Juliana, Countess of Stolberg-Wernigerode (15 February 1506 in

Stolberg, Saxony-Anhalt is a town (sometimes itself called 'Harz' in historical references) and a former municipality in the district of Mansfeld-Südharz, in the German State of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated in the southern part of the Harz mountains, about ...

– 18 June 1580) was the mother of

William the Silent William the Silent (24 April 153310 July 1584), also known as William the Taciturn (translated from nl, Willem de Zwijger), or, more commonly in the Netherlands, William of Orange ( nl, Willem van Oranje), was the main leader of the Dutch Re ...

, the leader of the successful

Dutch Revolt The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) (Historiography of the Eighty Years' War#Name and periodisation, c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and t ...

against the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

in the 16th century. Juliana was born in Stolberg as the daughter of Bodo VIII, Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode and Anna of Eppstein-Königstein. She was raised a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

but changed her religion twice, first to

Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

and later to

Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...

. She, along with her second husband, was a convinced

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 ...

and raised their children in the Protestant ways. After the death of her second husband in 1559 she remained living at Dillenburg castle, now belonging to her second son

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, where she died in 1580. Her entire life, she kept close to her children, especially

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

. When William began his rebellion against

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

she supported her son morally and financially. Because of this financial support, William was able to campaign against Spain in the Netherlands. A fictionalized account of her life is found in Ethel Herr, Dr. Oma: The Healing Wisdom of Countess Juliana Von Stolberg (

P&R Publishing P&R Publishing is an evangelical, Reformed, Christian publishing company located in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. P&R publishes books that promote biblical concepts and Christian lifestyle according to the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catech ...

, 2006).

Marriages and children

Flickr - Erfgoed in Beeld - Den Haag, Juliana van Stolberg

In 1523 Juliana married Philip II of Hanau-Münzenberg (d. 1529). From this marriage five children were born: # Reinhard (born: 10 April 1524; died 12 April 1524) #

Catherine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

(born: 26 March 1525; died 20 August 1581), married John IV, Count of Wied-Runkel and Isenburg # Philip III (1526–1561), Count of Hanau-Münzenberg #

Reinhard Reinhard is a German, Austrian, Danish, and to a lesser extent Norwegian surname (from Germanic ''ragin'', counsel, and ''hart'', strong), and a spelling variant of Reinhardt. Persons with the given name * Reinhard of Blankenburg (after 1107 – 1 ...

(born: 8 April 1528; died: 11 October 1554), halfbrother of William of Orange, he died in battle in service of the army of

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...

in the war against France. #

Juliana Juliana (variants Julianna, Giuliana, Iuliana, Yuliana, etc) is a feminine given name which is the feminine version of the Roman name Julianus. Juliana or Giuliana was the name of a number of early saints, notably Saint Julian the Hospitaller, wh ...

(born: 30 March 1529; died: 8 July 1595), married Thomas, Wild- and Rhinegrave of Salm-Kyrburg (1529–1549) On 20 September 1531 Juliana married

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 ...

. From this marriage twelve children were born: #

William I of Orange William the Silent (24 April 153310 July 1584), also known as William the Taciturn (translated from nl, Willem de Zwijger), or, more commonly in the Netherlands, William of Orange ( nl, Willem van Oranje), was the main leader of the Dutch Rev ...

(1533–1584), # Hermanna (1534 – † young) # John VI "the Elder" (1536–1606) #

Louis of Nassau Louis of Nassau (Dutch: Lodewijk van Nassau, January 10, 1538 – April 14, 1574) was the third son of William I, Count of Nassau-Siegen and Juliana of Stolberg, and the younger brother of Prince William of Orange Nassau. Louis was a key f ...

(1538–1574) #

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

(1539–1599) She married William IV, Count of Berg #

Adolf Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name used in German-speaking countries, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Flanders, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and to a lesser extent in vari ...

(1540–1568) #

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 12 ...

(1541–1616). She married Albert of Nassau-Weilburg # Elisabeth (1542–1603). She married Conrad, Count of Solms-Braunfels #

(1543–1624). She married Count Günther XLI of Schwarzburg-Arnstadt #

(1546–1588). She married Count

Albrecht VII of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Albrecht VII, Count of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (16 January 1537 – 10 April 1605) was Count of Schwarzburg and founder of the Line of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, which later received the title of Prince. He was the youngest of the surviving sons ...

# Magdalena (1547–1633). She married Count Wolfgang of Hohenlohe-Weikersheim # Henry (1550–1574) Juliana of Stolberg had in total 17 children and 123 grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Juliana of Stolberg 1506 births Countesses of Nassau 1580 deaths People from Stolberg, Saxony-Anhalt German Calvinist and Reformed Christians House of Hanau House of Nassau German people of the Eighty Years' War House of Stolberg William the Silent Converts to Calvinism from Lutheranism

Marriages and children

See also

References