According to the historian Conrad Justinger, in 1339 Rudolf von Erlach led the victorious Bernese forces at the Battle of Laupen.

In the 15th century they added the municipalities and villages of Hindelbank, Jegenstorf, Wyl (now part of Münchenbuchsee), Riggisberg and Bümpliz.

They began to take a major role in politics in the city of Bern and married into a number of noble and wealthy patrician families.

By the mid 15th century, Ulrich (died 1465) became the first of seven von Erlach Schultheissen (or Mayors) to serve in the city of Bern.

While still a member of the Kleinrat (small council) he led Bernese troops to besiege Grandson and Murten during the Burgundian Wars in 1476.

During the Swabian War of 1499, Rudolf once again took command of a Bernese army and fought in the Hegau region and in the Battle of Dornach.

He was sent as an ambassador from the Swiss Confederation to Neuchâtel in 1511 and in 1512 met with the Duke of Savoy in Geneva and then traveled to Milan to meet with the Pope.

Another family member, Ludwig von Erlach (1470–1522) had acquired the castle and town of Spiez and the Bubenberghäuser on Junkerngasse in Bern.

Hans Rudolf inherited estates in Spiez, Schadau, Bümpliz and Oberhofen as well as the house in Bern.

Hans Rudolf's grandson Franz Ludwig (4 January 1575 – 1651) became the fourth von Erlach to become the Schultheiss of Bern.

[5] In the 17th century many of the von Erlach family left Switzerland to find work as Swiss mercenaries, often in service to the King of France.

A few years later, Sigmund led Confederation troops successfully against the rebels in the Swiss peasant war of 1653.

His cousin, Hieronymus (1667–1748), had a successful military and political career, and became the largest land holder in Bern.

At the end of the 18th century, the increasingly powerful oligarchs, such as the von Erlach family, were widely hated by the majority of the Swiss.

Most of the country was quickly captured by peasants who believed the ideals of the French Revolution would be better than the current system.

A Bernese army marched out to meet the French, under General Karl Ludwig von Erlach.

[10] They met the French at the Battle of Fraubrunnen but were driven back to Grauholz, a wooded hill near Bern.

Under the Republic the von Erlach family and all other Swiss nobles and patricians lost their traditional rights and the income that they had received.

While the von Erlach family lost their position at the center of Bernese politics, they remained wealthy.

Rudolf von Erlach (27 January 1891 – 7 August 1944) was a member of the Swiss General Staff and commanded Gebirgsbrigade 12 and later the 5.