Wolfstein, Rhineland-Palatinate
Wolfstein was founded in 1275 on Habsburg King Rudolph I's orders, which called for a “fortified and free” town near his castle, “Woluisstein”, now known as the "Alt-Wolfstein" (“Old Wolfstein”) ruin. Rudolph forthwith granted the new town the same town rights and freedoms as the town of Speyer. As an “everlasting marketplace”, it was to be a sanctuary for commerce, trade and dealing. The first townsmen and -women came from the surrounding, much older villages.
Wolfsburg Castle
The reason for the construction of the "Wolfsburg" was the enfeoffment of land in the area of the present-day city of Wolfsburg to the noble family of von Bartensleben in the 13th century. These knights also watched over the trade routes where they crossed the River Aller and that entailed the construction of a fortification to protect their lordship. The first definite record of the castle was in 1302 where it is referred to as the "Wluesborch". The document is made out by the four brothers: Borchard, Günzel, Günter and Werner von Bartensleben. They were a "ministerialis" family (unfree knights), who came from the village of Bartensleben near Helmstedt. Their family members appeared at that time in the region, including in 1288 at the castle in Vorsfelde. In addition there is another record dating to 1135, but it is not clear whether this refers to the Wolfsburg or a predecessor castle. Emperor Lothar III then awarded the newly founded Benedictine abbey of "Kaiserdom Königslutter" with diversified estates, including a "Wulvosburg", that is named in connexion with the village of "Käsdorf".