Hohenzollern Castle
Hohenzollern Castle is a hilltop castle located on the Berg Hohenzollern, an isolated promontory of the Swabian Jura (NHN) above sea level, above and to the south of Hechingen, Germany approximately south of Stuttgart, capital of Baden-Württemberg. This mountain lends its name to the local geographic region, "der Zollernalbkreis", and is known among locals as "Zollerberg" (Zoller Mountain), or simply "Zoller".
House of Hohenzollern
Affected by economic problems and internal feuds, the Hohenzollern counts from the 14th century onwards came under pressure by their neighbors, the Counts of Württemberg and the cities of the Swabian League, whose troops besieged and finally destroyed Hohenzollern Castle in 1423. Nevertheless, the Hohenzollerns retained their estates, backed by their Brandenburg cousins and the Imperial House of Habsburg. In 1535, Count Charles I of Hohenzollern (1512–1576) received the counties of Sigmaringen and Veringen as Imperial fiefs.