 In 1143 it went by marriage to Franconian earl Rapoto von Abenberg, "Stiftsvogt" of Bamberg, who sold it in 1148 to Duke Friedrich III of Schwaben who later became known as Emperor Barbarossa.The latter made the castle in 1158 an imperial property, tied to the office of the Emperor and enfeoffed to the Burgraves of Leisnig.As such, it became a governing centre of the Imperial Territory of Pleißenland.