The House of Breuberg is the name of a dynastic,

franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian languages, Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three Regierungsbezirk, administrative ...

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

family in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, descendants from the Lords of Lützelbach.

History

Around the year 1050, the territory of Höchst detached itself from the

March (territory) In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a national "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diff ...

Umstadt, which had already been erected by the Imperial Abbey of Fulda in about 755. In order to protect their interests and territory the abbots of Fulda then used the noble lords Reiz von Lützelbach as bailiffs. ''Ludwig of Lucelenbach'' is the first family member mentioned in 1115 followed by his descendant Wieknand, grandfather of the first Breuberg, Konrad I (Reiz von Lützelbach) confirmed in documents in 1160 and by his son Konrad again in 1189.Valentin Ferdinand Gudenus: Codex Diplomaticvs: Exhibens Anecdota Ab Anno DCCCLXXXI, Ad MCCC. Mogvntiaca, Ivs Germanicvm, Et S.R.I. Historiam Illvstrantia. Göttingen 1743, S. 293f. Nr. 106 Their ancestral castle was previously suspected to be near the

Lützelbach Lützelbach (ˈ) is a municipality in the Odenwaldkreis (district) in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location The municipality lies in the northern Odenwald on the Hesse-Bavaria boundary in a richly wooded setting. Neighbouring communities Lützelba ...

Protestant Church. In 2001 a strong foundation was found during the excavation of pipe trenches at the Lützelbach cemetery, presumably a keep, which archaeologically supports this assumption. De Merian Frankoniae 039

Konrad I and his descendants built Breuberg castle around 1200 and named themselves after it from then onwards. Thanks to the marriage of his son Eberhard I. von Breuberg to Mechtild (Elisabeth?) in 1239, one of the hereditary daughters of the imperial bailiff Gerlach II. von Büdingen, the family increased its power, properties and interests also to the

Wetterau The Wetterau is a fertile undulating tract, watered by the Wetter, a tributary of the Nidda River, in the western German state of Hesse, between the hilly province Oberhessen and the north-western Taunus mountains. Bettina von Arnim writes of ...

, where Konrad II. (builder of

Frankenstein Castle Frankenstein Castle (german: Burg Frankenstein) is a hilltop castle in the Odenwald overlooking the city of Darmstadt in Germany. This castle may have been an inspiration for Mary Shelley when she wrote her 1818 Gothic novel ''Frankenstein; o ...

), Arrois, Gerlach and Eberhard III successively held the office of imperial bailiff of the Wetterau. All of them found their last resting place in the monastery Konradsdorf near Ortenberg, being donators and supervisors of the foundation. Under Gerlach (1245-1306) and his son Eberhard III, the family reached its zenith with the greatest territorial expansion, power and possessions. In 1282 under the reign of King

Rudolf I of Germany Rudolf I (1 May 1218 – 15 July 1291) was the first King of Germany from the House of Habsburg. The first of the count-kings of Germany, he reigned from 1273 until his death. Rudolf's election marked the end of the Great Interregnum whic ...

, the Breuberg family's possessions, in addition to the original possessions of the house of Büdingen, could be extended by the high-court of Selbold and the Gelnhausen

Mint (facility) A mint is an industrial facility which manufactures coins that can be used as currency. The history of mints correlates closely with the history of coins. In the beginning, hammered coinage or cast coinage were the chief means of coin min ...

. The lordship included the imperial city of Mosbach am Neckar, the Schwäbisch Hall Mint and Köppern, Bergen and Oberrad as imperial fiefs in 1297. The highlight of this expansion of power was the acquisition of the Frankfurt castle Saalhof in 1282 as an imperial fief (pledged loan) from King Rudolf I. Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor confirmed to Eberhard III of Breuberg in 1317 the fiefdom of Gründau and the Saalhof with the associated fishing and shipping rights.

Coat of arms

Divided and split shield, coated on the right with a golden and blue-crowned lion, left roughened in silver and blue File:Breuberg Wappen umd um 1180.jpg, First coat of arms Lords of Breuberg File:Breuberg Siegel.jpg, Breuberg arms over the medieval times File:Breuberg Seal from 1291.jpg, Breuberg Seal from 1291 File:Breuberg Wappen um 1350.jpg, Crest of the Breuberg lordship around 1330–1350

Famous family members

* Conrad I. Reiz von Breuberg, first bearer of the name and presumed builder of Breuberg Castle * Konrad II. of Breuberg († 1292), as Konrad I. of Frankenstein first name bearer and builder of

* Gerlach of Breuberg (* around 1245 † 1306), imperial reeve of the Wetterau, governor and vice-king in Thuringia * Eberhard III. of Breuberg († 1323), imperial reeve of the Wetterau

Family tree

Conradus Reis de Lucelenbach #Wiknand of Lützelbach († 1160) ##Albrecht of Lützelbach († 1180) ##Konrad Reiz of Lützelbach (1178–1209) ###Konrad I. Reiz of Breuberg († 1242); oo Agnes of Jagesberg-Ebersberg († 1279) ####Eberhard I. Reiz of Breuberg († 1286); oo Elisabeth Countess of Büdingen († 1274) #####Gerlach of Breuberg (* um 1245; † 1306), imperial reeve of the Wetterau, Governor and Vice-King in Thuringia, oo Lukardis of Eppstein ######Eberhard III. of Breuberg († 1323); oo Mechthild Countess of Waldeck (1287 - after 1340) #######Gerlach #######Elisabeth († 1358); oo 1321 Count Rudolf IV. of Wertheim (1305–1354) #######Lukard (Lutgard); I. oo 1326 Konrad VI. of Weinsberg († 1328); II. oo 1328 Gottfried V. of Eppstein) #####Agnes (*?; † 10. Juli 1302) oo 1323 Eberhard V, Schenk Count of Erbach (* before 1277, † before 1303) #####Arrois of Breuberg († after 1324); oo Gisela Countess of Falkenstein († 1314) ######Kunigunde (''Chuntzinne'') († 1358); oo before 1324 Konrad V. of Trimberg ######Mechthild (1317–1329), Nun #####Eberhard II. of Breuberg, Abbot ####Sigebodo of Breuberg (*before 1246), Archdeacon of the Würzburg chapter ####Konrad II. Reiz of Breuberg (simultaneously Konrad I. of Frankenstein) († 1264); oo Elisabeth von Weiterstadt

Literature

Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels The ''Almanach de Gotha'' (german: Gothaischer Hofkalender) is a directory of Europe's royalty and higher nobility, also including the major governmental, military and diplomatic corps, as well as statistical data by country. First published ...

Band 27; Freiherrliche Häuser A IV, CA Starke Verlag. *

, Band 61, 1975, Adelslexikon. Starke, Limburg/Lahn * Otto von Waldenfels (Hrsg.): ''Genealogisches Handbuch des in Bayern immatrikulierten Adels.'' Verlag Degener, Neustadt an der Aisch. * Hellmuth Gensicke: ''Untersuchungen zur Genealogie und Besitzgeschichte der Herren von Eschollbrücken, Weiterstadt, Lützelbach, Breuberg und Frankenstein.'' In: Hessische historische Forschungen (1963), S.99–115 * Historischer Verein für Hessen, Archiv für hessische Geschichte und Altertumskunde.

References

{{reflist German noble families European noble families Noble families of the Holy Roman Empire Medieval nobility of the Holy Roman Empire