The Migration Period brought turmoil and fluctuation. It can be assumed that colonization was sporadic and sparse.

The Frankish Merovingian tribe conquered the Middle Rhine region at the end of the 5th century and helped to spread Christianity. According to Frankish law, the land of the former Roman state belonged to the king. The area around Oberwesel thus became crown land or fiscal land. It originally included both Bacharach and St Goar.

Charlemagne became a decisive ruler around 800. There are few sources from this important early medieval period about Oberwesel, which is therefore still largely shrouded in the darkness of the past.

Under various ruling dynasties ca. 900 - 1794 AD

With the Saxon Ottonian dynasty, Oberwesel comes to light through clear written records. It is documented that Emperor Otto the Great, who was also the owner of the crown land, donated the town of Oberwesel to the Mauritius Monastery in Magdeburg in 966 in order to promote his eastern policy.

During the reign of the Staufen emperors, Oberwesel is mentioned again in old documents, as Emperor Barbarossa acquired the town and castle in 1166 in order to return them to the empire. The magnificent town wall was also built at this time. In 1237, the town gained the status of a free imperial city. Its imperial immediacy was confirmed in 1257 and 1274. As a member of the Rhenish League of Towns from 1254, Oberwesel was an ally of renowned towns on the Rhine.

The proud citizens lost their independence in 1309 when Emperor Henry VII pledged the city to his brother Balduin, Archbishop of Trier and Elector. Balduin sponsored the construction of the Church of Our Lady at the southern end of his domain. The citizens' protests against the archbishop's rule were unsuccessful. This was also true of his successors and was finally silenced with the defeat in the Wesel War in 1390/91.

At the end of the 16th century, the copperplate engraving by Braun - Hogenberg (opposite) shows a flourishing, lively town.

However, the political challenges of the 17th century, under the rule of the Archbishops of Trier, saw the town and the region increasingly relegated to the background for lack of stimulating new prospects. It was not until the end of the 18th century that the region was awakened from its slumber by the dynamism of the French Revolution.