The House of Kotzau 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 languages, Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three Regierungsbezirk, administrative ...

. The House of Kotzau took its name from the village of Kotzau, today called

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

and it is located in the

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 county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

Hof in

Upper Franconia Upper Franconia (german: Oberfranken) is a ''Regierungsbezirk'' (administrative 'Regierungs''region 'bezirk'' of the state of Bavaria, southern Germany. It forms part of the historically significant region of Franconia, the others being Middle F ...

. Famous members of the family were

abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Copt ...

in the abbeys of

Himmelkron Himmelkron is a municipality in the district of Kulmbach in Bavaria 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, an ...

and Hof. Hans von Kotzau fought against the

hussite The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation. The Huss ...

s at

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 Rudol ...

in 1430. In

Second Margrave War The Second Margrave War () was a conflict in the Holy Roman Empire between 1552 and 1555. Instigated by Albert Alcibiades, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and Brandenburg-Bayreuth, it involved numerous raids, plunderings, and the destruction ...

Georg Wolf of Kotzau, originally a knight in the fellowship of

Albert Alcibiades, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach Albert II (german: Albrecht; 28 March 15228 January 1557) was the Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (Brandenburg-Bayreuth) from 1527 to 1553. He was a member of the Franconian branch of the House of Hohenzollern. Because of his bellicose nature ...

, turned against his prince and supported Henry IV, Burgrave of Plauen. 1553 the town of Hof was besieged, captured and Georg Wolf was appointed to be governor. The family was directly related with the Houses of Guttenberg, Sparneck 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 ...

. The last knight died in 1661 in a duel. The

House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenbu ...

founded the dynasty of the

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire ...

en of Kotzau, though not related to the knightly family. It was Georg Albrecht, son of

Georg Albrecht, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth-Kulmbach Georg Albrecht of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (Bayreuth, 20 March 1619 – Schretz, 27 September 1666), was a German prince and member of the House of Hohenzollern. He was the eighth of the nine children of Christian, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, b ...

, who entered into a

morganatic marriage Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

. For his wife Regina Magdalena Lutz and his descendants the title was created and they received castle and land at Oberkotzau. The Freiherren died out in 1976.

References

* Alban von Dobeneck: ''Geschichte des ausgestorbenen Geschlechtes von Kotzau.'' In: ''Archiv für die Geschichte von Oberfranken.'' Bayreuth 1909, S. 1 - 111. (German) * Kurt Stierstorfer: ''Die Belagerung Hofs 1553''. Hof 2003. S.215f. . (German) {{Commons category Franconian nobility German noble families House of Hohenzollern