Plassenburg

The House of Guttenberg, a prominent Franconian noble family, traces its origins back to 1149 with a Gundeloh v. Blassenberg (Plassenberg).

A combined Bavarian and French army under the command of Jérôme Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon, besieged the Plassenburg in 1806.

To begin with, the castle was a central supporting stronghold for the Meranian rulers of the Upper Main and Franconian Forest.

The Hohenzollerns' territory in Franconia was divided between his sons, John III and Frederick VI, later to be the Elector of Brandenburg, in accordance with the Dispositio Fridericiana of 1385.

Thus, the Plassenburg became the centre of power for the so-called Principality of the Mountains (Fürstentum ob dem Gebirg), later the Margraviate of Brandenburg-Kulmbach.

After the death of John III in 1420, his estate fell to his brother, Frederick, who, in 1421, created the office of "Captain of the Mountains" to rule his domain.

The imprisonment of the Countess Barbara of Brandenburg in March 1493, began the sad chapter of Plassenburg Castle as a family prison.