Saint Kilian
From 100 AD onwards control of the area changed hands several times between different "tribes" (Suevi, Marcomanni, Allemanni, Burgundians), before the area was taken by the Franks in the 6th century. Würzburg became the occasional seat of a Franconian-Thuringian duke under the Merovingians. His court resided on the right bank of the Main, however. In the 7th century, a written document mentioned "Uburzi" (which later became "Virteburch" and then "Würzburg"), referring to the fortification on the hill. The name "Marienberg" was in use only from high medieval times onward. After missionary work in the area led by Saint Kilian in the late 7th century, in the early 8th century, the Franks under Duke Hedan II constructed a chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary and a fortification (earth ramparts and half-timbered houses) on the hill. The chapel – probably built at the site of a former pagan holy site dedicated to some mother goddess – and later churches that replaced it, was the reason why eventually hill and fortress became known as "Marienberg" ("Mary's Mount"). This likely was the first Christian church built of stone north of the Alps outside of the territory formerly controlled by Rome (i.e. east of the Rhine and on the far side of the Limes).