House of Egloffstein

The House of Egloffstein is an ancient Franconian aristocratic family (Uradel) with an eponymous family home in the hill region of Franconian Switzerland in the Bavarian province of Upper Franconia. The family first appears in the records in 1187 with a Heinrich genannt Stuchs ("Henry, named Stuchs") who is also the progenitor. The house belongs to the brotherhood of Franconian Imperial Knights.

The Egloffsteins were a mighty, influential Franconian family of Imperial Knights with many branches. They belonged to the Knights' Cantons of Gebürg (Ritterkanton Gebürg) and Steigerwald (Ritterkanton Steigerwald), Gebürg being part of the old name for Franconian Switzerland.

In the 14th century, they not only had their own castles in Egloffstein, but also in Stolzenrode, Leienfels, Burggaillenreuth, Neuhaus an der Pegnitz, Lauterbach, Wolfsberg, Wadendorf, Neunkirchen am Brand, Löhlitz and Henfenfeld as well as a water castle in Kunreuth. The Egloffsteins used their own allodial estates to found the chaplaincy in Egloffstein.

They were related inter alia to the noble families of Lüchau and Rabensteiner zu Döhlau.

Family members engaged in numerous feuds with the Imperial City of Nuremberg.

The Egloffsteins had wealthy possessions in Franconia; these included:

The Egloffsteins had several estates in the State of the Teutonic Order, today Poland and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

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