Lordship of Hanau

The Lordship of Hanau was a territory within the Holy Roman Empire. In 1429 it was promoted to become a county. Geography The territory of Hanau stretched along the northern bank of the Main river from east of Frankfurt am Main to east of Hanau. This area was called "Amt Buchen". From the 13th century it grew to include areas in the valley of the Kinzig, in the Spessart mountains, areas north of Frankfurt and south of the Main river around Babenhausen. The beginnings In documents issued by the Archbishop of Mainz from 1122 two witnesses named after the castle of Wachenbuchen or simply "Buchen" (today part of the town of Maintal) are listed several times. They were Dammo of Buchen and his brother Siegebodo of Buchen. Dammo later called himself Dammo of Hanau. Hanau was a castle erected in a sharp bend of the Kinzig river a short distance before it flows into the Main river. The oldest mention of the castle dates to 1143. Dammo had a son who called himself Arnold of Hanau. Hanau family and its territory Starting in 1166/68 a noble family arose who initially titled themselves after the castle of Dorfelden, but – starting in 1191 – they took on the title "of Hanau". The relationship between the families "of Buchen" and "of Dorfelden" is not clear. But since this time, the Genealogy of the "of Hanau" family is documented without interruption until the last male member died in 1736.