Count Louis of Stolberg (12 January 1505 in Stolberg – 1 September 1574 in Wertheim) was a German nobleman. He ruled

Eppstein Eppstein is a town in the Main-Taunus-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. Eppstein lies west of Frankfurt am Main, around 12 km north east of the state capital Wiesbaden, and is at the edge of the Taunus mountains. The ruins of the Eppstein castle is ...

- Königstein from 1535 until his death.

Life

Louis was born at Stolberg castle, as the son of Count Bodo VIII and his wife, Countess

Anna of Eppstein-Königstein 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 1221) ...

. He was their third son and the fourth of their twelve children. Among his siblings were Count Wolfgang, Abess

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 ...

of Quedlinburg, Countess

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 ...

of Hanau-Münzenberg and later Nassau-Dillenburg, Count

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

of Stolberg-Wernigerode, Countess Catherine of Henneberg, Count Albert of Stolberg-Schwarza and Count Christopher of Stolberg-Gedern, who was provost at Halberstadt From the age of nine, he was educated by his maternal uncle Eberhard IV of Eppstein in Königstein. Later, he studied at the

University of Wittenberg Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...

, where he converted 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 ...

in 1521. The expansion and consolidation of the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

became his main objective after his conversion. He acted as councillor to Emperor

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 ...

and his successors Ferdinand I and Maximilian II. He was frequently sent on diplomatic missions, to Queen

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

of England and to the Spanish court. His maternal uncle Eberhard IV had no sons and made Louis his universal heir. From 1527, Louis acted as Eberhard's co-ruler. Emperor Charles V recognized Eberhard's will in 1528. In 1535, Eberhard died and Louis inherited his possessions. In 1540, he introduced the Reformation in his territory. However, he did not participate in the

Schmalkaldic War The Schmalkaldic War (german: link=no, Schmalkaldischer Krieg) was the short period of violence from 1546 until 1547 between the forces of Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire (simultaneously King Charles I of Spain), commanded by the Duk ...

Marriage and issue

Louis married Walburga of Wied (died 1578), the daughter of John III of Wied (died 1533) and

Elisabeth of Nassau-Dillenburg Countess Elisabeth of Nassau-Dillenburg (born 25 September 1542 in Dillenburg – died: 18 November 1603 in Dillenburg) was a daughter of William I, Count of Nassau-Siegen and Juliana of Stolberg and was one of the sisters of William the Silent. ...

(1488–1559). Together, they had a son and three daughters: *

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 ...

, married Michael III, Count of Wertheim, the last Count of Wertheim. When Michael III died in 1556 without a male heir, Louis managed to acquire the County of Wertheim and

Wertheim Castle Wertheim may refer to: * Wertheim (surname) * Wertheim (company), a company that manufactures vacuum cleaners * Wertheim (department store), a chain of German department stores * Wertheim & Co., an investment firm * Wertheim am Main, Baden-Württ ...

, and a 50% share of Breuburg Castle and the Lordship of Breuberg. Catherine remarried in 1566, to Count Philip II of Eberstein (1523–1589). * Elisabeth, married Count Dietrich of Manderscheid-Virneburg. He died in 1593 and a year later, she remarried to Baron William of Criechingen. * Bodo, was educated at the court of the Duke of Bavaria. In 1568, he moved to Quedlinburg. He died before his father. *

(13 April 1548 – 2 November 1599), married on 2 September 1566 to Count

Louis III Louis III may refer to: * Louis the Younger, sometimes III of Germany (835–882) * Louis III of France (865–882) * Louis the Blind, Louis III, Holy Roman Emperor, (c. 880–928) * Louis the Child, sometimes III of Germany (893–911) * Louis III ...

of Löwenstein-Wertheim (17 February 1530 – 13 March 1611).

His heirs

As Louis had no surviving male heir, the

County of Königstein The County of Königstein was an imperially immediate territory of the Holy Roman Empire within the Upper Rhenish Circle. House of Eppstein On 6 August 1505 Maximilian I granted the titles of lords of Königstein, Eppstein and Munzenberg to t ...

fell to his younger brother Christopher. Louis' widow Walburga received the city, district, and winery of

Butzbach Butzbach () is a town in the Wetteraukreis district in Hessen, Germany. It is located approximately 16 km south of Gießen and 35 km north of Frankfurt am Main. In 2007, the town hosted the 47th Hessentag state festival from 1 to 10 June ...

as her

Wittum Wittum (), Widum or Witthum is a medieval Latin legal term, known in marital and ecclesiastical law. Provide for a widow at the wedding The term referred initially to steps taken by a husband to provide for his wife if she became a widow. The wi ...

State Archive of Baden-Württemberg, file Wertheim, cabinet G-Rep. 10a, drawer III-IV
document A 85
/ref> The

Electorate of Mainz The Electorate of Mainz (german: Kurfürstentum Mainz or ', la, Electoratus Moguntinus), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the ...

annexed the district of Königstein after Christopher died childless in 1581. The Counts of Stolberg inherited the districts of Ortenberg and Gedern and shares of

and

Münzenberg Münzenberg is a town in the Wetteraukreis district in Hesse, Germany. It is located 13 km north of Friedberg, and 16 km southeast of Gießen. Münzenberg Castle Münzenberg Castle (German. ''Burg Münzenberg'') is a ruined hill castl ...

. In 1598, his son-in-law

won a dispute over the County of Wertheim that had lasted for 20 years.

References

External links

Biography on the wiki of the Königstein heritage preservation society

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis Stolberg House of Stolberg Counts of Stolberg 1505 births 1574 deaths 16th-century German people