Kaiserslautern – An emperor’s favourite spot?

Did emperors have a favourite spot?

Rumour has it that Frederick I. Barbarossa loved Kaiserslautern. It’s where he built an Imperial Palace. You can still visit the ruins of this Kaiserpfalz north of the historic city centre of Kaiserslautern. 

Gaining Importance

Lautern, as it used to be called, was a “Pfalz” like many others. It offered a place to stay for the travelling king and his court. The Merovingians built the first royal palace. The small settlement prospered and slowly turned into a city. Temporarily with the right to hold markets. The dynasty of Hohenstaufen took Lautern to a whole new level. They wanted to expand their power in the Rhine Region. Lautern became their base. And an economic and political hub of the Middle Ages.

You can visit another castle of the Hohenstaufen era. Hohenecken Castle sits on the Schlossberg, only a short walk from the city centre. It was built to protect the imperial palace, the Kaiserpfalz.

Loss of Influence

In the late Middle Ages the emperor’s position was undermined by the growing power of the princes of the Holy Roman Empire. And the Kaiserpfalz Lautern had to face the consequences: The dynasty of Hohenstaufen no longer ruled. And Lautern lost influence. Temporarily it became a free imperial city. Today it bears the name “Kaiserslautern”. This name was first mentioned in a document in 1322.  And translates literally as  “The emperor’s Lautern”.

Would you like to know more about Kaiserslautern in the Middle Ages? Visit the special exhibition at the Kaiserpfalz called “Built for Frederick I. Barbarossa”.

https://www.kaiserslautern.de/tourismus_freizeit_kultur/tourismus/sehenswertes/bauten_denkmaeler_brunnen/kaiserpfalz/index.html.en