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The House of Hohenzollern is a German dynasty of electors, kings, and emperors of Prussia , Germany , and Romania . The family uses the motto ''Nihil sine Deo'' (nothing without God). The Hohenzollern family originated in the area around the city of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century. They took their name from the Zollern Castle near the aforementioned city, which was their ancestral home. The family split into two branches, the catholic Swabian and protestant Franconian . The Swabian branch ruled the area of Hechingen until their eventual extinction in 1869. The Franconian branch was comparatively more successful. It became the ruling family of Prussia (from 1525-1871) and then Imperial Germany (from 1871-1918) following German Unification. THE FAMILY PARTITION As mentioned above, the family divided into their Swabian and Franconian branches. We can trace this to the reign of Conrad III , who in 1227 was granted the burgavite (Imperial representation of) of Nuremburg by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I . Conrad was succeeded by Frederick of Hohenzollern, who's sons founded the Swabian and Franconian branches. The senior Swabian branch remained Catholic while the junior Franconian branch converted to Protestantism . THE SENIOR SWABIAN BRANCH Ruling the minor German principalities of Hechingen and Sigmaringen , this branch of the family decided to remain Catholic and later split into the Hechingen and Sigmaringen branches. They never expanded from these two Swabian principalities, which was one of the reasons they became relatively unimportant in German history for much of their existence. However, they kept royal lineage and married members of the great royal european houses. The Hohenzollern-Hechingen finally became extinct in 1869. However, the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen family was chosen to become the Romanian royal family in 1866. Another member of this royal family, Leopold, was offered the Spanish throne after a revolt removed Queen Isabella. Although encouraged by Bismarck to accept it, Leopold backed down once France's Emperor Napoleon III stated his objection. Despite this, France still declared war, beginning the Franco-Prussian War . Finally, Prince Charles Anthony ceeded Sigmaringen to Prussia . THE JUNIOR FRANCONIAN BRANCH Beginning in the 14th Century, this branch on the family decided on expansion through marriage and a purchase of lands. The family gradually added to their lands, at first with many small acquisitions. The margraviates of Ansbach in 1331 and Kulmbach in 1340 being examples of this. However, the purchase of Brandenburg and later obtaining the Dukedom of Prussia , was to propell the Hohenzollerns from a minor German royal family into one of the most important in Europe. The family were supporters of the Hohenstaufen and the Hapsburg ruler of Germany during the 12th to 15th centuries, with which they were rewarded with several territoral benefits. MARGRAVES OF BRANDENBURG-ANSBACH See Also: Margrave of Ansbach MARGRAVES OF BRANDENBURG-BAYREUTH See Also: Margrave of Bayreuth There were also Margraves of Brandenburg-Culmbach, Brandenburg-Kuestrin, Brandenburg-Ansbach-Bayreuth and many more. DUKES OF PRUSSIA
KINGS OF PRUSSIA See Also: List of Kings of Prussia
GERMAN EMPERORS See Also: List of German Kings and Emperors
The Hohenzollern family continues to exist, and since Wilhelm's death the Scions have been:
Another branch of the Hohenzollerns, actually the dynastically senior line, the Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen s, were also important landowners in pre-German-Empire Germany, and later were the princes (1866–1881) and kings (1881–1947) of Romania . French opposition to their candidacy for the throne of Spain led to the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871) and the founding (January 1871) of the German Empire . KINGS OF ROMANIA See Also: Kings of Romania
SEE ALSO
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