Altenburg

Altenburg stands on the Pleisse in the fertile Osterland, where low hills and open farmland form the eastern edge of Thuringia. The river supplied water and mills, roads crossed toward Leipzig and Bohemia, and the surrounding fields supported a substantial rural population. A Slavic castle on the Schlossberg guarded the crossing before the German town developed.

Altenburg was first mentioned in a deed of 976. Its position on the Via Imperii between Halle and Cheb made it part of the salt trade, while the Hohenstaufen emperors made the town an imperial palatinate during the twelfth century. Frederick Barbarossa visited several times and encouraged building around the market. A mint, priory and parish church developed under imperial patronage.

The Augustinian monastery’s twin towers, known as the Red Spires, survive from the twelfth century, and a wall with five gates enclosed the town by about 1200. After the defeat at Lucka in 1307, the Wettin margraves gained Altenburg and the Pleisse lands. The town remained a regional residence and market center, combining imperial roads, crafts and fertile agriculture. Craftsmen and merchants gathered around its market.