played a central role in the settlement. This road increased further in importance during the Merovingian era because it linked Metz, the capital of the eastern part of the empire, Austrasia, with the Upper Rhine region. During the Saxon Wars, Charlemagne used Worms as an assembly area for his troops, because there, near the Palatinate, was sufficient room and plentiful supplies for large armies. Around 900, Eisbach is mentioned in the Wormser wall-building ordinance as one of the places that shared responsibility for maintaining the city wall of Worms. The water power of the Eisbach was already being used in the Middle Ages to drive water mills, such as the Papiermühle ("Paper Mill") in Quirnheim-Tal, the Krausmühle ("Kraus Mill") and the Schiffermühle ("Boatman's Mill") in Albsheim or the Stegmühle ("Pier Mill") in Offstein. The first record of a mill on the Eisbach dates to the year 766. But even in Roman times water mills were known and were used in the Germanic provincest. There were numerous mills on the Eisbach. Before the town was destroyed in 1689 the stream drove eleven mills alone in Worms itself and within one hour's walk from Worms upstream there were another nineteen mills. The Eisbach was well suited for mills thanks to its very constant flow of water. Even in longer periods of drought, the Eis had sufficient water, unlike its northern neighbour, the Pfrimm. On the Eisbach grasslands near Heppenheim a king encamped with his army twice during the 13th century. In August 1250, King Conrad IV made his quarters for six days here following the battle against William of Holland. About fifty years later during the dispute over the throne between King Adolphus of Nassau and Duke Albert of Austria the decisive Battle of Göllheim took place. Immediately before the battle King Adolphus camped for several days from 1 July 1298 with his cavalry army near Heppenheim and Wiesoppenheim. Dort fand er für seine Streitmacht, die auf etwa 5.000 Mann - vorwiegend Reiter - geschätzt wird, on the fields by the Eisbach where there was extensive pasture. The Wimpfen Chronicle mentions explicitly the lush meadows near Heppenheim. After King Adolphus had falle in the Battle of Göllheim on 2 July 1298, his victor, Albert of Austria, refused to let him be buried in Speyer Cathedral. So Adolphus' body was initially interred in the Cistercian convent of Rosenthal, which lay left of the