The name " von Schaumberg, ( Scowenberc, Schowenberg, Schavenberg, Schawnberg, Schawmburg - mediaval german word forms for looking )
has it origins in the castle on the "looking hill" which the family used to name themselves proud of their first own castle.

The castle was buildt by Count Hermann Sterker von Wolveswac (Wohlsbach) around 1150. The family von Schaumberg appears in documents as his followers on the castle and his rights and lands.

In the year 1216 appears the name von Schaumberg in a document of the monestry Banz as a witness for the first time.

They probably came from the Main river valley near the town Lichtenfels and was relatives to the families von Sonneberg, von Schoenberg and von Lichtenfels and was serving as vasalls of the Dukes of Andechs Meranien - Duke Otto VII. Short before the death of the last Duke of Meran 1248 the Schaumberg Family was documented as direct vasalls and lief takers of the German Empire and the Great Emperor of the German Friedrich II von Stauffen since 1245.

1245 February, Foggia (Italy)

Emperor Friedrich II of the German Empire takes Heinrich II von Schowenberg, his Vassal, Otto II und Heinrich III, his sons and his faithfull friends, with their land they own, in the empires and his personal shelter, and warns evrybody to impede the family and promisses to threaten evrybody with the lost of his mercy, if he does so.

-His Majesties seal-

Translation from the latin document from 1370 Hennebergisches Cop. Buch Bl. 243 Hennebergisches Gesamtarchiv Meiningen Staats Archiv.

until 1320 they owned the following closed areas:

The landrights of Schaumberg, the high judge rights of Schalkau, the lands in the Thuringia forrests
together with the vast dynastic own and scattered properties in the Richeza - Saalfeld crownlands around Coburg and Schalkau up to Steinheid on top of the Thuringia Mountains, and beyond to Banz on Main river, at Teuschnitz and Nordhalben in the Frankonian Forrests, around Kronach and over to the suburb of the town Coburg .
Then they became new owners of the properties of the dieing out family von Sonneberg and in that way they get hold on all castles and streets, between the valleys of Itz-river, Röden-river and Steinach-river, in the first decades of the 14.th century, like the castles Schaumburg, Almerswind, Effelder, Sonneberg; Neuhaus, Mupperg, Hassenberg, Mitwitz, Einberg, Ober- und Niederfuellbach together with the lands, the sovereign rights, like the right on their goldmines in Steinheid und goldwashing in the Itz river und Grümpen river, the right to hunt all the areas till the bridge of Coburg town. The high and low judges rights in Schalkau, Mitwitz, Burggrub and in their own villages in Almerswind, Grümpen, Theuern, Rauenstein. Now in lief relations to Banz and Bamberg and Orlamünde.

After 1320
The first Count "of the new property "( Coburg )" Berthold the "Wise" von Henneberg forces from both german emperors Ludwig and Friedrich between 1315 and 1330 with smart serving with sword, money and advice, to take the empires property from Eberhard von Schaumberg and receives, after years of promises, the Schaumburg castle in the year 1330 from Emperor Ludwig as a lief, and gives it again to the von Schaumberg family. As they feel to be nomore the boss in their own castle the von Schaumberg family decides to buildt a new an bigger castle 5 miles away called Rauenstein in 1359.
The castle Schaumburg first stays in the families hands and later went to Henneberg, and after the dieing of the Henneberg Counts it is a lief from the Saxon Dukes. All sovereign rights like the judge rights in Schalkau together with the 24 villages was held together with Henneberg, and since 1353 together with the Dukes of Saxony until the selling of the second half in 1729 from Hans Siegmund von Schaumberg on Almerswind to the Dukes of Saxony.
Since 1347 the fights with the mighty sovereigns around are goin on until the 18.century, a long fight , with sword, hate, burning , robbery, battles and money wasting lawsuits and trials.
At the same time the family is not only in the borderlands between Saxony, Frankonia and members of the Empires Knights, also sitting between all chairs of the Emperor and the Counts and Dukes. On one hand they are the Emperors direct vasalls in Schalkau and Rauenstein, on the other hand they are Knights of the of the churchlands of the Bishops at Banz, Bamberg, Wuerzburg, Eichstaedt, Saalfeld, and the Dukes and Kings of Hohenzollern, Saxony and Wittelsbach . Because of the big families that often had 6 or more sons in the 15 century they had to spread out to the land.

From this time on they lost their influence more and more and after the big 30 year german religion war in the year 1635 they went down and never went up again, to be wealthy and nearly dynastic nobles in own lands. They had to serve in military positions or as castlekeepers of different sovereigns.

The Titles of the Family was:

from end of 12.th until the beginning of the 14.th century: Nobels by birth and Knights of the Stauffer and the Dukes von Meran with personal titel " Nobilis" ( nobel ) and " Dominus" ( lord ) with sovereign rights, countlike sovereignity, their own high and low judge rights and had own noble vassals beyond them like the families: von Schoenstadt, von Lazen, von Sand, von Siebenhaar. Since 1330 Knights by birth and Country Nobles with Baron titles, and members of the Empires Knights Conclusion of the counties Baunach, Rhoen-Werra and Gebirg and had the right to fight in tournaments, what was only allowed for people with a proofen noble heritage since at least 3 generations.

The family name starts with Heinrich I.von Schaumberg at 1216 grows bigger and becomes special in the 15.th century very numberous (8 family branches), The familiy fought in their own lands and nearly all european wars and ends in Germany with Harry Götz von Schaumberg, who died 1998 .He lost the very last rest of own land in 1945 through the east german socialistic state DDR, that took bigger land then1000 acres and gave it to small farmers or took it to buildt state farms. I luckiely was able to congratulate Harry Götz von Schaumberg to his 90th birthday. Surprisingly i found out that an other member of the family, from the american line that emigrated in 1861, Gerald von Schaumberg 1915 - 2002 died in Ohio as the very last male to wear this name and title.
So after 786 years of fights the story of the proud family von Schaumberg ends
may they rest in peace!
© by M.G.Knoch