The Counties, Duchy then Kingdom at the root of the Raff family.

Württemberg was a historic region of southwestern Germany, bounded by Bavaria, Lake of Constance, which separated the area from Switzerland, and Baden. The capital was Stuttgart.

Occupied originally by the Celts and the Suevi, the Wurttemberg region was conquered in the 1st century by the Romans. In the 3rd century if was overrun by the Alamanni, who in turn were subdued by the Franks. The Frankish emperors organized the area as part of the duchy of Swabia and in or before the 13th century gave the title of counts of Wurttemberg to a local family. The counts became increasingly powerful, and in 1495 Wurttemberg was raised to the rank of a duchy. The area became Protestant during the Thirty Years' War, but it began to develop as a manufacturing center and as a textile center by the late 17th century.

The dukes of Wurttemberg were raised to the rand of electors in 1803 and of kings in 1806. Wurttemberg was allied with Austria against Prussia in 1866, during the Seven Weeks' War, but it joined the Prussian-dominated North German Confederation in 1867. The kingdom supported Purssia against France in 1870 and in 1871 became part of the new German Empire.

After World War II, Wurttemberg was divided into the newly created states of Wurttemberg-Hohenzollern and Wurttemberg-Baden; both became parts of West Germany in 1949. These states merged in 1952 with that of Baden to form the new state of Baden-Wurttemberg.

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Copyright 1991-2001 Carl T. Raff, All Rights Reserved.