Hermann von Salza was born to a dynasty of ministeriales of the Thuringian landgraves, probably at Dryburg Castle in Langensalza. With Landgrave Louis III of Thuringia he may have already taken part in the 1189/91 Siege of Acre, where the Teutonic Order was founded. He possibly also joined Landgrave Hermann I and the Henneberg count Otto von Botenlauben on the Crusade of 1197 and witnessed the coronation of King Amalric II of Jerusalem. The crusade was aborted upon the death of Emperor Henry VI, whereafter the Teutonic Knights were re-established as a military order under Grand Master Heinrich Walpot von Bassenheim to secure the conquered estates of the Holy Land. The precise time of Hermann's entry into the Order is unknown, but he first appears as Grand Master at the coronation of Count John of Brienne as King of Jerusalem in 1210. As such he may have spent some time in the Mediterranean Sea region during the first year of his rule. During this period the activities of the Knights were extended from Spain to Livonia.