Hohenzollern

Hohenzollern, family of German rulers, originating as a family of counts in Swabia in the 11th or 12th century. The Hohenzollerns ruled Prussia and eventually united and ruled Germany until the end of World War I. Their strong, rigidly disciplined armies gave Prussia a reputation for military excellence.

The Hohenzollerns were named for their ancestral castle, Zollern (later Hohenzollern), located near Hechingen, Swabia (now in the state of Baden-Württemberg). In 1227 the Hohenzollern count Conrad III was made burgrave of Nürnberg by Frederick II, Holy Roman emperor, and the Hohenzollerns of Nürnberg formed a new branch of the family, called the Franconian; the original line remained in Swabia. In 1417 Burgrave Frederick I became elector and margrave of Brandenburg. He was succeeded by 11 Hohenzollern electors, the eighth of whom, John Sigismund, became the first duke of Prussia. Frederick William, called The Great Elector, expanded and consolidated territory held by Brandenburg, and in 1701 his successor, Frederick III, became Frederick I, king of Prussia. During the next century and a half the Prussian throne was held by Frederick William I, Frederick II, the Great (the most celebrated of the Hohenzollerns), Frederick William II, Frederick William III, and Frederick William IV. The Prussian king William I became emperor of Germany in 1871. He was succeeded by Frederick III and William II. Hohenzollern rule came to an end in 1918, when William II was forced to abdicate.

The Swabian branch of the Hohenzollerns ruled the petty principalities of Hohenzollern-Hechingen and Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. In 1849 Charles Anthony, prince of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, ceded his principality to the Prussian king. His son Leopold was a candidate for the throne of Spain in 1870, and his second son became Carol I, king of Romania, in 1866. Hohenzollerns retained the throne of Romania until the abdication of King Michael in 1947. The Hohenzollern-Hechingen line of the Swabian branch became extinct in 1869.