The Zimmern Chronicle is a family chronicle describing the lineage and history of the noble family of Zimmern, based in Meßkirch, Germany. It was written in a Swabian variety of Early New High German by Count Froben Christoph of Zimmern (1519–1566). The chronicle is an eminent historical source of information about 16th century nobility in South-West Germany, its culture and its values. It is also an important literary and ethnological source for its many folkloristic texts. The text has survived in two manuscripts, both in possession of the Württembergische Landesbibliothek in Stuttgart.
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.
The House of Helfenstein was a German noble family during the High and Late Middle Ages. The family was named after the family castle, Castle Helfenstein, located above Geislingen an der Steige in the Swabian Alb region of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The family held the rank of Graf or Count and was very significant in the 13th and 14th Centuries, but fell into financial difficulties and the family lost his estate in 1627.
The County of Sponheim was an independent territory in the Holy Roman Empire that lasted from the 11th century until the early 19th century. The name comes from the municipality of Sponheim, where the counts had their original residence.
The County of Wernigerode was a state of the Holy Roman Empire which arose in the Harzgau region of the former Duchy of Saxony, at the northern foot of the Harz mountain range. The comital residence was at Wernigerode, now part of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The county was ruled by a branch of the House of Stolberg from 1429 until its mediatization to the Kingdom of Prussia in 1806. Nevertheless, the county remained in existence - with one short interruption - until the dissolution of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1918.
The House of Kirchberg were a Swabian aristocratic family, once wealthy that held the County of Kirchberg, mainly south of Ulm, on the right and left of the Iller. They are difficult to document, but at the end of the early Middle Ages and the beginning of the High Middle Ages they may have had a significance that went beyond regional power. By the end of the 12th century, the family had split into two lines, later into three, becoming impoverished towards the end of the Middle Ages and dying out in 1510 after the sale of their possessions and rights.
Werdenberg was a county of the Holy Roman Empire, within the Duchy of Swabia, situated on either side of the Alpine Rhine, including parts of what is now St. Gallen (Switzerland), Liechtenstein, and Vorarlberg (Austria). It was partitioned from Montfort in 1230. In 1260, it was divided into Werdenberg and Sargans.
The House of Schönburg is an old European noble family of princely and historically sovereign rank. It formerly owned large properties in present-day Saxony, Thuringia and Bohemia. As a former ruling and mediatized family, it belongs to the Hochadel. The family today includes two princely and a comital branch.
The House of Khevenhüller is the name of an old and important Carinthian noble family, documented there since 1356, with its ancestral seat at Landskron Castle. In the 16th century, the family split into the two branches of Khevenhüller-Frankenburg, Imperial Counts from 1593, and Khevenhüller-Hochosterwitz, raised to Imperial Counts in 1725 and, as Khevenhüller-Metsch, to princely rank (Fürsten) in 1763. The family belongs to high nobility.
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.
Philipp III of Hanau-Lichtenberg was the third Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg.
Ursula of Rosenfeld was the second wife of Margrave Ernest of Baden-Durlach. All grand dukes of Baden descend from her, via her son Charles II.
Count Wilhelm IV of Eberstein was a member of the Swabian noble Eberstein family. His father, Bernhard III (1459–1526) was president of the Reichskammergericht from 1510 to 1520. His mother was Countess Kunigunde of Sonnenberg (1472–1538).
Count Froben Christoph of Zimmern was the author of the Zimmern Chronicle and a member of the von Zimmern family of Swabian nobility. This article is based primarily on Beat Rudolf Jenny's biography of him.
The House of Homberg was a noble family of medieval Switzerland; they had the title of count from late 11th to early 16th century. They ruled over much of what is now northwestern Switzerland, including parts of the cantons of Aargau, Berne, Solothurn and Basel-Country.
The House of Rapperswil respectively Counts of Rapperswil ruled the upper Zürichsee and Seedamm region around Rapperswil and parts of, as of today, Swiss cantons of St. Gallen, Glarus, Zürich and Graubünden when their influence was most extensive around the 1200s until the 1290s. They acted also as Vogt of the most influential Einsiedeln Abbey in the 12th and 13th century, and at least three abbots of Einsiedeln were members of Rapperswil family.
Meßkirch Castle or Meßkirch Palace is located in the town centre of Meßkirch in the county of Sigmaringen in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. The castle is a cultural and museum centre with castle tours, a county art gallery, a museum about philosopher Martin Heidegger, and the Oldtimer Museum with automobiles and motorcycles.
The Frydag family, also spelled Vrydach, Freytag, Freydag and various other slightly different spellings, is a German noble family known since the beginning of the 14th century that originated in Uradel in Westphalia.
The Codex Falkensteinensis is an important medieval manuscript. It was written in 1166 as a feud directory and urbarium by Canons of the Herrenchiemsee monastery, commissioned by the Counts of Neuburg-Falkenstein. Composed at the Neuburg castle near Vagen it is considered the only preserved secular codex from the Hohenstaufen era, the oldest extant book of conveyances from a secular lordship and the oldest European family archive. The original Latin version is preserved in the archives of the Bavarian state, a second Middle High German edition is lost.
