House of Falkenstein

If one looks at the undated notes in the Rotulus Sanpetrinus, an index of goods belonging to the Abbey of St. Peter in the Black Forest, then a Reynard of Weiler was the first to name himself von Falkenstein after his new castle, Burg Reinhard, in 1152.

They and the Falkensteins supported the Zähringens against the counts of Haigerloch, whose possessions included Wiesneck Castle and the vogtei east of Stegen enfeoffed by St. Märgen's Abbey founded before 1121.

[3] "We can guess that the Zähringens, in opening up the Black Forest, gave the Falkensteins the task of clearing the area around the Zartenbach stream (today the Rotbach, Höllenbach).

"[4] At its peak, the Falkenstein area, excluding from scattered estates, encompassed the Dreisam Valley from the mouth of the Krummbach upwards and the catchment of the Rotbach to Lake Titisee, from there northwards as far as Thurner and southwards to the Feldberg, including the village of Zastler.

For this reason, this same Werner occupied Falkenstein Castle, in which he had a small stake, so that no-one might walk by on the road or through the valley without him or his retinue knowing who it was; and if he understood that he belonged to the towns of the Federation, he robbed him as is commonplace in all wars... and we advanced on the same Saint Nicholas' Eve to this castle, and captured it the same day with the help of Almighty God and burned, devastated and punished it in such measure that on Saint Nicholas' Day we dared lavishly praise God and bless all pious people who walk this road trustingly.