Hans von Trotha

[1] As one of the younger sons of an aristocratic family, Hans entered the service of the electors and counts palatine of the Rhine in Heidelberg as a young man in the late 1470s.

He achieved this inter alia by erecting the outwork of Little France (Burg Klein-Frankreich) in 1484 on the northern slope of the hill opposite, the Nestelberg.

The reason for its poor condition seemed to be that Grafendahn had been designed from the outset as a Ganerbenburg which had always had joint owners with no one person taking responsibility for its maintenance.

However, the Elector did not support the monastery as expected; first he made excuses, then he elevated Hans to the rank of marshal and sold him the entire disputed possession.

When the dispute with the monastery reached its peak, Hans had the nearby Wieslauter river dammed and so deprived the downstream town of Weissenburg (now French Wissembourg) of its water supply.

Following complaints by the abbot, Hans tore down the dam as planned and caused a huge flood in Weissenburg that devastated the town economically.

Hans survived the sanctions of the Emperor and Pope and, two years later, after he had died on 26 October 1503 at Berwartstein Castle of natural causes, they were posthumously lifted.

He was not only described later as a robber baron, but over the course of time became portrayed as a figure of terror for children who, as the "Black Knight" (schwarzer Ritter),[1] was a restless spirit who stalked through the Wasgau at night.

[2] The appearance and dress of Hans Trapp (white beard, pointed hat and rod) are described in an Alemannic German poem from the Alsace:[3]