The House of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen is the cadet branch of the senior Swabian branch of the Hohenzollern dynasty, less known than the Franconian branch which became Burgraves of Nuremberg and later ruled Brandenburg-Prussia and the German Empire. The state which the cadet branch ruled was the County of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, which later became a principality (Fürstentum Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen).