Knight Bernhard, founder of the sovereign city of Hullsburg, was a nobleman of the Empire. When the Empire declared war on the Kingdom of Irendille in the year 640, it was outraged by the emperor's decision. He therefore preferred to go into exile rather than participate in a war, unjust and aimless according to his assessment.

In the year 645, he fortified the new city of Hullsburg with members of his family, friends and retinue. Little by little, the city was able to attract merchants eager to avoid heavy imperial taxes, and many people eager to be forgotten by the Empire. In the year 655, Bernhard was appointed ruler of the city, which was growing in demographic and economic importance. Bernhard II, Bernhard's son, established the title of Count, transmitted within the ruling family ever since. Under the reign of Bernhard II, the city seriously took off: it was then that Hullsburg developed into a real trading city.