In 805
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...
issued a fourth ban on the export of weapons to the
Slavs
Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...
. According to
Moissac Chronicle Charlemagne's son Charles laid siege to "Canburg" (somewhere on the
Elbe
The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Repu ...
in
Bohemia
Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
). Nobody knows where exactly Canburg was situated. The chronicle writes about the left bank of the Elbe river, but the author could easily muddle it up with other rivers in the area (e.g.
Vltava
Vltava ( , ; german: Moldau ) is the longest river in the Czech Republic, running southeast along the Bohemian Forest and then north across Bohemia, through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice and Prague, and finally merging with the Labe at M ...
- Moldau, Ohře -
Eger River
Eger ( , ; ; also known by other alternative names) is the county seat of Heves County, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). A city with county rights. Eger is best known for its castle, thermal baths, baroque bui ...
). Lingual similarity is the cause of a hypothesis that Canburg was situated somewhere nearby the present-day town of
Kadaň
Kadaň (; german: Kaaden) is a town in Chomutov District in the Ústí nad Labem Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 18,000 inhabitants. It lies on the banks of the river Ohře. Kadaň is a tourist centre with highlights being the Francisca ...
. Some historians mention as a possible site a fortified settlement in
Divoká Šárka
Divoká Šárka (; Wild Šárka) is a nature reserve on the northwestern outskirts of Prague, the capital city of the Czech Republic.
Around the 6th century the Slavs came to this area. In the 7th to 9th centuries above the Džbán gorge was a ...
.
References
Chronicon Moissacense a.a. 805, MGH SS
Charlemagne
Geography of the Czech Republic
Military history of the Carolingian Empire
Canburg
In 805 Charlemagne issued a fourth ban on the export of weapons to the Slavs. According to Moissac Chronicle Charlemagne's son Charles laid siege to "Canburg" (somewhere on the Elbe in Bohemia). Nobody knows where exactly Canburg was situated. T ...
{{Mil-hist-stub