William Louis, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken
Encyclopedia
William Louis of Nassau-Saarbrücken (18 December 1590, Ottweiler
– 22 August 1640, Metz
), was a Count of Saarbrücken.
(died: 8 November 1627 in Saarbrücken
) and Landgravine Anna Maria of Hesse-Kassel
(1567–1626). His father had in 1605 re-united all the possessions of the Walram line of the House of Nassau.
After his education at Metz
from 1609 to 1614 he made a Grand Tour
of France, the Netherlands and England.
In 1616 William Louis became co-regent with his father. His father died in 1627 and he became guardian of his two youngest brothers, Otto and Ernest Casimir
. On 29 January 1629 in Ottweiler, the inheritance was split and William Louis received the County of Saarbrücken, the Office Ottweiler
, the Bailiwick of Herbitzheim, and the Community of Saarwellingen
. His brother John
received Idstein
, Wiesbaden
and Sonnenberg
. William Louis remained Regent of Wehen and the district of Burgschwalbach
, the territories of his two youngest brothers, as they were still minors.
Shortly thereafter, on 2 March 1629, Emperor Ferdinand II
issued the Edict of Restitution
, by which church property that had been confiscated after 1552 under the Peace of Passau
, was returned to its previous owner. Based on this Edict, the Prince Bishops of Mainz and Trier claimed substantial parts of the possessions of the Nassau brothers. The Court of Appeal ruled on 7 July 1629 in a dispute between Lorraine and Nassau, that the city and county of Saarwerden and Bockenheim and Wieberstweiler were fiefs of Metz and should therefore be reurned to Lorraine, and the Nassau familty could keep the rest of their county. The Duke of Lorraine, however, took possession of the whole of the County of Saarwerden and the Lordship of Herbitzheim. William Louis appealed, and his appeal was acknowledged on 27 July 1630 by Superintendent Abraham Staymle at Strasbourg. William Louis took the case to the Imperial Council of Princes in Regensburg
and demanded the imperial investiture on 23 July 1631 (although he had refused to join the Catholic League, or to provide troops). Late in 1631, king Gustav Adolph II of Sweden and his army arrived at the Rhine. William Louis and his borthers joined him, thereby declaring war on the Emperor. William Louis himself served as a lieutenant colonel in the cavalry regiment of Rhinegrave Otto Louis of Salm-Kyrburg-Mörchingen
and fought with them in the Upper Rhine Valley.
King Gustav Adolph II was killed on 16 November 1632. The Protestant estates then met in Heilbronn
. At this meeting, the three Nassau brothers joined the Swedish side, which was led by chancellor Axel Oxenstierna
. The youngest brother, Count Otto, died on 26 November 1632 and on 11 December Count Ernest Casimir came of age. The Nassau territories were divide anew. Ernest Casimir chose the districts of Weilburg
, Gleiberg, Mehrenberg and the districts of Kirchheim and Stauf, that had previously belonged to Otto. The district of Usingen
and the Lordship of Stockheim
were divided.
In August 1633, the Swedish army attacked form the Alsace into the County of Saarwerden, which was still occupied by Lorraine. The county was conquered, but not given back to the Nassaus. On 5 September 1633, their representative Count John of Nassau-Idstein, signed an alliance with France against the Emperor.
In March 1634 William Louis was at the meeting in Frankfurt, where Oxenstierna tried to win over the Electors of Saxony and Brandenburg to join the Heilbronn League
. Here, the Nassau brothers also reached a compromise with the Lords of Geroldseck
about the ownership rights to Lahr
. On 7 June William Louis sealed the alliance with France. The negotiations in Frankfurt came to an abrupt end when Emperor Ferdinand II
won the Battle of Nördlingen
on 6 September 1634. As the imperial army of the Middle Rhine approached, the counts brought their archives to a secure place in Frankfurt and then proceeded to Kirchheim. They had to give up their possessions of the right bank of the Rhine.
After the death of Rhinegrave Otto Louis, William Louis entered the service of Duke Bernard of Saxe-Weimar. They launched a campaign to Wetterau
and attacked a division of the Imperial General Count von Mansfeld at Michelstadt
on the 24 December 1634
In 1635, he returned to Frankfurt to attend a meeting of the Protestant states and their allies. At this meeting, it was decided that Sweden would return Saarwerden to the Nassaus. On 23 April 1635 the family fled to Bockenheim, where the counties of Nassau-Saarbrücken and Saarwerden should have been handed over. However, on 30 May 1635 a number of imperial estates, including the Electorates of Brandenburg and Saxony, had concluded the Peace of Prague
and the Nassau Counts were expressly excluded from this agreement. They then went to Saarbrücken, which was defended by Bernard of Saxe-Weimar. Bernard was defeated in August 1635 during an attack on Frankfurt and had to retreat to Metz. William Louis and Ernest joined him; John chose to go into exile in Strasbourg. However, a panic broke out in Saarbrücken as the Imperial troops under Matthias Gallas
approached and a large number of people tried to flee. The count's family decided that under the circumstance, Strasbourg was too far and could not be reached. So they followed the advice of King Louis XIII of France
and fled to the free imperial city of Metz
on 16 June 1635.
In November 1635 the imperial commissioner Bertram of Sturm appeared in the Nassau lands of and declared the three brothers and had forfeited their counties and all their possessions. The Emperor gave the Duke of Lorraine the counties of Saarbrücken and Saarland and the bailiwick of Herbitzheim and the fortress of Homburg on the Blies as a reward for services rendered.
In 1636, the brothers attempted to petition the Emperor for an imperial pardon; the Elector of Saxony mediated. This attempt failed, but it wasn't until 1637 that the counts were told the reasons for this imperial wrath. Only in 1639 did William Louis and Ernest receive a pass that enabled them to represent their cause in Vienna in person.
William Louis died on 22 August 1640 in Metz and was buried in a pauper's grave. His widow returned with the children to Saarbrücken in 1643. His three sons participated in a new division of the Nassau territories on 31 March 1659.
Registrar
Andreae completed William Louis's genealogy books, a project his father Louis II
had begun. Some works of the painter Henrich Dors from Altweilnau were commissioned by William Louis.
(1595–1651), daughter of the Margrave George Frederick of Baden-Durlach.
Ottweiler
Ottweiler is a municipality, former seat of the district of Neunkirchen, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the river Blies, approx. 7 km north of Neunkirchen, and 25 km northeast of Saarbrücken.The town is notable for the Ottweiler porcelain....
– 22 August 1640, Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
), was a Count of Saarbrücken.
Life
His parents were Louis II of Nassau-WeilburgLouis II, Count of Nassau-Weilburg
Louis II of Nassau-Weilburg was a count of Nassau-Weilburg.- Life :Louis was the eldest son of Count Albert of Nassau-Weilburg-Ottweiler and Countess Anna of Nassau-Dillenburg. His family moved in 1575 from Weilburg to Ottweiler...
(died: 8 November 1627 in Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
) and Landgravine Anna Maria of Hesse-Kassel
Anna Maria of Hesse-Kassel
Anna Maria of Hesse-Kassel was a princess of Hesse-Kassel by birth and by marriage Countess of Nassau-Saarbrücken.- Life :...
(1567–1626). His father had in 1605 re-united all the possessions of the Walram line of the House of Nassau.
After his education at Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
from 1609 to 1614 he made a Grand Tour
Grand Tour
The Grand Tour was the traditional trip of Europe undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s, and was associated with a standard itinerary. It served as an educational rite of passage...
of France, the Netherlands and England.
In 1616 William Louis became co-regent with his father. His father died in 1627 and he became guardian of his two youngest brothers, Otto and Ernest Casimir
Ernest Casimir, Count of Nassau-Weilburg
Ernest Casimir of Nassau-Weilburg was the founder the younger line of Nassau-Weilburg.He was a son of Louis II, Count of Nassau-Weilburg and his wife Anna Maria of Hesse-Kassel .- Life :...
. On 29 January 1629 in Ottweiler, the inheritance was split and William Louis received the County of Saarbrücken, the Office Ottweiler
Ottweiler
Ottweiler is a municipality, former seat of the district of Neunkirchen, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the river Blies, approx. 7 km north of Neunkirchen, and 25 km northeast of Saarbrücken.The town is notable for the Ottweiler porcelain....
, the Bailiwick of Herbitzheim, and the Community of Saarwellingen
Saarwellingen
Saarwellingen is a municipality in the district of Saarlouis in Saarland, Germany. As of 2002 it has a population of 13,940.-External links:*http://www.saarwellingen.de...
. His brother John
John, Count of Nassau-Idstein
Count John of Nassau-Idstein was Count of Nassau and Protestant Regent of Idstein.- Life :...
received Idstein
Idstein
Idstein is a town of about 25,000 inhabitants in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Because of its well preserved historical Altstadt it is part of the Deutsche Fachwerkstraße , connecting towns with fine timber-frame buildings and...
, Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
and Sonnenberg
Wiesbaden-Sonnenberg
Sonnenberg is a borough of Wiesbaden, the capital of the state of Hesse, Germany. Formerly an independent municipality, Sonnenberg was incorporated into Wiesbaden on October 28, 1926. The borough has approximately 8,000 residents....
. William Louis remained Regent of Wehen and the district of Burgschwalbach
Burgschwalbach
Burgschwalbach is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Lahn, in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany....
, the territories of his two youngest brothers, as they were still minors.
Shortly thereafter, on 2 March 1629, Emperor Ferdinand II
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II , a member of the House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Bohemia , and King of Hungary . His rule coincided with the Thirty Years' War.- Life :...
issued the Edict of Restitution
Edict of Restitution
The Edict of Restitution, passed eleven years into the Thirty Years' Wars on March 6, 1629 following Catholic successes at arms, was a belated attempt by Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor to impose and restore the religious and territorial situations reached in the Peace of Augsburg...
, by which church property that had been confiscated after 1552 under the Peace of Passau
Peace of Passau
Holy Roman Emperor Charles V had won a victory against Protestantism in the Schmalkaldic War of 1547. Many Protestant princes were unhappy with the religious terms of the Augsburg Interim imposed after this victory. In January 1552, led by Maurice of Saxony, many formed an alliance with Henry II of...
, was returned to its previous owner. Based on this Edict, the Prince Bishops of Mainz and Trier claimed substantial parts of the possessions of the Nassau brothers. The Court of Appeal ruled on 7 July 1629 in a dispute between Lorraine and Nassau, that the city and county of Saarwerden and Bockenheim and Wieberstweiler were fiefs of Metz and should therefore be reurned to Lorraine, and the Nassau familty could keep the rest of their county. The Duke of Lorraine, however, took possession of the whole of the County of Saarwerden and the Lordship of Herbitzheim. William Louis appealed, and his appeal was acknowledged on 27 July 1630 by Superintendent Abraham Staymle at Strasbourg. William Louis took the case to the Imperial Council of Princes in Regensburg
Regensburg
Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
and demanded the imperial investiture on 23 July 1631 (although he had refused to join the Catholic League, or to provide troops). Late in 1631, king Gustav Adolph II of Sweden and his army arrived at the Rhine. William Louis and his borthers joined him, thereby declaring war on the Emperor. William Louis himself served as a lieutenant colonel in the cavalry regiment of Rhinegrave Otto Louis of Salm-Kyrburg-Mörchingen
Otto Louis of Salm-Kyrburg-Mörchingen
Otto Louis of Salm, Wild- and Rhinegrave of Kyrburg and Mörchingen was a Swedish general during the Thirty Years' War. He was governor in the Alsace and Commander of the Swedish troops in the Upper Rhine...
and fought with them in the Upper Rhine Valley.
King Gustav Adolph II was killed on 16 November 1632. The Protestant estates then met in Heilbronn
Heilbronn
Heilbronn is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is completely surrounded by Heilbronn County and with approximately 123.000 residents, it is the sixth-largest city in the state....
. At this meeting, the three Nassau brothers joined the Swedish side, which was led by chancellor Axel Oxenstierna
Axel Oxenstierna
Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna af Södermöre , Count of Södermöre, was a Swedish statesman. He became a member of the Swedish Privy Council in 1609 and served as Lord High Chancellor of Sweden from 1612 until his death. He was a confidant of first Gustavus Adolphus and then Queen Christina.Oxenstierna...
. The youngest brother, Count Otto, died on 26 November 1632 and on 11 December Count Ernest Casimir came of age. The Nassau territories were divide anew. Ernest Casimir chose the districts of Weilburg
Weilburg
Weilburg is, with just under 14,000 inhabitants, the third biggest town in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany, after Limburg an der Lahn and Bad Camberg.- Location :...
, Gleiberg, Mehrenberg and the districts of Kirchheim and Stauf, that had previously belonged to Otto. The district of Usingen
Usingen
Usingen is a small town in the Hochtaunuskreis in Hessen, Germany. Until 1972, this residential and school town was the seat of the former district of Usingen.-Location:...
and the Lordship of Stockheim
Stockheim
Stockheim is a municipality in the district of Kronach in Bavaria in Germany....
were divided.
In August 1633, the Swedish army attacked form the Alsace into the County of Saarwerden, which was still occupied by Lorraine. The county was conquered, but not given back to the Nassaus. On 5 September 1633, their representative Count John of Nassau-Idstein, signed an alliance with France against the Emperor.
In March 1634 William Louis was at the meeting in Frankfurt, where Oxenstierna tried to win over the Electors of Saxony and Brandenburg to join the Heilbronn League
Heilbronn League
The Heilbronn League was an alliance between Sweden, France, and the Protestant princes of Western Germany against the Catholic League during the Thirty Years' War. The treaty forming the League was signed at Heilbronn in Germany on April 23, 1633....
. Here, the Nassau brothers also reached a compromise with the Lords of Geroldseck
Hohengeroldseck
The Hohengeroldseck family or House of Geroldseck was a German noble family which arrived in Baden-Baden about 948 AD and ended on the male line in 1636 with the death of Kurfürsten Jacob von und zu Geroldseck. They were heavily involved in mining of ores, especially silver. The Hohengeroldseck...
about the ownership rights to Lahr
Lahr
Lahr is a city in western Baden-Württemberg, Germany, approximately 38 km north of Freiburg in Breisgau and 100 km south of Karlsruhe...
. On 7 June William Louis sealed the alliance with France. The negotiations in Frankfurt came to an abrupt end when Emperor Ferdinand II
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II , a member of the House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Bohemia , and King of Hungary . His rule coincided with the Thirty Years' War.- Life :...
won the Battle of Nördlingen
Battle of Nördlingen
The term Battle of Nördlingen refers to two battles during the Thirty Years' War .*Battle of Nördlingen *Battle of Nördlingen...
on 6 September 1634. As the imperial army of the Middle Rhine approached, the counts brought their archives to a secure place in Frankfurt and then proceeded to Kirchheim. They had to give up their possessions of the right bank of the Rhine.
After the death of Rhinegrave Otto Louis, William Louis entered the service of Duke Bernard of Saxe-Weimar. They launched a campaign to Wetterau
Wetterau
The Wetterau is a fertile undulating tract, watered by the Wetter, a tributary of the Nidda River, in the western German state of Hesse, between the hilly province Oberhessen and the north-western Taunus mountains....
and attacked a division of the Imperial General Count von Mansfeld at Michelstadt
Michelstadt
Michelstadt in the Odenwald is a town in the Odenwaldkreis in southern Hesse, Germany between Darmstadt and Heidelberg.- Location :Michelstadt is the biggest town in the Odenwaldkreis and borders on the district seat of Erbach....
on the 24 December 1634
In 1635, he returned to Frankfurt to attend a meeting of the Protestant states and their allies. At this meeting, it was decided that Sweden would return Saarwerden to the Nassaus. On 23 April 1635 the family fled to Bockenheim, where the counties of Nassau-Saarbrücken and Saarwerden should have been handed over. However, on 30 May 1635 a number of imperial estates, including the Electorates of Brandenburg and Saxony, had concluded the Peace of Prague
Peace of Prague (1635)
The Peace of Prague of 30 May 1635 was a treaty between the Habsburg Emperor Ferdinand II and the Electorate of Saxony representing most of the Protestant states of the Holy Roman Empire...
and the Nassau Counts were expressly excluded from this agreement. They then went to Saarbrücken, which was defended by Bernard of Saxe-Weimar. Bernard was defeated in August 1635 during an attack on Frankfurt and had to retreat to Metz. William Louis and Ernest joined him; John chose to go into exile in Strasbourg. However, a panic broke out in Saarbrücken as the Imperial troops under Matthias Gallas
Matthias Gallas
Matthias Gallas, Graf von Campo und Herzog von Lucera , was an Austrian soldier, who first saw service in Flanders, then in Savoy with the Spaniards, and subsequently joined the forces of the Catholic League as captain during the Thirty Years' War.On the general outbreak of hostilities in Germany,...
approached and a large number of people tried to flee. The count's family decided that under the circumstance, Strasbourg was too far and could not be reached. So they followed the advice of King Louis XIII of France
Louis XIII of France
Louis XIII was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1610 to 1643.Louis was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority...
and fled to the free imperial city of Metz
Metz
Metz is a city in the northeast of France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Metz is the capital of the Lorraine region and prefecture of the Moselle department. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, Metz forms a central place...
on 16 June 1635.
In November 1635 the imperial commissioner Bertram of Sturm appeared in the Nassau lands of and declared the three brothers and had forfeited their counties and all their possessions. The Emperor gave the Duke of Lorraine the counties of Saarbrücken and Saarland and the bailiwick of Herbitzheim and the fortress of Homburg on the Blies as a reward for services rendered.
In 1636, the brothers attempted to petition the Emperor for an imperial pardon; the Elector of Saxony mediated. This attempt failed, but it wasn't until 1637 that the counts were told the reasons for this imperial wrath. Only in 1639 did William Louis and Ernest receive a pass that enabled them to represent their cause in Vienna in person.
William Louis died on 22 August 1640 in Metz and was buried in a pauper's grave. His widow returned with the children to Saarbrücken in 1643. His three sons participated in a new division of the Nassau territories on 31 March 1659.
Registrar
Registrar
A registrar is an official keeper of records made in a register. Registrar may also refer to:-Government records:* Recorder of deeds, government office which maintains public records related to real estate...
Andreae completed William Louis's genealogy books, a project his father Louis II
Louis II, Count of Nassau-Weilburg
Louis II of Nassau-Weilburg was a count of Nassau-Weilburg.- Life :Louis was the eldest son of Count Albert of Nassau-Weilburg-Ottweiler and Countess Anna of Nassau-Dillenburg. His family moved in 1575 from Weilburg to Ottweiler...
had begun. Some works of the painter Henrich Dors from Altweilnau were commissioned by William Louis.
Marriage and issue
On 25 November 1615 he married Countess Anna Amalia of Baden-DurlachAnna Amalia of Baden-Durlach
Anna Amalia of Baden-Durlach was a daughter of Margrave George Frederick of Baden-Durlach and his first wife, Countess Juliana Ursula of Salm-Neuville...
(1595–1651), daughter of the Margrave George Frederick of Baden-Durlach.
- Anna Juliane (1617–1667), married Count Palatine Frederick of ZweibrückenFrederick, Count Palatine of ZweibrückenFrederick was the Duke of Zweibrücken from 1635 until 1661.-Life:Frederick was born in Zweibrücken in 1616 as the elder son of John II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken. He succeeded his father in 1635. During his reign, Palatinate-Zweibrücken was devastated during the Thirty Years' War...
- Maurice (1618-1618)
- Kraft (born: April 7, 1621 in Saarbrücken, died: 25 July 1642 at a battle in Stralen, NL)
- Anna Amalia (1623–1695)
- John LouisJohn Louis, Count of Nassau-OttweilerJohn Louis, Count of Nassau-Ottweiler , was first Count of Nassau-Ottweiler. At times, he was Major General, Regent of the other Nassau territories and chief of the House of Nassau.- Life :...
(1625–1690); inherited Ottweiler and founded the Nassau-Ottweiler line - Elisabeth Sibylle(1626–1627)
- Marie Sibylle (1628–1699)
- George Frederick (1630-1630)
- Gustav AdolphGustav Adolph, Count of Nassau-SaarbrückenGustav Adolf of Nassau-Saarbrücken was Count of Saarbrücken and Major General at the Rhine of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation....
(1632–1677); inherited Saarbrücken - George Frederick (1633–1635)
- WalradWalrad, Prince of Nassau-UsingenWalrad Usingen of Nassau , was from 1659 Count, and from 1688 Prince of Nassau-Usingen and founder of Usingen line of the House of Nassau.- Family :...
(1635–1702); inherited Usingen and founded the Nassau-Usingen line - Charlotte (1619–1687), married Count Louis Eberhard of Leiningen-Westerburg