The County of Hohenzollern-Hechingen was created in 1576, upon the partition of the
County of Hohenzollern, a
fief of the
Holy Roman Empire. When the last count of Hohenzollern,
Charles I of Hohenzollern (1512–1579) died, the territory was to be divided up between his three sons: •
Eitel Frederick IV of Hohenzollern-Hechingen (1545–1605) •
Charles II of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (1547–1606) •
Christopher of Hohenzollern-Haigerloch (1552–1592) Unlike the Hohenzollerns of Brandenburg and Prussia, the Hohenzollerns of southwest Germany remained Roman Catholic. The county was raised to a principality in 1623. The main seat was the
Friedrichsburg castle in Hechingen. The principality joined the
Confederation of the Rhine in 1806 and was a member state of the
German Confederation between 1815 and 1850. The democratic
Revolution of 1848 was relatively successful in Hohenzollern, and on 16 May 1848, the Prince was forced to accept the establishment of a constitution. However, the conflict between monarch and democrats continued, and on 6 August 1849, Hohenzollern was occupied by
Prussian forces. On 7 December 1849, Prince
Constantine sold the country to his relative, King
Frederick William IV of Prussia. On 12 March 1850, Hohenzollern-Hechingen officially became part of Prussia, and formed together with
Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen the
Province of Hohenzollern. ==Rulers==