Bamberg lies at the centre of the former Bavarian Nordgau at the confluence of the Regnitz and the Main, surrounded by a forested and hilly landscape

West of Bamberg, the countryside known as the Steigerwald provided the castle and town with victuals and a lush landscape of hunting. This landscape constituted the core of Bamberg’s backyard. To the east lay the Frankenwald, the marches, which was the castellated domain of Henry of Schweinfurt. Later, this became the domain of the new diocese, Heinrich II established in 1007.

The Steigerwald

The Steigerwald is cut through by numerous small rivers and streams flowing down from the western hilly crests while eroding the ridges and steep valleys to feed the Regnitz and its riverine landscape to the east. Later sources list 26 royal farms and 25 royal churches.

To the north and west lay the march governed until 1003 by Henry of Schweinfurt, the Margrave of the Nordgau.

After 1007, the new diocese took over the secular authority of the Bavarian Nordgau. However, the” old” backyard of Bamberg, the Steigerwald, was first presented to the Bishops of Würzburg as compensation for the establishment of the new diocese of Bamberg in 1023. Likely, the King kept his backyard as a favourite hunting ground. However, due to these historical shifts, several diplomas and other texts provide details of this landscape’s appearance.

Even today, the landscape is characterised by escarpments, hills, and valleys, shaped by erosion over millions of years and rolling softly down from 470 to 200 meters above sea level. The soil, which differs from sand to loam and clay, continues to provide widespread possibilities for a mixture of vineyards, forestry, and arable farming. To the west, on the top of the hilly ridge, lay a series of prehistorical and later medieval fortifications called the “Burgenkette” of “Castellwald”.

Today, the Steigerwald Nature Park is aiming for National Park Status.

Roudeshof or Lindinlog

Several of these early fortified settlements from the 7th- and 8th-centuries Mainfranken have been archaeologically excavated. Thus, approximately 250 fortifications in Northern Bavaria have been archaeologically identified, albeit only 30 of these are mentioned in the written sources.

Roudeshof is the old name for such a royal fortified site near Gerolzhofen, a town in the district of Schweinfurt. From 2007¬–to 2012, the site was the object of several archaeological excavations aiming to uncover the place’s historical significance from a long-term perspective. More than 2100 m2 were excavated, while nearly 8 ha were studied from a natural historical perspective. Also, a collection of written sources documenting a history reaching back into the Frankish expansion in the 7th and 8th centuries was studied closely.

The site was ditched and walled. Thus, excavations uncovered a walled ditch, which was ten meters wide and four meters deep, and surrounded the fortified site. Inside the compound, the excavations revealed an east-west stone building 14 meters wide and initially at least 40 meters long, which had been continuously rebuilt on the same site since the early 10th century (radiocarbon-dated AD 926+/- 27). The building appears to have included both secular and sacral parts (the latter was located to the east).  Inside the fortifications at Roudeshof, archaeologists found burned remains of rye, “einkorn”, emmer, spelt, and wheat.

The plan is comparable to other such Ottonian palaces and castles. One exmple of a hall connected with a chapel or church at one end has been partially excavated in Bamberg at the Castrum Babenberh, the predecessor of the later Bamberg. This hall measured 13 x 20 m.

The building has been identified as part of a series of fortifications raised by Heinrich of Schweinfurt. Around 1000, the complex was hit by a catastrophe that might be understood as part of the Schweinfurter Feud.

The place may also have been known as the Lindinlog, mentioned in the Chronicle of Thietmar in 994.

In 1007, the fortified place became part of the compensation received by the bishops of Würzburg when Bamberg’s diocese was founded. When the rebuilding after the destruction around 1000 took place, the bishop of Würzburg extended the palace 20 meters to the west.

How should we envisage the building? It was a hall with two floors and covered with a flat roof. It must have been complicated and expensive to source such long spans. The floor was set with stone, and the walls were painted red. To the east, the chapel was decorated with cornices.

Likely, the area was a favoured hunting ground for Henry II, which may explain why the Steigerwald was not donated to Würzburg until 1023 (Gesellschaft für ältere deutsche Geschichtskunde, MGH DD H II, Nr. 496.). Kings were avid hunters, and the donation specifically lists stags and does, wild boars and roe deer.

Frankenwald

Across the River Regnitz, to the east and north, lay the marches of Schweinfurt, today better known as the Frankenwald. This landscape was heavily castellated and marked by numerous fortified sites. Bordering Poland and Bohemia, this part of Germany was intended to cushion Northeastern Bavaria from Slavic raids.

The Margrave Hezilo had supported Henry II in the early days, and been promised the Duchy of Bavaria as recompense. Henry, however, had reneged on the agreement, which led to the rebellion called the Schweinefurter Feud, which ended so dismally in the wilder landscape in Mainfranken, when Henry successfully besieged the castle at Creussen and drove the margrave up into the wilderness in the borderland between Poland, Bohemia, and Germany. Ultimately, Henry was forgiven for his rebellion after being incarcerated at the castle in Giebichenstein. The Duchy of Bavaria, though, was given to the King’s brother-in-law, and the Schweinfurter Margraves did not regain a position of power until the mid-11th century.

The King… forced him to retire to the more secluded part of a certain valley. Through the loose tongue of a peasant, the guards discovered where he was laying out his camp. Secretly proceeding there in the midday heat, they called their companions together by shouting Kyrie Eleison as soon as they saw the tents and recognised the camp. The enemy fled, leaving everything behind. (Thietmar)

Hiking through the Frankenwald today, it is possible to experience secluded forested valleys such as the one near Creussen, in which the margrave Henry of Schweinfurt  tried to hide when his rebellion against the new King erupted in 1003.

Salz in Frankenwald

To the north of Bamberg lies Bad Neustadt, where a royal palace was built at the Veitsberg ca. 700-800. During the reigns of Charlemagne and Louis the Pious, the place was known as a significant outpost to the east, welcoming both emperors occasionally. Written sources document a complex from the 9th century comprising a fortified site on the Veitsberg, ditched and surrounded by an impressive stone wall.

To the settlement, a small town, Mühlstadt, housing craftsmen and artisans. Further out, villages and farms were part of the wider settlement. Although the site appears to have been abandoned after the Schweinfurter Feud, excavations have yielded invaluable information on the practicalities of living around the year 1000.

Thus, Excavations have shown that the elite living or visiting the Veitsberg palace enjoyed wild animals. More than 50 wild species were represented in the excavated collections of bones, whereas only six might be found in the villages. However, the elite also enjoyed a larger amount of wilder animals than ordinary people. To be precise, 13% of the meat served compared to 4-5% in the villages.

Much of this meat would have been served as roasts or boiled with sauces and bread baked from rye, wheat, emmer, and spelt and served with broad beans, roots, lentils, peas, poppies, apples, pears, figs, almonds, strawberries, and mustard.

SOURCES:

Vor 1000 Jahren. Leben am Hof von Kunigunde und Heinrich II.
Ed. By Kritin Knebel et al: Schnell & Steiner 2024
Schneider, Erich (Hrsg.), Vor 1000 Jahren-Die Schweinfurter Fehde und die Landschaft am Obermain 1003

Vom Königshof Roudeshof zur Bischofspfalz Lyndeloch – Ein mittelalterlicher Zentralort Süddeutschlands im Fokus archä- ologisch-historischer Forschung
By Eike Henning Michl (2016)
In: Römer – Baiern – Franken. Archäologie, Namenforschung, Sprachgeschichte im Main-Donau-Raum. By Eike Henning Michl (2016) pp 229-273

Siedlung – Landschaft – Wirtschaft. Aktuelle Forschungen zur frühmittelalterlichen Pfalzbegiet Salz (Unterfranken).
By Claudia Zey et al.
Jena, Langenwissbach 2012

VISIT:

Pfalzgebiet Salz. Lebensraum für Könige.