The castle was first mentioned in an official document in 1135 and Siegebold von Falkenstein is referred to as the lord of the castle. What happened over the following 40 years is unknown. After 1170, male members of the Boladen family appear in annals as the lords of the castle. But it wasn’t until 1233 that Philipp IV of Boladen was officially named Philipp I of Falkenstein. Philipp had two sons, Philipp II and Werner, with whom the Falkenstein lineage split into two branches – the Butzbacher and the Licher line.
However, the history of the Falkenstein family certainly was not limited to the Pfalz region. They were related to the noble Hagen-Münzenberg family and when this lineage ended, the Falkenstein family gained access to extensive estates in the Rhine-Main region. One of those newly acquired properties was located in Offenbach where they later built the castle Neufalkenstein in the Taunus mountains near Königstein.

One of the descendants of the Butzbacher line was Kuno II of Falkenstein. From 1362 to 1388, he was prince-elector and archbishop of Trier, one of the most influential positions in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation at the time. After his death, his grandnephew Werner III of Falkenstein of the Licher line accepted this important office. As town lord of Offenbach, he took on the powerful free city of Frankfurt among others. With his death, the male lineage of Falkenstein came to an end.
The influential Lords of Eppstein and Dukes of Solms inherited the Falkenstein family’s possessions. The last Eppstein died in the 16th century while the line of Dukes of Solms exists until this day. The last female descendant of the Falkenstein family was Werner III’s sister Anna. She donated a hospital to the village Dreieichenhain, which belonged to her family. The fact that the hospital was moved to Offenbach in 1750 allegedly upset her so much that she wasn’t able to find peace. She is said to have haunted the area as a ghost until the mid-19th century.

The first Andechs family member was called Graf Rasso and lived in the 9th century. During the Middle Ages, he was admired as the popular saint Grafrath or Graf Rath. During Charlemagne’s reign, he supposedly was margrave in the area between Ammersee and Starnbergsee and founded a cloister among other things. The town in which he is buries is named after him: Grafrath.
The second saint from this family is St. Hedwig of Silesia. She lived from 1174 until 1243. At age twelve, she married the Count of Silesia (and later Poland) Henry I. She was said to be particularly ascetic and benevolent; after the death of her husband, she joined a convent. According to legend, she preferred walking barefoot even in winter. Because her father confessor recommended she wear shoes, she simply carried them in her hands. This is why images of saints often depict her carrying shoes or a church in her hand.

The daughter of her sister Gertrude and King Andrew II of Hungary is equally famous. Elizabeth of Hungary (1207-1231) is one of the most important saints of all times. Because she voluntarily gave up all of the aristocratic luxuries, she is considered a shining example for a pious and ascetic life. She tended to the sick and cared for the poor with truly exceptional dedication for her time. The most significant legend about her life is referred to as “Miracle of Roses”. The legend says that Elizabeth decided against the will of her husband to take a basket filled with bread down to the poor. When he confronted her and forced her to show him the contents of the basket, it was allegedly filled with roses instead of bread. Numerous hospitals are named after her.
But the Andechs family is not only known for these important legendary figures, they also had vast political influence for centuries. They ruled large areas all the way from Upper Franconia to Italy and the eastern Adriatic Sea. Their ancestors in all likelihood came from the area neat Ammersee. This is where the Andechs castles are located where Count Rasso founded a church back in the 9th century. Initially the family went by “of Diessen” named after the village with their ancestral seat. After the local cloister and entire village were transferred to the Pope, the family finally decided to go by “of Andechs”.

The town of Andechs is first referred to in a document in 1030 as “Andehse”. Later the monastery Andechs was founded, which is still known for its good beer. Another branch of the family was “von Wolfratshausen” – named after the village where they lived. This line already ended in the 12th century. In 1180, Frederick I Barbarossa awarded Count Berthold IV of Andechs the title “Duke of Merania”. Otto IV of Andechs was also bishop of Brixen, his brother Berthold III count in Inntal and Pustertal. The latter is considered the founder of the city of Innsbruck. Strategic marriages allowed the Andechs family to secure their political influence all the way to Burgundy, Italy and Hungary. They were in charge of important trade routes across the Alps and were considered faithful followers of Barbarossa.

When Ekbert Bishop of Bamberg and Henry Margrave of Istria – both Andechs family members – were suspected of having been involved in the murder of the last son of Barbarossa, Philipp of Swabia, they were excommunicated. This lead to the loss of all fiefs and privileges. Even though their involvement could never be confirmed in any historic sources, the suspects were not able to regain trust and respect in aristocratic circles. This event caused the downfall of the Andechs family. The noble line ended with the death of Duke Otto VIII of Merania in 1248.

Even though the Duchy of Merania had a fairly short-lived existence, some exceptionally influential noble families were involved. It was founded in the 12th century when the House of Hohenstaufen – first Conrad III and then his successor Frederick I Barbarossa – reorganised Bavaria. Both of them rewarded vassals and partisans with nobility titles and fiefs. Barbarossa also awarded Wittelsbach’s Count Conrad II of Scheyer-Dachau dukedom. In 1153, he received the highest noble rank and became Duke of Merania. This was a new name for the Duchy as well. Merania’s history didn’t last very long either. Politically speaking, these were tumultuous times and the power relations could change entirely within just one generation. The Duchy of Merania existed for merely 95 years. In addition to Merania, Conrad II also reigned over Dalmatia and Croatia and was considered a powerful local ruler. Because his relatives ruled the neighbouring regions, his House’s influence in Bavaria was quite extensive.His son Conrad II, however, had a more reclusive lifestyle, spent most of his time in Dachau and went by “Duke of Dachau”. As he did not have a male heir, the duchy fell into new hands after his death.

In around 1180, Barbarossa awarded Count Berthold IV of Andechs the title “Duke of Merania”. Berthold already had a special connection to the name of the duchy because of his mother Hedwig: the name “Merania” is believed to come from a region near the Adriatic coast in Istria, which Berthold’s maternal great-grandfather had ruled. The counts of Andechs-Merania were considered faithful followers of the German emperor and ruled the area from Bavaria all the way to the Adriatic Sea.

In connection with the murder of Frederick Barbarossa’s son, Philipp of Swabia, the last duke of Andechs-Merania, Otto VIII, was suspected of connivance and lost his office and titles. From a historical standpoint, these accusations were not justified but in those days these types of schemes were commonplace. The Duchy of Merania ended here and the fiefdoms were distributed to various noble families. It is in part thanks to religious legends that accounts of this short-lived heyday, during which the House of Andechs played an important role in history, survived until today. In the 9th century, one descendent of the family, Count Rasso (a.k.a. Grafrath) – who is the namesake for a Bavarian town – was already an admired saint in the Middle Ages.

Saint Hedwig of Silesia, originally Hedwig of Andechs, was the daughter of Berthold IV of Andechs-Merania and married to Duke of Silesia and Poland, Henry I. She is said to have lived an ascetic life dedicated to the poor; she is also patron saint of Silesia and Andechs. Her niece, Elizabeth of Hungary, was even more famous. The daughter of Hedwig’s sister Gertrude of Andechs was worshipped as Saint Elizabeth worldwide. There are numerous legends surrounding Elizabeth’s life, which she lived dedicated to the poor and the sick. Even Protestants recognise her as a role model for a good, Christian life. Furthermore, there was a popular chivalric story that mentioned a character called Berchtung of Meran. During the Middle Ages, several different versions of this tale existed. Berchtung was a faithful vassal of the hero Wolfdietrich, who experienced various adventures before he could finally be the ruler he was born to be.