House of Hohenzollern

House of Hohenzollern
Armorial of Hohenzollern
Country	German Empire, Kingdom of Prussia, Kingdom of Romania
Parent house	Burchardinger dynasty
Titles	German Emperor King of Prussia King of Romania Count of Zollern
Founder	Burkhard I, Count of Zollern
Ethnicity	Germanic, Prussian (see details)
Cadet branches	House of Hechigen House of Sigmaringen (1547–present) House of Romania (1866–present) House of Haigerloch

The House of Hohenzollern is an aristocratic family and royal dynasty of Electors, Kings, and Emperors, ruling over Brandenburg, Prussia, Germany, and Romania.

History

The family originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia, Württemberg during the 11th century. They took their name from their ancestral home, the Burg Hohenzollern castle nearby.

The family uses the motto Nihil Sine Deo (English: Nothing Without God). The family coat of arms, first adopted in 1192, began as a simple shield quarterly sable and argent.

The head and shoulders of a hound were added in 1317 by Frederick IV. Later quartering incorporated other branches of the family.

The family later split into two branches, the Catholic Swabian branch and Protestant Franconian branch.

The Swabian branch ruled the area of Hechingen until their eventual extinction in 1869. The Franconian branch was comparatively more successful. Cadets within the Franconian branch ascended to the Margravate of Brandenburg in 1415 and to the Duchy of Prussia in 1525.

The union of Brandenburg and Prussia in 1618 created the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701, the state which led the eventual unification of Germany and the creation of the German Empire in 1871.

World War I

Social unrest at the end of World War I led to the German Revolution of 1918, with the subsequent formation of the Weimar Republic forcing the Hohenzollerns to abdicate, thus bringing an end to the modern German monarchy. The Treaty of Versailles in 1919 set the final terms for the dismantling of the German Empire.

Titles

Kings of Prussia

Portrait	Name	From	Until	Relationship with predecessor
	Frederick I of Prussia	18 January 1701	25 February 1713	first King of Prussia. Duchy of Prussia becomes a kingdom, free from any connection to Poland.
	Frederick William I of Prussia The Soldier King	25 February 1713	31 May 1740	son of Frederick I of Prussia.
	Frederick II of Prussia Frederick the Great	31 May 1740	17 August 1786	son of Frederick William I of Prussia.
	Frederick William II of Prussia	17 August 1786	16 November 1797	nephew of Frederick II of Prussia.
	Frederick William III of Prussia	16 November 1797	7 June 1840	son of Frederick William II of Prussia.
	Frederick William IV of Prussia	7 June 1840	2 January 1861	son of Frederick William III of Prussia.

German Emperors, Kings of Prussia

Portrait	Name	From	Until	Relationship with predecessor
	Wilhelm I, German Emperor	2 January 1861	9 March 1888	brother of Frederick William IV of Prussia.
	Frederick III, German Emperor	9 March 1888	15 June 1888	son of Wilhelm I, German Emperor.
	Wilhelm II, German Emperor	15 June 1888	9 November 1918	son of Frederick III, German Emperor.