Louis II of Nassau-Weilburg (9 August 1565,

Weilburg Weilburg is, with just under 13,000 inhabitants, the third biggest town in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany, after Limburg an der Lahn and Bad Camberg. Geography Location The community lies in the Lahn valley between the Westerwa ...

– 8 November 1627,

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; Rhine Franconian: ''Saarbrigge'' ; lb, Saarbrécken ; lat, Saravipons, lit=The Bridge(s) across the Saar river) is the capital and largest city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken is S ...

) was a

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

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 ...

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 Ottweiler () is a municipality, former seat of the district of Neunkirchen, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the river Blies The Blies () is a right tributary of the Saar in southwestern Germany (Saarland) and northeastern France (Mosel ...

. After his education, he traveled through Europe, in particular the French-speaking part of Switzerland. He also visited France and princely courts in Germany. During his visit to

William IV of Hesse-Kassel William IV of Hesse-Kassel (24 June 153225 August 1592), also called ''William the Wise'', was the first Landgrave of the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel). He was the founder of the oldest line, which survives to this day. Life Lan ...

, he met William's daughter Anna Maria and fell in love with her. He married her on 4 June 1589. After Albert died on 11 November 1593, the inheritance was divided among his three sons. Louis received the areas Ottweiler, Homburg, Kirchheim and Lahr in the left bank of the Rhine. His brothers William (died: 25 November 1597) and John Casimir (died: 29 March 1602) chose the Weilburg part, which also fell to Louis after they died. Louis also inherited the territories of his uncle Philip IV of Nassau-Saarbrücken (died: 12 March 1602) and John Louis II of Nassau-Wiesbaden (died: 9 June 1605), who was the last of his line. So he ended up combining the entire property of the Walram line in one hand. Louis moved his seat of government to

Saarbrücken Castle Saarbrücken Castle is a Baroque château in Saarbrücken, the capital of Saarland. It is located in the district of Alt-Saarbrücken on the left bank of the Saar. Earlier, a medieval castle and a Renaissance castle stood on the same site. Hi ...

. He issued a series of

regulations Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. For ...

, and provided a better education for his population (e.g. through the establishment of the Louis Gymnasium Saarland in

and the promotion of

elementary schools A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

. He committed himself to make the

Saar Saar or SAAR has several meanings: People Given name *Saar Boubacar (born 1951), Senegalese professional football player * Saar Ganor, Israeli archaeologist *Saar Klein (born 1967), American film editor Surname * Ain Saar (born 1968), Est ...

navigable and supported many construction projects. Prosperity increased during his reign. However, 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 ...

also began during his reign. He instructed his registrar Johann Andreae to reorganize the Saarbrücken Archives and the painter Henrich Dors from Altweilnau to design tomb for the Nassau family, resulting in a major "epitaph book" being published in 1632. Louis had fourteen children, including four sons who survived him and they divided his inheritance: William Louis,

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 ...

, Ernest Casimir and Otto.

Marriage and issue

Louis married on 4 June 1589 Anna Maria of Hesse-Kassel (1567–1626), daughter of Landgrave

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

of Hesse-Kassel. * William Louis (1590–1640) married on 25 November 1615 Anna Amalia of Baden-Durlach (born: 9 July 1595; died: 18 November 1651), daughter of Margrave George Frederick of Baden-Durlach * Anna Sabina (1591–1593) * Albert (1593–1595) * Sophia Amalia (1594–1612) * George Adolf (1595–1596) * Philip (1597–1621) * Louise Juliana (1598–1622) * Moritz (1599–1601) * Charles Ernest (1600–1604) * Mary Elizabeth (1602–1626) *

(1603–1677), Count of Nassau-Idstein : married firstly on 6 June 1629 Sibylle Magdalene (born: 21 July 1605; died: 22 July 1644), daughter of Margrave George Frederick of Baden-Durlach : married secondly in 1646 Countess Anna of Leiningen-Falkenburg (1625–1668) * Dorothea (1605–1620) * Ernest Casimir (1607–1655), Count of Nassau-Weilburg : married in 1634 Countess Anna Maria of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Homburg (1610–1656) * Otto (1610–1632)

References

* * Henrich Dors (1590–1651): ''Genealogia Oder Stammregister Der Durchlauchtigen Hoch- Und Wohlgeborenen Fursten, Grafen Und Herren Des Uhralten Hochloblichen Hauses Nassau Samt Etlichen Konterfeitlichen Epitaphien'', Minerva-Verlag Thinnes und Nolte, Saarbrücken 1983, * *

External links

Louis II of Nassau-Weilburg in the Saarland biographies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis 02 Nassau Weilburg 16th-century German people 17th-century German people House of Nassau House of Nassau-Weilburg 1565 births 1627 deaths Counts of Nassau-Wiesbaden-Idstein

Life

Marriage and issue

See also

References

External links