The Lords of Thannhausen are an old and still existing German noble family with the rank of Freiherr (Baron). They were members of the German nobility and achieved the status of Imperial Knights. Their ancestral seat is in the Swabian municipality of Tannhausen near Ellwangen.
During the Carolingian dynasty, the family's Frankish ancestors settled the Nördlinger Ries area in northeastern Alamannia. Their residence Tannhausen (not to be confused with Thannhausen near Günzburg or Thannhausen, Styria ) was first mentioned in an 1100 deed. In the Duchy of Swabia, the Thannhausens held large estates and important offices, as documented under the rule of the Hohenstaufen duke Frederick II in 1112 and 1115.
Following the writings of Felix Fabri (1438/39–1502), it is also assumed that the medieval minnesinger and poet Tannhäuser (d. after 1265) was an offspring of this family [1] and that he may be identical with Lupoldus Danhäuser mentioned in a 1246 deed issued by the Franconian counts of Hohenlohe. More likely, however, the poet descended from a de Tanhusen dynasty of Imperial ministeriales from the Bavarian Nordgau.
Family members were also entrusted with public offices in the modern era: in 1552, William of Thannhausen (1518–1596) is documented as a cavalry captain ( Hauptmann ) in the service of the Hohenzollern margraves of Ansbach, succeeded by his son Hans-Wolf (1555–1635) during the Thirty Years' War. Until 1849, later generations served mainly with the House of Oettingen-Wallerstein. After that, they served the Kings of Württemberg as officers or in forestry, as well as the Princes of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen and the Franconian Bishops of Würzburg. The brothers Frederick and Maximilian of Thannhausen were commanders in the French Grande Armée and were killed in the Napoleonic Wars.
Over the centuries, the family seat was exposed to wars and fires; it burned down in 1567, 1621, and 1649. The castle's current appearance dates from 1767.
The House of Hohenzollern is a German royal 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.
Ansbach is a Landkreis (district) in Bavaria, Germany. It surrounds – but does not include – the town of Ansbach; nonetheless the administrative seat of the district is located in Ansbach. It is the district with the largest area in Bavaria.
The Swabian League was a mutual defence and peace keeping association of Imperial Estates – free Imperial cities, prelates, principalities and knights – principally in the territory of the early medieval stem duchy of Swabia established on 14 February 1488.
The House of Hohenlohe is a former German princely dynasty. It ruled an immediate territory within the Holy Roman Empire which was divided between several branches. The Hohenlohes became imperial counts in 1450. The county was divided numerous times and split into several principalities in the 18th century.
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.
Hohenzollern Castle is the ancestral seat of the imperial House of Hohenzollern. The third of three hilltop castles built on the site, it is located atop Mount Hohenzollern, above and south of Hechingen, on the edge of the Swabian Jura of central Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
Tannhausen is a municipality in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, in Ostalbkreis district.
The House of Henneberg was a medieval German comital family (Grafen) which from the 11th century onwards held large territories in the Duchy of Franconia. Their county was raised to a princely county in 1310.
Sigmaringen Castle was the princely castle and seat of government for the Princes of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. Situated in the Swabian Alb region of Baden-Württemberg, Germany, this castle dominates the skyline of the town of Sigmaringen. The castle was rebuilt following a fire in 1893, and only the towers of the earlier medieval fortress remain. Schloss Sigmaringen was a family estate of the Swabian Hohenzollern family, a cadet branch of the Hohenzollern family, from which the German Emperors and kings of Prussia came. During the closing months of World War II, Schloss Sigmaringen was briefly the seat of the Vichy French Government after France was liberated by the Allies. The castle and museums may be visited throughout the year, but only on guided tours. It is still owned by the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen family, although they no longer reside there.
Langenenslingen is a municipality in the district of Biberach in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It has a population close to 3,500.
The House of Oettingen is a high-rank noble Franconian and Swabian family. It ruled various estates that composed the County of Oettingen between the 12th century and the beginning of the 19th century. In 1674 the house was raised to the rank of prince for the first time. Despite the annexation of their lands following the German mediatisation of 1806, the family retained their titles and still have representatives today.
The House of Eggenberg was the name of an influential Austrian noble family from Styria, who achieved princely rank in the 17th century. The family's last male heir died in 1717, bringing an end to the House of Eggenberg.
Frederick August Charles, Prince of Hohenlohe-Öhringen was a German general of the Napoleonic Wars and nobleman of the house of Hohenlohe.
The House of Stolberg is the name of an old and large German dynasty of the former Holy Roman Empire's high aristocracy. Members of the family held the title of Fürst and Graf. They played a significant role in feudal Germany's history and, as a mediatized dynasty, enjoyed princely privileges until the collapse of the German Empire in 1918. The house has numerous branches.
The Swabian League of Cities was a primarily military alliance between a number of free imperial cities in and around the area now defined as south-western Germany. Its objective was the maintenance of the privileges, rights, and freedoms of its members, and it therefore also opposed the territorial ambitions of increasingly assertive surrounding states within the Holy Roman Empire such as Bavaria, Württemberg, and Austria.
Hohenfels Castle, also called Schloss Hohenfels or New Hohenfels (Neu-Hohenfels) is a mediaeval spur castle in which a boarding school was housed until July 2017. The castle stands within the parish of Kalkofen, over a kilometre north of the village itself, which is part of the municipality of Hohenfels in the county of Konstanz in Germany. The castle gave its name to the municipality of Hohenfels which was created in 1973.
The Franconian War was waged in 1523 when the Swabian League attacked several robber baron castles in Franconia, whose nobles were supporters of Hans Thomas of Absberg in the Absberg Feud.
The House of Egloffstein is an ancient Franconian aristocratic family (Uradel) with an eponymous family home in the hill region of Franconian Switzerland in the Bavarian province of Upper Franconia. The family first appears in the records in 1187 with a Heinrich genannt Stuchs who is also the progenitor. The house belongs to the brotherhood of Franconian Imperial Knights. Egloffstein Castle and Kunreuth Castle are to this day owned by the family.
Hiltpoltstein Castle was originally a high mediaeval aristocratic castle dating to the 11th or 12th century. It stands in the centre of the market village of Markt Hiltpoltstein in the Upper Franconian county of Forchheim in the south German state of Bavaria. Its present appearance as a triple-winged building goes back to renovations carried out at the end of the 16th century.
Friedrich Wilhelm Eugen Karl Hugo, Prince of Hohenlohe-Öhringen, Duke of Ujest was a German nobleman, politician, mining industrialist and general in the armies of the kingdom of Württemberg and the kingdom of Prussia.
