The House of Sparneck was a local noble family in

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper Fr ...

. The family is known to exist from 1223 to 1744 and was named after the market village of

Sparneck Sparneck is a municipality in Upper Franconia in the district of Hof in Bavaria in Germany. Location The market town of Sparneck lies at an average height of in the Pfarrbach valley, which forms the larger part of the area. The Saxon Saale r ...

. One of their first castles was the Waldsteinburg; further castles were located in Sparneck, Weißdorf, Stockenroth, Uprode near Weißdorf, Stein near

Gefrees Gefrees () is a town in the Bayreuth (district), district of Bayreuth, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated in the Fichtelgebirge, 21 km northeast of Bayreuth. It was the site of a Battle of Gefrees, battle during the Napoleonic Wars. Referen ...

, Hallerstein (now part of Schwarzenbach an der Saale) and

Gattendorf Gattendorf is a municipality in Upper Franconia in the district of Hof in Bavaria, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe aft ...

. Their homeland corresponds to the old

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

Münchberg Münchberg is a small town in Upper Franconia (Bavaria), Germany. It is sometimes referred to as the ''Textile Town of Bavaria''. Its sister city is Jefferson City, Missouri, United States. Geography The town districts History The first set ...

, now part of the district of Hof. The family is directly related to the Houses of Bibra,

Gravenreuth Gravenreuth was a German noble family. The family's origin seat was located in Grafenreuth, now part of Thiersheim in the District of Wunsiedel in Upper Franconia, first mentioned in 1180. Up to the 18th century, the family, supplied with the t ...

, Guttenberg,

Kotzau The House of Kotzau was a local noble family in Franconia. The House of Kotzau took its name from the village of Kotzau, today called Oberkotzau and it is located in the district Hof in Upper Franconia. Famous members of the family were abbess i ...

Künsberg Künsberg was a German dynasty of knights from Frankenwald and Upper Franconia. The House of Künsberg took its name from Künsberg near Creußen. The family was directly related to the House of Sparneck. Caroline von Holnstein was married wit ...

, Notthafft,

Pappenheim Pappenheim is a town in the Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen district, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the river Altmühl, 11 km south of Weißenburg in Bayern. History Historically, Pappenheim was a statelet within Holy Roman Empire. It ...

Reitzenstein Reitzenstein was a German dynasty of Franconian knights. The House of Reitzenstein took its name from Reitzenstein near Issigau. The family was directly related to the House of Sparneck. Prominent members of the family: * Franziska von Reitzen ...

and

Zedtwitz The House of Zedtwitz is the name of an old and distinguished German and Czech noble house which originated from Franconia, Germany. History The family first appeared in a written document in 1235 and later in 1288 where progenitor Berthold v ...

. As a consequence of supporting the robber baron Thomas von Absberg, they were forced to give up their origin lands and moved to

Upper Palatinate The Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz, , ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany, and is located in the east of Bavaria. Geography The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and numerous ponds and lakes ...

, keeping only few

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...

s, the so-called ''

Afterlehen An ''Afterlehen'' or ''Afterlehn'' ''(plural: Afterlehne, Afterlehen)'' is a fief that the liege lord has himself been given as a fief and has then, in turn, enfeoffed it wholly or partially to a lesser vassal or vassals. The term is German. It is ...

'', e.g. in Bernstein near

Wunsiedel (; Northern Bavarian: ''Wåuṉsieḏl'' or ''Wousigl'') is the seat of the Upper Franconian district of in northeast Bavaria, Germany. The town is the birthplace of poet Jean Paul. It also became known for its annual Festival and the Rudolf ...

and Dörflas, now a part of

Marktredwitz Marktredwitz () is a town in the Wunsiedel (district), district of Wunsiedel, in Bavaria, Germany, close to the Czech Republic, Czech border. It is situated 22 km west of Cheb, 50 km east of Bayreuth and 50 km south of Hof/Saale. Ma ...

. For two generations they can be found in

Libá Libá (until 1948 ''Libštejn'', german: Liebenstein) is a municipality and village in Cheb District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 800 inhabitants. Administrative parts The village of Hůrka is an administrative pa ...

. At last they owned

manor house A manor house was historically the main residence of the lord of the manor. The house formed the administrative centre of a manor in the European feudal system; within its great hall were held the lord's manorial courts, communal meals w ...

s in

Trausnitz Trausnitz is a municipality in the district of Schwandorf in Bavaria, 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, an ...

, Püchersreuth and Reuth bei Erbendorf.

References

* Peter Braun: ''Die Herren von Sparneck. Stammbaum, Verbreitung, Kurzinventar''. In: ''Archiv für die Geschichte von Oberfranken''. Vol. 82, 2002, pp. 71–106. * Peter Braun: ''Ordenszugehörigkeiten der Herren von Sparneck''. In: ''Jahrbuch 2004 des BDOS - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Ordenskunde e.V.'' 2004. * Alban Freiherr von Dobeneck: ''Geschichte des ausgestorbenen Geschlechtes der von Sparneck''. In: ''Archiv für die Geschichte von Oberfranken''. Vol. 22, Heft 3, 1905, p. 1–65 and Vol. 23, Book 1, 1906, pp. 1–56. Nachdruck: . * František Kubu: ''Die staufische Ministerialität im Egerland''; übers. Bohus Wallisch; (''Quellen und Erörterungen der Otnant-Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Kultur in der Euregio Egrensis'' 1), Bodner, Pressath 1995; . * Reinhardt Schmalz: ''Der Fränkische Krieg 1523 und die Schuld der Sparnecker''. In: ''Archiv für die Geschichte von Oberfranken''. Vol. 85, 2005, pp. 151–158. {{Authority control German Bohemian noble families

Sparneck, House of