Modern-day Germany was inhabited by Germanic tribes until the 6th Century AD, when the Merovingian kings of Gaul arrived in the area and conquered several of them. Thus the tribes were brought under the authority of dukes of mixed native and Frankish blood. Gauls began to migrate to the new territories, as well. Over time, the tribes were converted to Christianity.

The Anglo-Saxon monk Boniface led the missionary movement in the Merovingian kingdom. He founded the first monastery at Fritzlar, east of the Rhine River. Churches under the authority of the Pope were established to spread Christianity in the Germanic lands.

In the second half of the 8th Century, King Charlemagne’s empire extended into west Germanic territories, including the Bavarians and Saxons. After the emperor’s death, his successors partitioned the territory and the German empire grew out of East Francia, the eastern Frankish kingdom. Duke Henry of Saxony, who later became king, united the Germanic populations (Saxons, Bavarians, Swabians and Franks) in 919.

Otto I was crowned the German king in 936. He established a national church and strengthened his rule by appointing abbots and bishops as princes. He became Holy Roman Emperor in 962, establishing German influence over the Pope. German territory continued to expand eastward in the years that followed.

Orders of knights were established in the age of the Holy Crusades (1096 – 1291). After 1100, new towns began to develop around castles, abbeys and imperial strongholds. These towns attained certain rights and freedoms, known as German town laws. Several cities were granted the title of Imperial Free City and were directly subject to the emperor from then on. They were ruled by wealthy merchants. Gradually, the authority of the craftsmen’s guilds increased. Trade links with the north and east were enhanced and the centers of trade were united in the Hanseatic League. These towns were referred to as Hanseatic Cities.