Henry Ernest, Count of Stolberg (20 July 1593 in Schwarza – 4 April 1672 in

Ilsenburg Ilsenburg () is a town in the district of Harz, in Saxony-Anhalt in Germany. It is situated under the north foot of the Harz Mountains, at the entrance to the Ilse valley with its little river, the Ilse, a tributary of the Oker, about six north ...

) was a German nobleman. He was the founder of the older main line of the

House of Stolberg The House of Stolberg is the name of an old and large German dynasty of the former Holy Roman Empire's high aristocracy ('' Hoher Adel''). Members of the family held the title of ''Fürst'' and ''Graf''. They played a significant role in feudal ...

. He was the eldest son of Count Christopher II of Stolberg. From 1639 to 1645, Henry Ernst and his younger brother John Martin jointly ruled the

County of Stolberg The County of Stolberg (german: Grafschaft Stolberg) was a county of the Holy Roman Empire located in the Harz mountain range in present-day Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was ruled by a branch of the House of Stolberg. The town of Stolberg was pro ...

. On 31 May 1645, they divided their inheritance, with Henry Ernest receiving the

County of Wernigerode The County of Wernigerode (german: Grafschaft Wernigerode) was a state of the Holy Roman Empire which arose in the Harzgau region of the former Duchy of Saxony, at the northern foot of the Harz mountain range. The comital residence was at Werniger ...

and Hohnsteiner Forest. He moved the residence of his county from

Wernigerode Wernigerode () is a town in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Until 2007, it was the capital of the district of Wernigerode. Its population was 35,041 in 2012. Wernigerode is located southwest of Halberstadt, and is picturesquely s ...

. On 2 May 1649, he married Anna Elisabeth, a daughter of Count Henry Volrad of Stolberg-Ortenberg. They had two sons,

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic languages, Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman ...

and Louis Christian, and one daughter, Anna Eleonore, who married

Emmanuel, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen Emmanuel of Anhalt-Köthen (6 October 1631, in Plötzkau – 8 November 1670, in Köthen), was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Plötzkau. From 1665, he was ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Köt ...

on 23 March 1670. As there was no

primogeniture Primogeniture ( ) is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn legitimate child to inherit the parent's entire or main estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some children, any illegitimate child or any collateral relativ ...

in Stolberg, his sons jointly inherited the county when Henry Ernest died in 1672.

References

Counts of Stolberg House of Stolberg 1593 births 1672 deaths {{Germany-noble-stub