Erlach family

von Erlach
Country	Bern, Switzerland
Titles	Reichsgraf
Founded	before 1299

The von Erlach family was a noble Bernese patrician family. They first became citizens of Bern around 1300. During the 17th and 18th Centuries they were one of the leading families in Bern. For centuries the family served as senior military commanders in both Bern and in foreign armies. They were mayors of Bern and ruled over many other towns and cities in western Switzerland. Several family members received the upper nobility title "Reichsgraf".

The Erlach family is first mentioned as a ministerialis (or unfree knight) family in the service of the Counts of Nidau. Initially they were the castellans in Erlach Castle in the town of Erlach on Lake Biel. By 1300 they were citizens of Bern and had tied their fate to the city. According to the historian Conrad Justinger, in 1339 Rudolf von Erlach led the victorious Bernese forces at the Battle of Laupen. In the following year he led a Bernese army in a raid on the city of Fribourg. Before his death, in 1360, Rudolf bought property and governance rights in Jegenstorf and Reichenbach Castle (in Zollikofen).

In the 15th century they added the municipalities and villages of Hindelbank, Jegenstorf, Wyl (now part of Münchenbuchsee), Riggisberg and Bümpliz. They began to take a major role in politics in the city of Bern and married into a number of noble and wealthy patrician families. By the mid 15th century, Ulrich (died 1465) became the first of seven von Erlach Schultheissen (or Mayors) to serve in the city of Bern.

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