 The family acquired a fiefdom in 1283 and built Westernhagen Castle in Berlingerode, from which their name derives.The family is first mentioned in 1258 with "Conradus and Hermannus Indagine" (Latin for "Hagen" meaning "hague", an area fortified and fenced with a hedge).With the latter Hermannus, an uninterrupted ancestry line begins.