This branch of the Hessian ruling family resided in Rheinfels castle near St. Goar , and controlled the towns of Schotten, Stornfels, Bad Homburg, Lißberg, Ulrichstein, Itter, and the part of the former County of Katzenelnbogen north of the Main. The line was independent from 1567 until 1583, when it died out and its possessions were divided among Hesse-Darmstadt, Hesse-Marburg, and Hesse-Kassel.