Kaiserslautern

The Rhineland-Palatinate city of Kaiserslautern, with a population of just under 100,000 (2021), came into being as a result of the expansion of a castle built around 1100 by Frederick I Barbarossa, but was not granted city rights until 1276. The town was already a royal court in Carolingian times, and the region was already settled about 7,000 years ago. The Romans also established an important camp here, to which remains of buildings still bear witness. The name of the town first appears in 1322 as "Keyserslutern" in a document of Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian. The townscape bears witness to the great past: Remains of the Barbarossa Castle with Casimir Hall have been preserved, and the Collegiate Church and St. Martin's Church date from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.