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Weißensee was famous in the Middle Ages for its minstrels. Landgrave Hermann I of Thuringia (1190 – 1217) was one of the greatest patrons of minstrelsy. It is no wonder that Walther von der Vogelweide, who composed his famous “Meissen Proverbs” before Weißensee, praised Hermann as the “flower of Thuringia”, which even shines in the snow. The historically attested presence of Hermann I in the “castrum wiszense” makes the castle and town of Weißensee a venue for medieval poetry. However, Walther von der Vogelweide was only one well-known representative of his art. Wolfram von Eschenbach, who mentions a trebuchet in his “Willehalm”, and Heinrich von Veldeke can also be imagined in Weißensee.
Weißensee itself also produced famous minstrels. For example, the “virtuous scribe” mentioned in the Singers’ War is a ministerial named Heinrich von Weißensee. Another singer is Heinrich Hetzbold von Weißensee, who was bailiff at Runneburg Castle. Hetzbold is mentioned several times in documents between 1306 and 1345. His name (Hetzbold = the hunter) is associated with hunting, as a miniature in the Great Heidelberg Song Manuscript (Codex Manesse) shows. Another Weissensee minstrel could have been the “Düring”, who is also recorded in the Codex Manesse.
In the legend of the Singers’ War, historical minstrels such as Walther von der Vogelweide and Wolfram von Eschenbach come together with fictional characters such as Klingsor in a poetic contest at the court of Landgrave Hermann I of Thuringia. The Singers’ War is certainly a collection of Middle High German song poems that were written in the 13th century and later developed further. If we assume that there was a large meeting of important singers at the court of Herrmann I, then it must have taken place at Weißensee Castle. With its impressive size, the castle’s palace was certainly the most popular “event location” of its time. The fact that many people today assume that the Singers’ War took place at Wartburg Castle is based solely on an idea by Richard Wagner. If it did exist, it would certainly have taken place here in Weißensee.
