The date and circumstances of the town's foundation are unknown. Tradition maintains that Braunschweig was created through the merger of two settlements, one founded by Brun(o), a Saxon count who died in 880, on one side of the river Oker � the legend gives the year 861 for the foundation � and the other the settlement of a legendary Count Dankward, after whom Dankwarderode Castle (Dankward's clearing), which was reconstructed in the 19th century, is named. The town's original name of Brunswik is a combination of the name Bruno and Low German wik, a place where merchants rested and stored their goods. The town's name therefore indicates an ideal resting-place, as it lay by a ford across the Oker River. Another explanation of the city's name is that it comes from Brand, or burning, indicating a place which developed after the landscape was cleared through burning. The city was first mentioned in documents from the St. Magni Church from 1031, which give the city's name as Brunesguik.
Up to the 12th century Braunschweig was ruled by the Saxon noble family of the Brunonen, then, through marriage, it fell to the House of Welf. In 1142 Henry the Lion of the House of Welf became Duke of Saxony and made Braunschweig the capital of his state (which, from 1156 on, also included the Duchy of Bavaria). He turned Dankwarderode Castle, the residence of the counts of Braunschweig, into his own Pfalz and developed the city further to represent his authority. Under Henry's rule the Cathedral of St. Blasius was built and he also had the statue of a lion, his heraldic animal, erected in front of the castle. The lion subsequently became the city's landmark.
Henry the Lion became so powerful that he dared to refuse military aid to the emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, which led to his condemnation and fall. However, his son Otto (IV), who could regain influence and was eventually crowned Holy Roman Emperor, continued to foster the city's development.
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