The House of Hohenzollern (/hoʊənˈzɒlərn/, also US: /-əntsɔː-, ˌhoʊənˈzɒlərn, -ˈzɔː-/, German: Haus Hohenzollern, pronounced [ˌhaʊ̯s hoːənˈt͡sɔlɐn], Romanian: Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenburg, Prussia, the German Empire, and Romania. The family came from the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the late 11th century and took their name from Hohenzollern Castle. The first ancestors of the Hohenzollerns were mentioned in 1061.