Hohenzollern-Hechingen was a county and principality in southwestern Germany. Its rulers belonged to a branch of the senior Swabia

Swabia

Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...

n branch of the Hohenzollern dynasty.

History

The County of Hohenzollern-Hechingen was created in 1576, upon the partition of the County of Hohenzollern

Zollern

Zollern, from 1218 Hohenzollern, was a county of the Holy Roman Empire. Its ruling dynasty was the House of Hohenzollern, a Swabian noble family first mentioned in 1061. They named their estates after Hohenzollern Castle at the Swabian Alb; its capital was Hechingen...

, a fief of the Holy Roman Empire

Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...

. 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
  Charles II, Count of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen
  Charles II, Count of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen became Count of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen in 1576 and remained so until his death....
  
   (1547–1606)
• Christoph 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 principality joined the Confederation of the Rhine

Confederation of the Rhine

The Confederation of the Rhine was a confederation of client states of the First French Empire. It was formed initially from 16 German states by Napoleon after he defeated Austria's Francis II and Russia's Alexander I in the Battle of Austerlitz. The Treaty of Pressburg, in effect, led to the...

 in 1806 and was a member state of the German Confederation

German Confederation

The German Confederation was the loose association of Central European states created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to coordinate the economies of separate German-speaking countries. It acted as a buffer between the powerful states of Austria and Prussia...

 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 August 6, Hohenzollern was occupied by Prussia

Prussia

Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...

n forces. On December 7, 1849, Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Konstantin sold the country to his relative, King Frederick William IV of Prussia

Frederick William IV of Prussia

|align=right|Upon his accession, he toned down the reactionary policies enacted by his father, easing press censorship and promising to enact a constitution at some point, but he refused to enact a popular legislative assembly, preferring to work with the aristocracy through "united committees" of...

. On 12 March 1850, Hohenzollern-Hechingen officially became part of Prussia, and formed together with Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen

Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen

-Noble jurisdictions:Prince Karl Eitel of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, and descendants of his nephew Ferdinand ruled over the Kingdom of Romania, as Karl Eitel did not have children...

 the Hohenzollernsche Lande.

Counts of Hohenzollern-Hechingen (1576-1623)

• Eitel Friedrich IV (1576–1605)
• Johann Georg (1605–1623) became Prince in 1623

Princes of Hohenzollern-Hechingen (1623-1850)

• Eitel Friedrich V. (1623–1661)
• Philipp Christoph Friedrich (1661–1671)
• Friedrich Wilhelm
  Friedrich Wilhelm
  The German name Friedrich Wilhelm usually refers to several monarchs of the Hohenzollern dynasty:*Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg *Frederick William I , King in Prussia*Frederick William II , King of Prussia...
  
   (1671–1735)
• Friedrich Ludwig
  Friedrich Ludwig
  Friedrich Ludwig was a German expressionist painter.-Early life:Friedrich Ludwig was born the ninth of seventeen children of a farming family in Wieslet, in the Black Forest region of Southern Germany. After attending elementary school and artistic instruction he worked from 1913 to 1917 as a...
  
   (1735–1750)
• Josef Friedrich Wilhelm
  Josef Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen
  Josef Friedrich Wilhelm , was prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen from 1750 until his death.-Life:...
  
   (1750–1798)
• Hermann
  Hermann, Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen
  Hermann Friedrich Otto was the ruling Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen from 1798 until 1810.-Life:...
  
   (1798–1810)
• Friedrich (1810–1838)
• Konstantin
  Constantine, Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen
  Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Konstantin Hermann Thassilo of Hohenzollern-Hechingen was the last Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen...
  
  (1838–1850) died 1869 last male member in dynastic line