Hohenzollern

Hohenzollern (1)formerly the smallest Prussian province enclosed within the boundaries of the former states Baden and Württemberg. It was created in 1849 by the union of the principalities Hohenzollern-Hechingen and Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen. Though technically a Provinz, it was administered as the Regierungsbezirk Sigmaringen of the Rhine Province. Since 1952 it has been an integral part of the Land Baden-Württemberg (see Württemberg). Hohenzollern contained the Castle (Burg) of Hohenzollern, the ancestral home of the Prussian rulers of the German Empire. Perched on the Zollernberg, it was built in the 11th c., destroyed in 1423, rebuilt in 1454, and almost razed in the Thirty Years War (see Drei-ssigjähriger Krieg). Under Friedrich Wilhelm IV rebuilding was begun in 1850 to restore it to its appearance in the 14th c. The task was completed in 1867.
(2)The family name of the ruling Prussian-Brandenburg royal family from 1415 to 1918. They originated in the region of Hohenzollern, becoming Burggrafen of Nuremberg in 1191, and electors (Kurfürsten) of Brandenburg in 1415 Friedrich III acquired the dignity of kingship in 1701 as King Friedrich I. King Wilhelm I became German Emperor in 1871. The last ruling Hohenzollern, Wilhelm II, was obliged to relinquish the throne in 1918.