Count Johann Reinhard I of Hanau-Lichtenberg (13 February 1569,

Bitche Bitche ( , ; German and Lorraine Franconian: ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments of France, department, administrative regions of France, administrative region of Grand Est, northeastern France. It ...

(german: Bitsch) – 19 November 1625

Lichtenberg Lichtenberg () is the eleventh borough of Berlin, Germany. In Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it absorbed the former borough of Hohenschönhausen. Overview The district contains the Tierpark Berlin in Friedrichsfelde, the larger of Berlin's ...

) ruled the county of Hanau-Lichtenberg from 1599 to 1625.

Life

Johann Reinhard I, was the son of

Philipp V, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg Philipp V of Hanau-Lichtenberg (21 February 1541, Bouxwiller – 2 June 1599, Niederbronn) was Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg from 1590 until his death. Life Philipp V was the eldest son, heir and successor of Count Philipp IV of Hanau-Lichten ...

(1541–1599) and his first wife, Countess

Ludowika Margaretha of Zweibrücken-Bitsch Ludowika Margaretha of Zweibrücken-Bitsch (19 July 1540, Ingwiller – 15 December 1569, Bouxwiller), was the only child and heiress of Count James of Zweibrücken-Bitsch (born: 19 July 1510; died: 22 March 1570) by his wife Catherine, born ...

(1540–1569). Johann Reinhard I was christened on 28 February 1569 in Bitche. Johann Reinhard I studied at the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the ea ...

and completed a

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. After his marriage, he was assigned Babenhausen Castle as a residence. He had the nave of the local St. Nikolaus Church embellished and painted. He was interested in history,

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...

and

heraldry Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branch ...

. Johann Reinhard I died on 19 November 1625 in

in the

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

and was also buried there.

Government

Johann Reinhard de Hanau-Lichtenberg et son collège

The counts of Hanau had had a court case before the

Reichskammergericht The ''Reichskammergericht'' (; ; la, Iudicium imperii) was one of the two highest judicial institutions in the Holy Roman Empire, the other one being the Aulic Council in Vienna. It was founded in 1495 by the Imperial Diet in Worms. All legal ...

against the Dukes of

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...

since 1572 about the inheritance of

Zweibrücken-Bitsch The County of Zweibrücken-Bitsch (, ) was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire that was created between 1286 and 1302 from the eastern part of the County of Zweibrücken and the Barony of Bitche (german: Bitsch) in Lorraine. It continued to exist ...

. In 1606, they settled out of court. At issue were two

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...

s in Lorraine:

and

Lemberg Castle Lemberg Castle (german: Burg Lemberg) is a medieval castle on the territory of Lemberg in the county of Südwestpfalz in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Location The hill castle stands on the ''Schlossberg'' hill at an elevation of ...

. A compromise was found: Bitche reverted to Lorraine, and Hanau-Lichtenberg was allowed to keep Lemberg Castle. This made sense, as it corresponded roughly to the religious realities in the territories. Johann Reinhard also settled a case against the County of Isenburg about conflicting rights in the

Dreieich Dreieich () is a town in the Offenbach district in the of Darmstadt in Hessen, Germany. The town is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area and is located roughly south of downtown Frankfurt am Main. With a population of more than 40,000 i ...

area. He established a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

Latin school The Latin school was the grammar school of 14th- to 19th-century Europe, though the latter term was much more common in England. Emphasis was placed, as the name indicates, on learning to use Latin. The education given at Latin schools gave gre ...

in his capital of Bouxwiller (german: Buchsweiler), which existed until 1792. It was a counterpart to the in Hanau-Münzenberg. In 1613, a school regulation for the county was issued. Also in 1613, construction started of the new City Church in Bouxwiller. In 1610, Johann Reinhard I concluded a treaty of inheritance with Count Philipp Ludwig II of Hanau-Münzenberg, stipulating that if one of the ruling family branches were to die out, the other branch would inherit their county. This treaty was updated in 1618 and confirmed by the Emperor. At the time, it appeared that Hanau-Münzenberg was likely to benefit from this treaty, as it had several male family members, whereas Hanau-Lichtenberg had only one male heir. This might explain why Johann Reinhard I received some generous loans after the treaty was signed. He needed a lot of money, because he maintained an extensive court. Contrary to expectations, the Hanau-Münzenberg branch of the family died out in 1642 and Johann Reinhard's grandson Friedrich Casimir inherited the county of Hanau-Münzenberg. Johann Reinhard I played a role in the coronation celebrations of Emperor

Matthias Matthias is a name derived from the Greek Ματθαίος, in origin similar to Matthew. People Notable people named Matthias include the following: In religion: * Saint Matthias, chosen as an apostle in Acts 1:21–26 to replace Judas Iscariot * ...

1612 and the election of Emperor

Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...

in 1619. The county of Hanau-Lichtenberg suffered badly during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

. Count Johann Reinhard I tried to maintain a strict neutrality, but the county's location near the

Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of ...

, the highways along the Rhine valley and the French-German border area made that very difficult. The

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

of Babenhausen was the hardest hit. It was occupied several times by the warring armies and its villages were destroyed in the first years of the war. The inhabitants fled. Some 2500 of them fled to the City of Babenhausen. The

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

then broke out in the city. The parts of the county on the right bank of the

Upper Rhine The Upper Rhine (german: Oberrhein ; french: Rhin Supérieur) is the section of the Rhine between Basel in Switzerland and Bingen in Germany, surrounded by the Upper Rhine Plain. The river is marked by Rhine-kilometres 170 to 529 (the sc ...

were also seriously damaged. The part of the county in the Lower

was spared when Johann Reinhard I managed to buy protection for . Count Johann Reinhard I operated a "hedge mint" in

Willstätt Willstätt is a town in the district of Ortenau in Baden-Württemberg in Germany, with a population of 9,787 as at December 31, 2017. It is around east of Strasbourg's city centre. Demographics History Medieval The earliest known mention ...

: a

mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...

which brought debased coins into circulation. He earned substantial profits with this scam. In the financial year 1621–1622 alone he minted 110 cwt of

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

coins and syphoned off more than as "

seignorage Seigniorage , also spelled seignorage or seigneurage (from the Old French ''seigneuriage'', "right of the lord (''seigneur'') to mint money"), is the difference between the value of money and the cost to produce and distribute it. The term can be ...

Marriage and issue

Johann Reinhard I married on 22 October 1593 in

Weikersheim Weikersheim is a town in the Main-Tauber district of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. History Town rights were granted to Weikersheim in 1313. As the one of the seats of the House of Hohenlohe, until 1756 Weikersheim's town center was dominated by ...

Countess Maria Elisabeth of

Hohenlohe The House of Hohenlohe () is a German princely dynasty. It ruled an immediate territory within the Holy Roman Empire which was divided between several branches. The Hohenlohes became imperial counts in 1450. The county was divided numerous time ...

-Neuenstein (born: 12 June 1576, died: 21 January 1605 in

Wörth am Rhein Wörth am Rhein () is a town in the southernmost part of the district of Germersheim, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is on the left bank of the Rhine approximately 10 km west of the city centre of Karlsruhe and is just north of the Ger ...

. She was the daughter of Count Wolfgang of Hohenlohe-Weikersheim (born: 14 June 1546; died: 28 March 1610) and Countess

Magdalena of Nassau-Dillenburg {{More citations needed, date=November 2022 Magdalena of Nassau-Dillenburg (15 December 1547 at Dillenburg Castle in Dillenburg – 16 May 1633 in Öhringen) was a daughter of William I, Count of Nassau-Siegen and his second wife, Juliana of Stolber ...

(born: 15 December 1547; died: 16 May 1643), a daughter of

William I, Count of Nassau-Siegen Count William I of Nassau-SiegenIn many sources he is called William I of Nassau(-Dillenburg) and in some sources of Nassau-Katzenelnbogen. He was born with the titles Count of Nassau, Vianden and Diez. Two years before his death, he o ...

and

Juliana of Stolberg Juliana, Countess of Stolberg-Wernigerode (15 February 1506 in Stolberg, Saxony-Anhalt – 18 June 1580) was the mother of William the Silent, the leader of the successful Dutch Revolt against the Spanish in the 16th century. Juliana was born i ...

. Maria Elisabeth was the last member of the family to be buried in the old city church of Bouxwiller. They had four children: # Philipp Wolfgang (born: 31 July 1595 in Bouxwiller (german: Buchsweiler; died: in Bouxwiller). # Agatha Marie (August 22, 1599 in Bouxwiller; † May 23, 1636 in

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...

), married Georg Friedrich of Rappoltstein (1593–1651). # Anna Magdalena (born: 14 December 1600 in Bouxwiller; died: 22 February 1673), married several times. # Elisabeth Juliana (born: 29 June 1602 in Bouxwiller; died: 21 April 1603 in Wörth am Rhein, also buried there) After the death of his first wife, Johann Reinhard I married on 17 November 1605 with Wild- and Rhinegravine Anna of

Salm-Neuweiler Salm is the name of several historic countships and principalities in present Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and France. History Origins The County of Salm arose in the tenth century in Vielsalm, in the Ardennes region of present Belgium. It was ...

(born: 14 March 1582; died: 1636), daughter of Wild- and Rhinegrave Friedrich I of Salm-Neuweiler (born: 3 February 1547; died: 26 October 1608). This marriage remained childless. She was buried in Schwarzach Abbey.Hessisches Staatsarchiv Darmstadt, file D7,1/1

Ancestors

References

* Reinhard Dietrich: ''Die Landesverfassung in dem Hanauischen'', ''Hanauer Geschichtsblätter'', issue 34, Hanau, 1996, * Hans Dörr: ''Die Reisen des Grafen Johann Reinhard I. von Hanau-Lichtenberg nach Italien, Böhmen und Babenhausen'', in: ''Beiträge zur Geschichte der Grafschaft Hanau-Lichtenberg. Herausgegeben zum 20-jährigen Jubiläum der Partnerschaft zwischen den beiden ehemaligen gräflichen Residenzstädten Babenhausen und Bouxwiller'', ''Babenhausen einst und jetzt'' issue 49, 2004, p. 31 ff * M. Goltzené: ''Aus der Geschichte des Amtes Buchsweiler'', in: ''Pay d’Alsace'', issue 111/112, p. 64 ff * Franz Domenicus Häberlein: ''Neueste Teutsche Reichsgeschichte vom Anfange des Schmalkaldischen Krieges bis auf unsere Zeiten'' vols. 8 and 9, Halle, 1779 and 1780. * Heinrich Hermelink: ''Die Matrikeln der Universität Tübingen'', vol. 1, Stuttgart, 1906 * J. G. Lehmann: ''Urkundliche Geschichte der Grafschaft Hanau-Lichtenberg im unteren Elsasse'', two vols., place unknown, 1862, reprinted Primasens, 1970 * Wilhelm Morhardt: ''Hanau alt's - in Ehren b'halt's - Die Grafen von Hanau-Lichtenberg in Geschichte und Geschichten'', ''Babenhausen einst und jetzt'', issue 10, Babenhausen, 1984 * Reinhard Suchier: ''Genealogie des Hanauer Grafenhauses'', in: ''Festschrift des Hanauer Geschichtsvereins zu seiner fünfzigjährigen Jubelfeier am 27. August 1894'', Hanau, 1894 * Ernst J. Zimmermann: ''Hanau Stadt und Land''. third edition, Hanau, 1919, reprinted 1978

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johann Reinhard 01 Hanau Lichtenberg Counts of Hanau-Lichtenberg 1569 births 1625 deaths 16th-century German people 17th-century German people People from Bitche