The House of Hohenzollern is a formerly royal German dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenburg, Prussia, the German Empire, and Romania. The family came from the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the late 11th century and took their name from Hohenzollern Castle. The first ancestors of the Hohenzollerns were mentioned in 1061.
Albrecht III was Elector of Brandenburg from 1471 until his death, the third from the House of Hohenzollern. A member of the Order of the Swan, he received the cognomen Achilles because of his knightly qualities and virtues. He also ruled in the Franconian principalities of Ansbach from 1440 and Kulmbach from 1464.
Frederick was the last Burgrave of Nuremberg from 1397 to 1427, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach from 1398, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach from 1420, and Elector of Brandenburg from 1415 until his death. He became the first member of the House of Hohenzollern to rule the Margraviate of Brandenburg.
The Principality or Margraviate of (Brandenburg) Ansbach was a free imperial principality in the Holy Roman Empire centered on the Franconian city of Ansbach. The ruling Hohenzollern princes of the land were known as margraves, as their ancestors were margraves.
The Principality of Bayreuth or Margraviate of Brandenburg-Bayreuth was an immediate territory of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a Franconian branch of the Hohenzollern dynasty. Since Burgrave Frederick VI of Nuremberg was enfeoffed with the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1415/17, the Hohenzollern princes transferred the margravial title to their Franconian possessions, though the principality never had been a march. Until 1604 they used Plassenburg Castle in Kulmbach as their residence, hence their territory was officially called the Principality of Kulmbach or Margraviate of Brandenburg-Kulmbach until the Empire's dissolution in 1806.
The German Emperor was the official title of the head of state and hereditary ruler of the German Empire. A specifically chosen term, it was introduced with the 1 January 1871 constitution and lasted until the abdication of Wilhelm II was announced on 9 November 1918. The Holy Roman Emperor is sometimes also called "German Emperor" when the historical context is clear, as derived from the Holy Roman Empire's official name of "Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation" from 1512.
Plassenburg is a castle in the city of Kulmbach in Bavaria. It is one of the most impressive castles in Germany and a symbol of the city. It was first mentioned in 1135. The Plassenberg family were ministerial of the counts of Andechs and used as their seat the Plassenburg. The House of Guttenberg, a prominent Franconian noble family, traces its origins back to 1149 with a Gundeloh v. Blassenberg (Plassenberg). The name Guttenberg is derived from Guttenberg and was adopted by a Heinrich von Blassenberg around 1310. From 1340, the Hohenzollerns governed from Plassenburg castle their territories in Franconia till 1604. The Plassenburg was fortress and residence for the Hohenzollerns.
Frederick I, the Belligerent or the Warlike, a member of the House of Wettin, ruled as Margrave of Meissen from 1407 and Elector of Saxony from 1423 until his death.
Frederick V of Nuremberg was a Burgrave (Burggraf) of Nuremberg, of the House of Hohenzollern.
John II of Nuremberg was a Burgrave of Nuremberg from the House of Hohenzollern. He was the elder son of Frederick IV of Nuremberg and Margarete of Görz.
Frederick IV was Burgrave of Nuremberg from 1300, until his death in 1332. He was the younger son of Burgrave Frederick III from his second marriage with the Ascanian princess Helene of Saxony.
Frederick III of Nuremberg, Burgrave of Nuremberg from the House of Hohenzollern, was the eldest son of Conrad I of Nuremberg and Adelheid of Frontenhausen.
Conrad I of Nuremberg was a Burgrave of Nuremberg of the House of Hohenzollern. He was the elder son of Frederick I of Nuremberg and Sophie of Raabs.
Friedrich I of Nuremberg, the first Burgrave of Nuremberg from the House of Hohenzollern. He was the younger son of Count Friedrich II of Zollern, and became Count of Zollern as Friedrich III after the death of his other male relatives.
The Burgraviate of Nuremberg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire from the early 12th to the late 15th centuries. As a burgraviate, it was a county seated in the town of Nuremberg; almost two centuries passed before the burgraviate lost power over the city, which became independent from 1219. Eventually, the burgraviate was partitioned to form Brandenburg-Ansbach and Brandenburg-Bayreuth.
The state of Prussia developed from the State of the Teutonic Order. The original flag of the Teutonic Knights had been a black cross on a white flag. Emperor Frederick II in 1229 granted them the right to use the black Eagle of the Holy Roman Empire. This "Prussian Eagle" remained the coats of arms of the successive Prussian states until 1947.
Elisabeth of Meissen, Burgravine of Nuremberg was the daughter of Frederick II, Margrave of Meissen and Mathilde of Bavaria and a member of the House of Wettin.
Berthold VII, Count of Henneberg-Schleusingen was Count of Henneberg- Schleusingen from 1284 to 1340. He was the son of Count Berthold V of Henneberg-Schleusingen and his wife Sophie of Schwarzburg, the daughter of Count Günther VII of Schwarzburg. He was confirmed as Imperial Prince by Emperor Henry VI in 1310.
Adolph I, Count of Nassau-Wiesbaden-Idstein was a son of Count Gerlach I and Agnes of Hesse. In 1344, his father abdicated in favor of his sons. They ruled jointly until 1355, then divided their inheritance:
