Heinrich Walpot Von Bassenheim
Heinrich Walpot Von Bassenheim;H. Walpot
Place: Mainz
Death: 1200
Biography:
Heinrich Walpot von Bassenheim was the first Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights serving from 1198 to sometime before 1208. He hailed from a rich family from Mainz and was in favour of turning the organisation into a military order. The death of the Hohenstaufen emperor Heinrich VI in 1197 caused an important change in the Teutonic Order. They were incorporated as an independent military order in 1198 under the direction of Heinrich Walpot von Bassenheim and received privileges from popes Celestine III and Innocent III.
