The Hohenzollern dynasty is the German home of the former princes, electors, kings and emperors of the principality of Hohenzollern, Brandenburg, Prussia, the German Empire and Romania. The family originated in the vicinity of the city of Hechingen in Swabia during the XI century and got its name from the Hohenzollern Castle. The first ancestors of the Hohenzollern were mentioned in 1061.
Different branches
The Hohenzollern dynasty split into two branches: the Catholic Swabian and the Protestant Franconian, which later became the Brandenburg-Prussian. The Swabian "branch" of the dynasty ruled the principalities of Hohenzollern-Hechingen and Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen until 1849, and also ruled Romania from 1866 to 1947.
Unification of Germany
The Margrave of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia were in the union after 1618, and in fact were a single state called Brandenburg-Prussia. The Kingdom of Prussia was created in 1701, which ultimately led to the unification of Germany and the creation of the German Empire in 1871, when the Hohenzollerns were hereditary German emperors and Prussian kings. They also owned the castle of the same name, which is now very popular among tourists and has become the main scene in the movie "Medicine for Health."
After the first world war
In 1918, the history of the Hohenzollern dynasty as a ruling family ended. The defeat of Germany in World War I led to a revolution. The Hohenzollern dynasty was overthrown, after which the Weimar Republic was created, putting an end to the German monarchy. Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia, is the current head of the royal Prussian line, and Karl Friedrich is the head of the princely Swabian line.
Hohenzollern Dynasty: historical facts
Sollern, from 1218 Hohenzollern, was a county of the Holy Roman Empire. Later, his capital was Hechingen.
The Hohenzollerns named their estates after the aforementioned castle in the Swabian Alps. This castle is located on the 855-meter high Hohenzollern mountain. It belongs to this family today.
The dynasty was first mentioned in 1061. According to the medieval chronicler Bertold Reichenau, Burkhard I, Count Sollern (de Zolorin) was born before 1025 and died in 1061.
In 1095, Count Adalbert of Zollern founded the Benedictine monastery Alpirsbach, located in the Black Forest.
The Zollerns received the title of princes from Emperor Henry V in 1111.
Faithful vassals
Being faithful vassals of the Swabian dynasty of the Hohenstaufen, they were able to significantly expand their territory. Count Frederick III (c. 1139 - c. 1200) accompanied the emperor Friedrich Barbarossa in a campaign against Heinrich Leo in 1180, and thanks to his marriage he was awarded the Emperor Nuremberg Henry VI in 1192. Around 1185, he married Sophia Raabsky, daughter of Conrad II, a burgraph from Nuremberg. After the death of Conrad II, who did not leave male heirs, Frederick III was granted Nuremberg as Burgraf Frederick I.
In 1218, the title of burgraph passed to the eldest son of Frederick Konrad I, he became the progenitor of the Franconian branch of the Hohenzollern dynasty, which acquired the electorate of Brandenburg in 1415.
The oldest Franconian branch of the dynasty was founded by Conrad I, Nuremberg Burgraf (1186–1261).
The family supported rulers from the dynasties of Hohenstaufen and Habsburg, emperors of the Holy Roman Empire for 12-15 centuries, in return being awarded a number of territorial allotments. Starting from the 16th century, this branch of the family became Protestant and decided to expand further through dynastic marriages and the purchase of surrounding lands.
Further story
After the death of John III on June 11, 1420, the Margrave Brandenburg-Ansbach and Brandenburg-Kulmbach were briefly reunited under Frederick VI. He ruled the united Margraine of Brandenburg-Ansbach after 1398. From 1420 he became Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach. Since 1411, Frederick VI became governor of Brandenburg, and then Elector and Margrave of this state, as Frederick I.
In 1411, Frederick VI, Count of Nuremberg, was appointed Governor of Brandenburg to restore order and stability. At the Cathedral in Constance in 1415, King Sigismund elevated Frederick to the rank of Elector and Margrave of Brandenburg. Thus began the strengthening of the Hohenzollern dynasty in Germany.
Dynasty of Prussian Kings
In 1701, the title of king in Prussia was granted to representatives of this family, and the Prussian Duchy was not elevated to the kingdom within the Holy Roman Empire. Since 1701, the titles of the Duke of Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg were forever tied to the title of King of Prussia. The Duke of Prussia took the title of king, having received the status of a monarch, whose royal territory lies outside the Holy Roman Empire, with the consent of Emperor Leopold I.
However, Frederick at first could not be a full-fledged “king of Prussia,” because part of the Prussian lands was under the suzerainty of the crown of the Polish kingdom. In the era of absolutism, most monarchs were obsessed with the desire to imitate Louis XIV, the palace at Versailles became the object of envy. The magnificent palace was also at the Hohenzollern dynasty.
Emperors of united Germany
In 1871, the German Empire was proclaimed. With the accession of William I to the newly created German throne, the titles of King of Prussia, Duke of Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg were forever tied to the title of German Emperor. In fact, this empire was a federation of dualistic monarchies.
Chancellor Otto von Bismarck convinced William that the title of German emperor, who had replaced the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, would be extremely appropriate.
Road to war
William II intended to create a German navy capable of challenging British naval rule. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Austria on June 28, 1914 marked the beginning of the chain of events that led to the First World War. As a result of the war, the German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires ceased to exist. Photos of the Hohenzollern dynasty, or rather its most prominent representatives, you can see in this article.
In the depths of oblivion
In 1918, the German Empire was abolished and replaced by the Weimar Republic. After the start of the German revolution in 1918, Emperor Wilhelm II and Crown Prince Wilhelm signed a document of renunciation.
In June 1926, a referendum on the expropriation of property of the former ruling princes (and monarchs) of Germany without compensation failed, and as a result, the financial situation of the Hohenzollern dynasty improved significantly. Arbitration proceedings between the former ruling dynasty and the Weimar Republic made Cecilienhof a state property, but allowed the former emperor and his wife Cecile to reside in it. The family also owned the Montbijou palace in Berlin, the Olesnica castle in Silesia, the Rheinsberg palace, the Schwedt palace and other property until 1945.
After the second world war
Since the abolition of the German monarchy, no claims of the Hohenzollern to imperial or royal prerogatives have been recognized by the German Basic Law of the Federal Republic of 1949, which guarantees the preservation of the republican form of government.
The communist government of the Soviet occupation zone has stripped the property rights of all landowners and industrialists. The house to which this article is devoted has lost almost its entire fortune, retaining several shares of various companies and the already mentioned Hohenzollern Castle in West Germany. The Polish government appropriated the property of the Hohenzollern in Silesia, and the Dutch government captured Wise Doorn - the emperor’s home in exile.
Our days
Today the Hohenzollern dynasty still exists, but only its shadow remained from its former greatness. However, after the reunification of Germany, she was able to legally re-claim all her property taken away, namely the collections of works of art and palaces. Negotiations on returns or compensation for expropriation are not yet complete.
The Old Palace of the Emperors in Berlin is being rebuilt and is due to open in 2019. The Berlin Palace and the Humboldt Forum are located in central Berlin.
Titles and possessions
The head of the house is the titular king of Prussia and the German emperor. He also has a historical right to the title of Prince of Orange.
Georg Friedrich, Prince of Prussia, the current head of the royal Prussian House of the Hohenzollern, was married to Princess Sophie of Isenburg. On January 20, 2013, she gave birth to two twins, Karl Friedrich Franz Alexander and Louis Ferdinand Christian Albrecht, in Bremen. Karl Friedrich, the eldest of them, is the obvious heir.
The Cadet Swabian branch of the Hohenzollern House was founded by Frederick IV, Earl of Zollern. The family managed three plots of land in Hechingen, Sigmaringen and Heigerloch. The counts were elevated to princes in 1623. The Swabian branch of the Hohenzollern is Catholic.
Failures, Losses and Falls
Affected by economic problems and internal hostility, the counts of Hohenzollern, starting from the 14th century, were under pressure from their neighbors, the counts of Württemberg and the cities of the Swabian League, whose troops besieged and finally destroyed the dynasty’s ancestral castle in 1423. However, the Hohenzollern retained their estates with the support of their cousins from Brandenburg and the Habsburg Imperial House. In 1535, Count Charles I of the house of Hohenzollern (1512–1576) received the counties of Sigmaringen and Veringen as imperial feudal possessions.
In 1576, when Charles I, Count of Hohenzollern died, his ancestral land allotment was divided between three Swabian branches.