Editing Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (section)

==History==
The senior [[Swabia|Swabian]] branch is less well known to history than the junior [[Burgraviate of Nuremberg#List of burgraves|Franconian line]], the latter of which became [[Burgraviate of Nuremberg|Burgraves of Nuremberg]] and later ruled [[Margraviate of Brandenburg|Brandenburg]] and [[Prussia]], and the [[German Empire]].

The County of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was created in 1576, upon the partition of the [[House of Hohenzollern#County of Zollern|County of Hohenzollern]], a [[fief]] of the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. When the last count of Hohenzollern, [[Karl I, Count of Hohenzollern|Karl I]] (1512–1579) died, the territory was divided among his three sons:
* [[Eitel Friedrich IV, Count of Hohenzollern|Eitel Friedrich IV of Hohenzollern-Hechingen]] (1545–1605)
* [[Charles II, Count of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen|Charles II of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen]] (1547–1606)
* [[Christoph, Count of Hohenzollern-Haigerloch|Christoph of Hohenzollern-Haigerloch]] (1552–1592)

[[File:Sigmaringen Schloss BW 2015-04-28 17-37-14.jpg|thumb|[[Sigmaringen Castle]]]]
The princes of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen ruled over a small principality in south-western Germany, with a seat at [[Sigmaringen Castle]]. Unlike the Hohenzollerns of Brandenburg-Prussia, the Hohenzollerns of Sigmaringen remained [[Roman Catholic]], along with their cousins of [[Hohenzollern-Hechingen]] (the senior line of the Swabian branch of the House of Hohenzollern) and [[Hohenzollern-Haigerloch]].

The principality became a sovereign state in 1815 after the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 and an independent realm following the [[Napoleonic Wars]] in 1815. Its ruler, Charles, was deposed in the [[revolutions of 1848]]. His son, Karl Anton, succeeded him, and turned to Prussia for aid. Prussian troops arrived in August 1849, and in a treaty signed in December Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen was annexed by Prussia, effective in March 1850. The annexation of their state did not, however, mean the end of the importance of the House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen.

The last prince, [[Karl Anton, Prince of Hohenzollern (died 1885)|Karl Anton]], served as [[Minister President of Prussia]] from 1858 to 1861. Karl Anton's second son, [[Carol I of Romania|Karl Eitel of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen]] became prince (1866–1881) and then [[Kingdom of Romania|King of Romania]], under the name Carol (reigned 1881–1914). The house remained on the throne until the end of the Romanian monarchy in 1947. The last King of Romania, [[Michael I of Romania|Michael]], died on 5 December 2017.

Because the eldest Hechingen line of the Hohenzollerns became extinct in 1869 with the death of [[Constantine, Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen]], the head of the Sigmaringen branch, Karl Anton, dropped his line's suffix and took the title of Prince (''Fürst'') of (all) Hohenzollern.

French opposition to the candidacy of Carol's elder brother Prince [[Leopold, Prince of Hohenzollern|Leopold]] for the throne of Spain triggered the [[Franco-Prussian War]] (1870–1871), which led to the founding of the [[German Empire]] in January 1871.