Family History

The 9th Century

Our story begins in the 9th century, when we accompanied King Karl the Great on his journey from the area known today as Lorraine to Rhineland-Pfalz. One spring morning, Karl observed that the snow on the hills over the river was already melting.

Accordingly, he ordered his vines to be planted on the other side of the Rhine, the Rhinegau.

The Greiffenclau’s followed suit and crossed the river to plant vines. They erected the “Grey House” which is known to be the oldest stone built house in Germany. In fact they took the building material with them, in other words, they made use of parts of King Karl’s castle. Not a noble, but a common thing to do in those times.