The term ''Kaiserpfalz'' (, "imperial palace") or ''Königspfalz'' (, "royal palace", from

Middle High German Middle High German (MHG; or ; , shortened as ''Mhdt.'' or ''Mhd.'') is the term for the form of High German, High German language, German spoken in the High Middle Ages. It is conventionally dated between 1050 and 1350, developing from Old High ...

''phal ne'' to

Old High German Old High German (OHG; ) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally identified as the period from around 500/750 to 1050. Rather than representing a single supra-regional form of German, Old High German encompasses the numerous ...

''phalanza'' from Middle Latin ''palatia'' luralto

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''palatium'' "

palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

") refers to a number of palaces and castles across the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

that served as temporary seats of power for the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

in the Early and High

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. The dukes and bishops of the empire also owned palaces, which were sometimes referred to as ''"pfalzen"'', especially since they were obliged to accommodate the emperor and his court when they were in transit, a duty referred to as ''Gastungspflicht'' (obligation to accommodate).

Origin of the name

''Kaiserpfalz'' is a German word that is a combination of ''

Kaiser Kaiser ( ; ) is the title historically used by German and Austrian emperors. In German, the title in principle applies to rulers anywhere in the world above the rank of king (). In English, the word ''kaiser'' is mainly applied to the emperors ...

'', meaning "emperor", which is derived from " caesar"; and ''Pfalz'', meaning "palace", and itself derived from the

''palatium'', meaning the same (see

). Likewise ''Königspfalz'' is a combination of ''König'', "king", and ''Pfalz'', meaning "royal palace". Because ''pfalzen'' were built and used by the king as a ruler of the ''

Kingdom of Germany The Kingdom of Germany or German Kingdom ( 'kingdom of the Germans', 'German kingdom', "kingdom of Germany", ) was the mostly Germanic language-speaking East Frankish kingdom, which was formed by the Treaty of Verdun in 843. The king was elec ...

'', the correct historical term is ''Königspfalz'' or "royal palace". The term ''Kaiserpfalz'' is a 19th-century appellation that overlooks the fact that a king of Germany did not bear the title of the

(granted by the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

) until after his imperial coronation which required expeditions to Italy ''( Italienzug)'', which mostly were only undertaken years after his accession to the throne and in many cases not at all.

Tradition of the “Itinerant Courts”

Like their peers in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, the medieval emperors of the Holy Roman Empire did not rule from a capital city, but had to maintain personal contact with their

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

s on the ground. This was the so-called "itinerant kingship" or ''"

itinerant court An itinerant court was a migratory form of government shared in European kingdoms during the Early Middle Ages. It was an alternative to having a capital city, a permanent political center governed by a kingdom. Medieval Western Europe was gener ...

"''; in German called ''Reisekönigtum'' ("travelling kingship"). The Merovingians in the Frankish Empire already ruled according to the feudal principle in which a ruler does not rule over a territory with specific land boundaries with the support of administrative officials, as in a territorial state, but rather his sovereignty was based on a personal relationship of dependence between feudal lords and their vassals ''( Personenverbandsstaat, a "personal dependency state")''. Therefore, this dependency had to be constantly maintained and renewed, including through the allocation of positions or land. This was one of the reasons why kings and emperors constantly traveled around their realm and held '' Hoftage'' (court days, i. e. meetings with the powerful of the empire) and court sessions (to settle disputes and punish offenses to prove their authority) alternately in different parts of the country. A second reason was a lack of communication options over long distances at a time when there were often hardly any solid roads. Therefore, the court had to show its presence in order to keep the realm under control. A third reason was supply bottlenecks: Due to inadequate transport routes, it was not yet possible until the 13th century to provide long-term food supply for hundreds of people who had traveled to the same place, in addition to the local population. Consequently, instead of sending food to royal courts, the courts went to the food. In France and England, where centralized states developed early, from the 13th century onwards, stationary royal residences began to develop into capitals that grew rapidly and developed corresponding infrastructure: the '' Palais de la Cité'' and the ''

Palace of Westminster The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...

'' became the respective main residences. This was not possible in the Holy Roman Empire because no real hereditary monarchy emerged, but rather the tradition of elective monarchy prevailed ''(see:

Imperial election The election of a Holy Roman Emperor was generally a two-stage process whereby the King of the Romans was elected by a small body of the greatest princes of the realm, the prince-electors. This was then followed shortly thereafter by his coronati ...

, List of royal and imperial elections in the Holy Roman Empire)'' which led to kings of very different regional origins being elected. But if they wanted to control the empire and its often rebellious regional rulers, they could not limit themselves to their home region and their private palaces. As a result, kings and emperors continued to travel around the empire well into modern times. It was only King Ferdinand I, the younger brother of the then Emperor Charles V, who moved his main residence to the Vienna

Hofburg The Hofburg () is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty in Austria. Located in the Innere Stadt, center of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century by Ottokar II of Bohemia and expanded several times afterwards. It also ser ...

in the middle of the 16th century, where most of the following Habsburg emperors subsequently resided. However, Vienna never became the official capital of the empire, just of a Habsburg hereditary state (the

Archduchy of Austria The Archduchy of Austria (; ) was a major Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire and the nucleus of the Habsburg monarchy. With its capital at Vienna, the archduchy was centered at the Empire's southeastern periph ...

). The emperors continued to travel to their elections and coronations at

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

and

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

, to the Imperial Diets (which developed from the “Hoftage”) at different places and to other occasions such as weddings, negotiations with other monarchs or military campaigns. The Perpetual Diet of Regensburg was based in

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

from 1663 to 1806. Rudolf II resided in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, the Wittelsbach emperor Charles VII in Munich.

Purpose, locations, description

Unlike the common notion of "palace", a ''pfalz'' was not a permanent residence but a place where the emperor stayed for a certain time, at most a few months; itineraries suggest that the monarch rarely would stay for longer than a few weeks, on mere transit stages often only a few days. Moreover, they were not always grand palaces in the accepted sense: some were small manor houses or fortified hunting lodges, such as Bodfeld in the

Harz The Harz (), also called the Harz Mountains, is a highland area in northern Germany. It has the highest elevations for that region, and its rugged terrain extends across parts of Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. The name ''Harz'' der ...

. But generally they were large manor houses (''Gutshöfe''), that offered catering and accommodation for the king and his companions, often running to hundreds of staff, as well as numerous guests and their staff and horses. For accommodation there were wooden outbuildings around the mostly stone main buildings. In

, such a royal manor was known as a ''villa regia'' or ''curtis regia.'' It is these expressions (and not ''pfalz'') that are mostly mentioned in contemporary Latin documents. Unlike a ''pfalz'', where the itinerant ruler stayed for a while and enacted his sovereign duties, a ''royal estate'' ''(Königshof)'' was just a farm with a smaller manor owned by the kingdom, which was occasionally used by the kings as a transit station.Michael Gockel: ''Karolingische Königshöfe am Mittelrhein.'' Verlag Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen, 1970. However, they were mostly mentioned in documents using the same Latin expressions. ''Pfalzen'' were often located near the remaining urban remnants of Roman times, the oldest cities in Germany, which were also mostly located on navigable rivers, which enabled quick and comfortable travel and also made supplies easier, mainly on the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

, Main and

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

. Old bishoprics were often located in these places, which also had the advantage that bishops were usually more loyal to the king than the dukes, who pursued their own dynastic goals. The kings even appointed the bishops, until the investiture controversy. Furthermore, such houses were often located in the countryside in the middle of royal estates or near important abbeys. ''Pfalzen'' and smaller royal manors were generally built at intervals of 30 kilometres (18 miles), which at that time corresponded to a day's journey by the royal train of horses and chariots. (Individual riders managed much longer distances on dry ground.) At a minimum, a ''pfalz'' consisted of a ''

palas A ''palas'' () is a German term for the imposing or prestigious building of a medieval '' Pfalz'' or castle that contained the great hall. Such buildings appeared during the Romanesque period (11th to 13th century) and, according to Thompson ...

'' with its Great Hall or '' Aula Regia'', an imperial

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

(''Pfalzkapelle'') and an estate (''Gutshof''). It was here that kings and emperors carried out the business of state, held their imperial court sessions, where they met with the greats of the empire at court days ''( Hoftag'') and celebrated important church festivals. The most important of them were administered by a

count palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an or ...

, who executed jurisdiction in the region in the emperor's stead. The most powerful of these counts, the Count palatine of the Rhine, would eventually rise to the title of Prince-elector of the

Electoral Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by the Electorate of Baden in 1803. From the end of the 13th century, its ruler was one of the Prince-electors who elected the Holy Roman Empero ...

. The ''pfalzen'' that the rulers visited varied depending on their function. Especially important were those palaces in which the kings spent the winter (winter palaces or ''Winterpfalzen''), where they spent several months and which therefore had to provide considerable resources and comfort, while in the summer they often only stayed for a shorter time while spending much time traveling across the country, including military campaigns, often using tent camps where there were no palaces, monasteries or cities. Other important palaces were the festival palaces (''Festtagspfalzen''),

Easter Easter, also called Pascha ( Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in t ...

being the most important and celebrated, at Easter palaces (''Osterpfalzen'' such as Quedlinburg). The larger palaces were often in

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

s that had special rights (e.g. imperial immediacy), but could also be seats of Bishop's palaces or imperial abbeys. The

Palace of Aachen The Palace of Aachen was a group of buildings with residential, political, and religious purposes chosen by Charlemagne to be the center of power of the Carolingian Empire. The palace was located in the heart of the current city of Aachen, today ...

, greatly enlarged and expanded by

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

in the 790s, enjoyed a certain exceptional status during his later reign: The first post-antique " Roman Emperor" continued to spend the summers on military campaigns, but preferred the Aachen Pfalz for the rest of the season because it had

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

s that alleviated his rheumatism. Therefore, 26 stays are documented and after 795 he only stayed in other places three times during the winter. Although it can still not be called a permanent residence, Aachen is referred to as his “favorite palace”. In the complex's Palatine Chapel, today the rotunda of Aachen Cathedral, more than 30 Roman-German kings, who saw themselves as the direct successors to Charlemagne, were crowned over a period of 600 years in front of the gold shrine with his relics. In the

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...

era of the Roman-German kingdom, important imperial princes began to demonstrate their claims to power by building their own ''pfalzen''. Important examples of these include Henry the Lion's Dankwarderode Castle in Brunswick and the Wartburg above Eisenach in Thuringia, built by the Thuringian count Louis the Springer.

End of the ''Pfalzen''

In the middle of the 13th century, after the fall of the Hohenstaufens, the royal power temporarily lapsed during the

interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of revolutionary breach of legal continuity, discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one m ...

. One weak king after another was elected, but no one was able to exercise sovereign power. Princes and bishops tried to expand their territories. They oppressed less powerful nobles, fought the urban rulers ( patricians and

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

s), illegally seized imperial fiefdoms, introduced customs duties, new taxes and even royal '' regalia''.

Feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...

s, the law of the fist and robber barons escalated. In this situation, the barely fortified ''pfalzen'' no longer offered sufficient security to the German kings. Most were abandoned, repurposed by cities or local princes, disappeared under new development or fell into disrepair. Instead of the ''pfalzen'', the heavily fortified imperial castles were built, which - unlike the ''pfalzen'', which were usually located in towns, lowlands, valleys or on river banks - were often hilltop castles like

Nuremberg Castle Nuremberg Castle () is a group of medieval fortified buildings on a sandstone ridge dominating the historical center of Nuremberg in Bavaria, Germany. The castle, together with the City walls of Nuremberg, city walls, is considered to be one ...

or Trifels Castle. Kings also liked to stay in free imperial cities loyal to them, which had long since surpassed the old imperial abbeys in prosperity. The ruling patricians of these cities not only entertained the kings generously, but - like the Augsburg merchant and banker Jakob Fugger - financed their wars with huge loans.

List of Holy Roman Imperial palaces

Examples of surviving imperial palaces may be found in the town of

Goslar Goslar (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Goslär'') is a historic town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the Goslar (district), district of Goslar and is located on the northwestern wikt:slope, slopes of the Harz ...

and at

Düsseldorf-Kaiserswerth Kaiserswerth is one of the oldest quarters of the City of Düsseldorf, part of Borough 5. It is in the north of the city and next to the river Rhine. It houses the where Florence Nightingale worked. Kaiserswerth has an area of , and 7,923 in ...

. *

* Adelberg * Aibling * Albisheim *

Altenburg Altenburg () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located south of Leipzig, west of Dresden and east of Erfurt. It is the capital of the Altenburger Land district and part of a polycentric old-industrial textile and metal production region betw ...

* Altötting * Alzey * Amorbach *

Andernach Andernach () is a town in the district of Mayen-Koblenz, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, of about 30,000 inhabitants. It is situated towards the end of the ''Neuwied basin'' on the left bank of the Rhine between the former tiny fishing village ...

Ansbach Ansbach ( , ; ) is a city in the Germany, German state of Bavaria. It is the capital of the Regierungsbezirk, administrative region of Mittelfranken, Middle Franconia. Ansbach is southwest of Nuremberg and north of Munich, on the river Fränk ...

* Arneburg * Arnstadt * Aufhausen *

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

* Balgstädt *

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia district in Bavaria, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main (river), Main. Bamberg had 79,000 inhabitants in ...

* Bardowick * Batzenhofen * Belgern * Beratzhausen * Berstadt * Biebrich * Bierstadt *

Bingen am Rhein Bingen am Rhein () is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The settlement's original name was Bingium, a Celtic languages, Celtic word that may have meant "hole in the rock", a description of the shoal behind the ...

* Böckelheim * Bodfeld * Bodman *

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

* Boppard * Boyneburg *

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( ; from Low German , local dialect: ) is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the ...

* Breisach * Breitenbach * Breitingen * Bremen * Bruchsal * Brüggen * Bürgel * Bürstadt * Buxtehude * Calbe * Cham * Eger (now Cheb) * Cochem * Corvey * Dahlen * Derenburg * Diedenhofen * Dollendorf * Donaueschingen * Donaustauf * Donauwörth * Dornburg *

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

Duisburg Duisburg (; , ) is a city in the Ruhr metropolitan area of the western States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Lying on the confluence of the Rhine (Lower Rhine) and the Ruhr (river), Ruhr rivers in the center of the Rhine-Ruh ...

Düren Düren (; Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: Düre) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between Aachen and Cologne, on the river Rur (river), Rur. History Roman era The area of Düren was part of Gallia Belgica, more specifically the ter ...

* Durlach * Ebersberg * Ebrach * Ebsdorf *

Eckartsberga Eckartsberga () is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated west of Naumburg. It is part of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") An der Finne. Since 2009 it has included the former municipa ...

* Eichstätt * Eisenberg * Eisfeld * Eisleben * Elten * Eresburg *

Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital (political), capital and largest city of the Central Germany (cultural area), Central German state of Thuringia, with a population of around 216,000. It lies in the wide valley of the Gera (river), River Gera, in the so ...

* Ermschwerd * Erwitte *

Eschwege Eschwege (), the district seat of the Werra-Meißner-Kreis, is a town in northeastern Hesse, Germany. In 1971, the town hosted the eleventh ''Hessentag'' state festival. Geography Location The town lies on a broad plain tract of the river Wer ...

Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...

Esslingen am Neckar Esslingen am Neckar (Swabian German, Swabian: ''Esslenga am Neckor''; until 16 October 1964 officially '' Eßlingen am Neckar'') is a town in the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany, seat of the Esslingen (district), Distri ...

* Ettenstatt * Etterzhausen * Eußerthal * Flamersheim * Forchheim *

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

* Freising *

Fritzlar Fritzlar () is a small town (pop. 15,000) in the Schwalm-Eder-Kreis, Schwalm-Eder district in northern Hesse, Germany, north of Frankfurt, with a storied history. The town has a medieval center ringed by a wall with numerous watch towers. high ...

* Frohse an der Elbe *

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the city hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. Histor ...

* Fürth * Gandersheim * Gebesee * Gehren * Geldersheim * Gelnhausen * Germersheim * Gernrode * Gernsheim * Gerstungen * Giebichenstein * Gieboldehausen * Giengen *

Göppingen Göppingen (; or ) is a town in southern Germany, part of the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg. It is the capital of the Goeppingen (district), district Göppingen. Göppingen is home to the toy company Märklin, and it is the birthplace ...

* Gottern * Grebenau * Grone * Großseelheim *

Günzburg Günzburg (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Genzburg'') is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is a ''Große Kreisstadt'' and the capital of the Swabian Günzburg (district), district Günzburg. This district was constituted in 1972 by combining the city ...

* Gustedt * Hahnbach an der Vils * Haina * Halberstadt * Halle * Hammerstein * Harsefeld * Harzburg * Haselbach * Hasselfelde *

Haßloch Haßloch () is a municipality in the Bad Dürkheim district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Unlike most municipalities in the district, it does not belong to any '' Verbandsgemeinde'' – a type of collective municipality. It lies near the Man ...

* Havelberg * Heidingsfeld * Heilbronn * Heiligenberg * Heiligenstadt * Heimsheim * Helfta * Helmstedt * Hemau * Herbrechtingen * Herford * Herrenbreitungen * Hersfeld * Herstelle * Herzberg * Heßloch *

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; or ; ) is a city in Lower Saxony, in north-central Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim (district), Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of t ...

* Hilwartshausen * Hirsau * Hirschaid * Hohenaltheim *

* Hohentwiel * Hohnstedt * Hollenstedt * Hornburg * Ilsenburg * Imbshausen * Ingelheim *

Ingolstadt Ingolstadt (; Austro-Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an Independent city#Germany, independent city on the Danube, in Upper Bavaria, with 142,308 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2023). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan ...

* Inning * Kaiserslautern * Kaiserswerth * Kamba *

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

* Kastel * Kaufungen * Kayna *

Kelheim Kelheim () is a town and municipality in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the Kelheim (district), district Kelheim and is situated at the confluence of the rivers Altmühl and Danube. Kelheim has a population of around 16,750 (2020). His ...

* Kelsterbach * Kessel * Kirchberg *

Kirchen Kirchen (Sieg) is a town and Luftkurort (climatic spa) in the district of Altenkirchen (district), Altenkirchen in the north of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated on the river Sieg (river), Sieg, approx. 12 km southwest of Siegen. A ...

* Kirchohsen * Kissenbrück * Kissingen * Kitzingen *

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

Köln Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

* Komburg * Königsdahlum * Königslutter * Konstanz * Kostheim * Kraisdorf * Kreuznach * Ladenburg * Lampertheim * Langen * Langenau *

Langenzenn Langenzenn is a town in the Fürth (district), district of Fürth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated 15 km west of Fürth. The town lies on the river Zenn (river), Zenn and has a population of 10,339 (31 December 2012). Geography It bel ...

* Laufen * Lauffen am Neckar * Lautertal (Oberfranken) * Leisnig * Leitzkau * Lichtenberg * Limburg an der Haardt * Lingen * Lippeham * Lippspringe * Lonnerstadt * Lonsheim * Lorch * Lorsch * Lustenau * Lügde *

Lüneburg Lüneburg, officially the Hanseatic City of Lüneburg and also known in English as Lunenburg, is a town in the German Bundesland (Germany), state of Lower Saxony. It is located about southeast of another Hanseatic League, Hanseatic city, Hambur ...

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; ; ; ) is a city and a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital city, capital and largest city of the province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. Maastricht is loca ...

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

* Markgröningen * Mecklenburg * Meißen * Memleben *

Memmingen Memmingen (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Memmenge'') is a town in Swabia (Bavaria), Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is the economic, educational and administrative centre of the Danube-Iller region. To the west the town is flanked by the Iller, the ...

* Mengen * Mering * Merseburg *

Minden Minden () is a middle-sized town in the very north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the largest town in population between Bielefeld and Hanover. It is the capital of the district () of Minden-Lübbecke, situated in the cultural region ...

* Mindersdorf * Mirsdorf * Mögeldorf * Moosburg * Mörfelden * Mosbach * Mötsch *

Mühlhausen Mühlhausen () is a town in the north-west of Thuringia, Germany, north of Niederdorla, the country's Central Germany (geography)#Geographical centre, geographical centre, north-west of Erfurt, east of Kassel and south-east of Göttingen ...

* Münden * Münnerstadt *

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

* Münstereifel * Nabburg * Nanstein * Nattheim * Naumburg * Neuburg * Neudingen *

Neuenburg Castle (Freyburg) Neuenburg Castle (German language, German: ''Schloss Neuenburg'') is a hilltop castle in the south of the Germany, German state of Saxony-Anhalt, on the spur-like foothills of a plateau above the eastern bank of the river Unstrut. Below the castle ...

* Neuhausen *

Neuss Neuss (; written ''Neuß'' until 1968; ; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Düsseldorf. Neuss is the largest city within the Rhein-Kreis Neuss district. It is primarily known for its ...

* Niederalteich * Nienburg * Nierstein * Nijmegen * Nordhausen * Northeim * Nürnberg * Nußdorf * Obertheres * Ochsenfurt * Oferdingen * Ohrdruf * Ohrum * Oppenheim * Oschersleben * Osnabrück * Osterhausen * Osterhofen * Osterode * Paderborn *

Passau Passau (; ) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the ("City of Three Rivers"), as the river Danube is joined by the Inn (river), Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's population is about 50,000, of whom ...

* Pegau * Peiting *

Pforzheim Pforzheim () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city of over 125,000 inhabitants in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, in the southwest of Germany. It is known for its jewelry and watch-making industry, and as such has gained the ...

* Pöhlde * Pondorf * Prüm * Quedlinburg * Ramspau * Rasdorf *

* Rehme * Reibersdorf * Reichenau * Rheinbach * Riekofen * Ritteburg *

Rochlitz Rochlitz (; , ) is a major district town (Große Kreisstadt) in the district of Mittelsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. Rochlitz is the head of the "municipal partnership Rochlitz" (Verwaltungsgemeinschaft Rochlitz) with its other members being the mu ...

* Rodach * Roding * Rohr * Rommelhausen * Rösebeck * Rosenburg *

Rothenburg ob der Tauber Rothenburg ob der Tauber () is a town located in the district of Ansbach (district), Ansbach of Mittelfranken (Middle Franconia), the Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. It is well known for its well-preserved Middle Ages, medieval old town, a d ...

* Rottweil * Rüdesheim * Rülzheim * Saalfeld * Säckingen * Salz * Salzwedel * Samswegen * Sankt Goar * Sasbach am Kaiserstuhl * Schattbuch * Schienen * Schierling * Schöningen * Schüller * Schwäbisch Gmünd * Schwäbisch Hall * Schwarzenbruck * Schwarzrheindorf * See, Gem. Lupburg * Seehausen * Seidmannsdorf * Seinstedt * Seligenstadt * Sinzig * Siptenfelde * Soest * Sohlingen * Sömmeringen * Sontheim an der Brenz *

Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ; ; ), historically known in English as Spires, is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in the western part of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the r ...

* Stadtamhof * Staffelsee * StallbaumOrtsteil Stallbaum
/ref> * Steele * Stegaurach *

Tangermünde Tangermünde (; ) is a historic town on the Elbe River in the district of Stendal (district), Stendal, in the northeastern part of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The town has land area of around 89.87 sq.km (34.70 sq.mi) and a population of 10,283 people ...

* Tauberbischofsheim * Tennstedt * Thangelstedt * Thingau * Thorr * Thüngen * Tilleda * Treben * Trebur * Treis *

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

* Trifels *

Überlingen Überlingen (; ) is a German city on the northern shore of Lake Constance (Bodensee) in Baden-Württemberg near the German-Swiss border, border with Switzerland. After the city of Friedrichshafen, it is the second-largest city in the Bodenseek ...

* Ulm *

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

Vaihingen an der Enz Vaihingen an der Enz (, ) is a town located between Stuttgart and Karlsruhe, in southern Germany, on the western periphery of the Stuttgart Region. Vaihingen is situated on the river Enz, and has a population of around 30,000. The former distric ...

* Velden * Verden * Vilich * Villmar * Vlatten * Völklingen * Vreden * Wadgassen * Wahren * Waiblingen * Walbeck * Waldsassen *

Walldorf Walldorf (; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Walldoaf'') is a town in the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district in the States of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. In the eighteenth century, Walldorf was the birthplace of John J ...

* Wallhausen * Wallhausen * Wechmar * Weilburg *

Weinheim Weinheim (; ) is a town with about 43,000 inhabitants in northwest Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is in the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region, approximately north of Heidelberg and northeast of Mannheim. Weinheim is known as the "Zwei-Burgen-Sta ...

* Weinsberg * Weisenau * Weißenburg * Werben * Werden * Werla * Wiedenbrück * Wiehe *

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

* Wiesloch * Wildeshausen * Wimpfen * Winterbach * Wölfis *

Worms The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

* Wurzen *

Xanten Xanten (, Low Rhenish: ''Santen'') is a town in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the district of Wesel. Xanten is known for the Archaeological Park, one of the largest archaeological open air museums in the ...

Zeitz Zeitz (; , ) is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated on the river White Elster, in the triangle of the federal states Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Saxony. History First a Slavic pagan settlem ...

* Zülpich * Zusmarshausen * Zutphen

References

Literature

* Adolf Eggers: ''Der königliche Grundbesitz im 10. und beginnenden 11. Jahrhundert'', H. Böhlaus Nachfolger, 1909 * Lutz Fenske: ''Deutsche Königspfalzen: Beiträge zu ihrer historischen und archäologischen Erforschung, Zentren herrschaftlicher Repräsentation im Hochmittelalter: Geschichte Architektur und Zeremoniell'', by the Max Planck Institute of History, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1963, * Paul Grimm: ''Stand und Aufgaben des archäologischen Pfalzenforschung in den Bezirken Halle und Magdeburg'', Akademie-Verlag, 1961 * Günther Binding: ''Deutsche Königspfalzen, Von Karl dem Großen bis Friedrich II. (765–1240).'' Darmstadt, 1996, . * Alexander Thon: ''Barbarossaburg, Kaiserpfalz, Königspfalz oder Casimirschloss?'' Studien zu Relevanz und Gültigkeit des Begriffes „Pfalz“ im Hochmittelalter anhand des Beispiels (Kaisers-)Lautern. In: ''Kaiserslauterer Jahrbuch für pfälzische Geschichte und Volkskunde.'' Kaiserslautern, 1.2001, , pp. 109–144. * Alexander Thon: ''... ut nostrum regale palatium infra civitatem vel in burgo eorum non hedificent.'' Studies of relevance and validity to do with the term "Pfalz" for the research of castles of the 12th and 13th centuries in: ''Burgenbau im 13. Jahrhundert.'' pub. by the Wartburg-Gesellschaft for the research of castles and palaces along with the Germanic National Museum. Research into castles and palaces. Vol. 7.

Deutscher Kunstverlag The Deutscher Kunstverlag (DKV) is an educational publishing house with offices in Berlin and Munich. The publisher specializes in books about art, cultural history, architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and bu ...

, Munich, 2002, , pp. 45–72. * Gerhard Streich: ''Burg und Kirche während des deutschen Mittelalters. Untersuchungen zur Sakraltopographie von Pfalzen, Burgen und Herrensitzen'', 2 Vols., published by the Constance Working Group for Medieval History, Thorbecke-Verlag, 1984, . {{Authority control Monarchy of the Holy Roman Empire Castles in Germany