Station: [4] The city

The First Crusade changed the world – and our Picture Tour “The city” will explain how exactly it did that. It covers the time between 1100 and 1300 AD. We will tell you how the range of experiences of medieval people was expanded on the grounds of the Crusades and how this resulted in a change in trading and monetary matters.

In so doing, we will also trace the rise of towns. Towns were a result of the nobility’s desire to exchange agricultural products for goods and to increase their wealth on the basis of the taxes they levied. Wealth did not only manifest itself in property but also money. The foundation of power had changed. Land had been distributed. An ambitious ruler now needed money to reward his knights for their military service.

This Picture Tour will show you how territorial lords came into this money and what role the town played in this context. Lords and towns and their respective prosperity were dependent on each other in this era.