Count George of Nassau-Beilstein, later also Count of Nassau-Dillenburg, (1 September 1562 – 9 August 1623 in

Dillenburg Dillenburg, officially Oranienstadt Dillenburg, is a town in Hesse's Gießen (region), Gießen region in Germany. The town was formerly the seat of the old Dillkreis district, which is now part of the Lahn-Dill-Kreis. The town lies on the German-N ...

) was the third son of Count John VI "the Elder" of

Nassau-Dillenburg The County of Nassau was a German state within the Holy Roman Empire and later part of the German Confederation. Its ruling dynasty, the male line of which is now extinct, was the House of Nassau. Origins Nassau, originally a county, developed ...

(1536-1606) from his first marriage with

Landgravine Landgrave (german: Landgraf, nl, landgraaf, sv, lantgreve, french: landgrave; la, comes magnus, ', ', ', ', ') was a noble title used in the Holy Roman Empire, and later on in its former territories. The German titles of ', ' ("margrave"), a ...

Elisabeth of Leuchtenberg Elisabeth of Leuchtenberg (born: March 1537- died: 6 July 1579 in Dillenburg) was the daughter of Landgrave George III, Landgrave of Leuchtenberg and Margravine Barbara of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1495-1552). After her death, the German theologian Chr ...

. In 1576, he studied at the University of Heidelberg. In 1578, he went to the Netherlands, to serve in the army, under Count of Günther XLI of Schwarzburg-Arnstadt. While in the Netherlands, he tried to be elected Bishop of

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

, but failed. From 1580, he attended the court of Margrave George Frederick of Brandenburg-Ansbach-Kulmbach. In 1604, he purchased his first territory, the district and city of

Driedorf Driedorf is a municipality in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Driedorf lies from 416 to 642 m above sea level on a tableland in the high Westerwald. Mademühlen Mademühlen has about 1,000 inhabitants and lies in the "H ...

from his father. After his father died in 1606, George and his brothers decided to divide Nassau-Dillenburg. When this division was implemented in 1607, William Louis received Nassau-Dillenburg; John VII received Nassau-Siegen;

Ernst Casimir Ernest Casimir I (22 December 1573 – 2 June 1632) was a Count of Nassau-Dietz and Stadtholder of Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe. Biography He was the 11th child of John VI, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg, and Countess Elisabeth of Le ...

received Nassau-Diez; John Louis received Nassau-Hadamar and George received Nassau-Beilstein, which included the Lordships of

Westerwald The Westerwald (; literally 'Western forest') is a low mountain range on the right bank of the river Rhine in the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a part of the Rhenish Massif ( or Rhenish ...

, Burbach and Hickengrund. In 1611, he purchased the Nassau share of the district of

Wehrheim Wehrheim is a municipality in Hesse, Germany some 30 km (20 mi) north of Frankfurt am Main. The town's nickname is "Apfeldorf Wehrheim" (''Apple-village Wehrheim''). Geography Location Wehrheim lies from 300 to 600 m above sea lev ...

, which

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

shared with

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

, from his brother John VII. Until 1612, George resided in Dillenburg, as regent for his absent brother William Louis, who was in

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

. After his brother returned, George moved into Beilstein Castle, in his own territory. In 1618, George reached an agreement with his brother John VII, in which John ceded to George the right to inherit Dillenburg if William Louis were to die childless. This came to happen in 1620. So George moved back to Dillenburg and became the founder of the younger Nassau-Dillenburg line. Nassau-Beilstein was divided, with George keeping Burbach and Hickengrund. He ruled his territory well; like his brothers he issued court regulations, administrative and law enforcement regulations. George died in Dillenburg in 1623.

Marriage and issue

George married twice. His first wife was Anna Amalia of Nassau-Saarbrücken (1565-1605), the only child of Philip IV of

Nassau-Weilburg The House of Nassau-Weilburg, a branch of the House of Nassau, ruled a division of the County of Nassau, which was a state in what is now Germany, then part of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1344 to 1806. On 17 July 1806, upon the dissolution of t ...

. They had 15 children: # John Philip (b. 1586) # Johan George (b. 1587) # unnamed son (b. 1588) # John Philip (1590-1607) # George (1591-1616) # Maria Juliana (1592-1645), married Count George II of

Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg was one of several imperial counties and later principalities ruled by the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein. Most of the former county is located in the present district of Siegen-Wittgenstein (in the modern state of North ...

(1565-1631), son of

Louis I, Count of Sayn-Wittgenstein Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis ( ...

, and thus half-brother of her stepmother # Louise (1593-1614) #

Louis Henry Louis Henry (1911 – 1991) was a French historian. He was the founder of the historical demography and one-place study fields. His 1956 book co-written with Michel Fleury, ''Des registres paroissiaux à l'histoire de la population. Manuel de dép ...

(1594-1662), Count of Nassau-Dillenburg jointly with Albert from 1623 to 1626 and alone from 1626 until his death; raised to Prince in 1654 # Wolfgang Philip (b. 1595) #

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert (supermarket), a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street market in The Gambia * Albert Productions, a record label * Alber ...

(1596-1626), ruled Nassau-Dillenburg jointly with Louis Henry from 1623 until his death in 1626 # Amalia (1597-1598) # Elisabeth (1598-1599) # Erica (1600-1657) # Anna Elisabeth (1602-1651) # Maurice Louis (1603-1604) After her death, George married Countess Amalia of

Sayn-Wittgenstein Sayn-Wittgenstein was a county of medieval Germany, located in the Sauerland of eastern North Rhine-Westphalia. History Sayn-Wittgenstein was created when Count Salentin of Sayn-Homburg, a member of the House of Sponheim, married the heiress Cou ...

(1585-1633), the daughter of

. With her, he had one more daughter: # Margarethe (1606-1661), married Count Otto of Lippe-Brake (1589-1657), a son of Simon VI of Lippe (1554-1613)

Ancestors

References

External link

* {{DEFAULTSORT:George of Nassau Dillenburg Counts of Nassau House of Nassau 1562 births 1623 deaths 16th-century German people 17th-century German people