Nassau-Orange-Fulda (sometimes also named ''Fulda and Corvey'') was a short-lived principality of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
from 1803 to 1806. It was created for
William Frederick, the son and heir of
William V, Prince of Orange
William V (Willem Batavus; 8 March 1748 – 9 April 1806) was a prince of Orange and the last stadtholder of the Dutch Republic. He went into exile to London in 1795. He was furthermore ruler of the Principality of Orange-Nassau until his death in ...
, the ousted
stadtholder
In the Low Countries, ''stadtholder'' ( nl, stadhouder ) was an office of steward, designated a medieval official and then a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and H ...
of the abolished
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
after the
Batavian Revolution of 1795.
Background
The
Princely Abbey of Fulda
The Abbey of Fulda (German ''Kloster Fulda'', Latin ''Abbatia Fuldensis''), from 1221 the Princely Abbey of Fulda (''Fürstabtei Fulda'') and from 1752 the Prince-Bishopric of Fulda (''Fürstbistum Fulda''), was a Benedictine abbey and ecclesiastic ...
was elevated to Prince-Bishopric in 1752.
In January 1795, stadtholder William V lost all his possessions in the
Low Countries
The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
because of the rise of the
Batavian Republic
The Batavian Republic ( nl, Bataafse Republiek; french: République Batave) was the successor state to the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands. It was proclaimed on 19 January 1795 and ended on 5 June 1806, with the accession of Louis Bona ...
, a
client state
A client state, in international relations, is a state that is economically, politically, and/or militarily subordinate to another more powerful state (called the "controlling state"). A client state may variously be described as satellite state, ...
of the
French Republic
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
.
During the
Batavian Revolution in Amsterdam
The Batavian Revolution in Amsterdam refers to the transfer of power in the city of Amsterdam on 18 January 1795 to a Revolutionary Committee of the new Batavian Republic. The same day the stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, William V, Prince of ...
on 18 January 1795, he fled to England, and issued the
Kew Letters
The Kew Letters (also known as the Circular Note of Kew) were a number of letters, written by stadtholder William V, Prince of Orange between 30 January and 8 February 1795 from the "Dutch House" at Kew Palace, where he temporarily stayed after hi ...
in February 1795, ordering all officials in the Dutch colonies outside Europe to treat the English as their new overlords.
In August 1799, he and his son
William Frederick issued a proclamation in support of the
Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland
The Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland (or Anglo-Russian expedition to Holland, or Helder Expedition) was a military campaign from 27 August to 19 November 1799 during the War of the Second Coalition, in which an expeditionary force of British and ...
.
After this failure, his son convinced him to issue the
Oranienstein Letters
The Oranienstein Letters are a series of letters sent by William V, Prince of Orange in December 1801 from Schloss Oranienstein near Diez, Germany. William addressed them to 15 Orangist ex-regenten of the old Dutch Republic and advised them end th ...
in December 1801, recognising the Batavian Republic, in order to receive compensation from
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
for the possessions he lost in 1795.
History
On 23 May 1802, the
French First Republic
In the history of France, the First Republic (french: Première République), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (french: République française), was founded on 21 September 1792 ...
and the
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...
concluded a treaty in which Fulda and some other areas were promised to the Prince of Orange as compensation for the loss of his domains in the Low Countries. Willem V refused at first, but later accepted the offer in favour for his son William Frederick to become the ruler of the new formed principality, plus five million gulden, in exchange for the renunciation of their hereditary stadtholderate in the abolished
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
.
On 22 October Prussian troops occupied the
Princely Abbey of Fulda
The Abbey of Fulda (German ''Kloster Fulda'', Latin ''Abbatia Fuldensis''), from 1221 the Princely Abbey of Fulda (''Fürstabtei Fulda'') and from 1752 the Prince-Bishopric of Fulda (''Fürstbistum Fulda''), was a Benedictine abbey and ecclesiastic ...
to secure the interests of the prince, and on 6 December, William Frederick held his entry in Fulda. The Prince-Bishopric was secularised and handed to him as a hereditary possession.
The resolution on 25 February 1803, legalized the redistribution of the territories. According to section 12 of this resolution the following areas were transferred to the rule of the new Prince of Nassau-Orange-Fulda:
*
Princely Abbey of Fulda
The Abbey of Fulda (German ''Kloster Fulda'', Latin ''Abbatia Fuldensis''), from 1221 the Princely Abbey of Fulda (''Fürstabtei Fulda'') and from 1752 the Prince-Bishopric of Fulda (''Fürstbistum Fulda''), was a Benedictine abbey and ecclesiastic ...
*
Princely Abbey of Corvey
The Princely Abbey of Corvey (german: link=no, Fürststift Corvey or Fürstabtei Corvey) is a former Benedictine abbey and ecclesiastical principality now in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was one of the half-dozen self-ruling '' princely ...
*
Free Imperial City
In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...
of
Dortmund
Dortmund (; Westphalian nds, Düörpm ; la, Tremonia) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the eighth-largest city of Germany, with a population of 588,250 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the la ...
*
Weingarten Abbey
Weingarten Abbey or St. Martin's Abbey (german: Reichsabtei Weingarten until 1803, then merely ) is a Benedictine monastery on the Martinsberg (''St. Martin's Mount'') in Weingarten near Ravensburg in Baden-Württemberg (Germany).
First founda ...
and the priorate Hofen
*
Provostry of St. Gerold
Sankt Gerold is a municipality in the district of Bludenz (district), Bludenz in the Austrian state of Vorarlberg.
Population
References
Cities and towns in Bludenz District
{{Vorarlberg-geo-stub ...
(in
Vorarlberg
Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label=Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost States of Austria, state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is ...
, 1804 sold to Austria)
*
Deanery of Bandern (in
Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...
, 1804 sold to Austria)
*
Dietkirchen Abbey (Nassau)
![Wappen Fürstentum Oranien-Nassau-Fulda](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Wappen_F%C3%BCrstentum_Oranien-Nassau-Fulda.jpg)
The areas were reorganised into the four divisions "Principality of Fulda", "Principality of Corvey", "County of Dortmund" and "Lordship of Weingarten". The arms of the principality included the coats of arms of these areas (with the
inescutcheon
In heraldry, an escutcheon () is a shield that forms the main or focal element in an achievement of arms. The word can be used in two related senses. In the first sense, an escutcheon is the shield upon which a coat of arms is displayed. In the s ...
being the arms of the Prince of Orange-Nassau).
With the death of his father William V on 9 April 1806, William Frederick also inherited all the
Nassau core territories.
However, a few months later, he refused to join Napoleon's formation of the
Confederation of the Rhine
The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine, also known as Napoleonic Germany, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austria an ...
, which ultimately led to Napoleon taking both Nassau and Fulda away from him.
On 12 July 1806, William Frederick lost the Lordship of Weingarten and the Nassau territories. By the
German Mediatisation
German mediatisation (; german: deutsche Mediatisierung) was the major territorial restructuring that took place between 1802 and 1814 in Germany and the surrounding region by means of the mass mediatisation and secularisation of a large number ...
, the Lordship of Weingarten was incorporated into the
Kingdom of Württemberg
The Kingdom of Württemberg (german: Königreich Württemberg ) was a German state that existed from 1805 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Duchy of Württemberg, which exist ...
and the Nassau core territories into the
Grand Duchy of Berg
The Grand Duchy of Berg (german: Großherzogtum Berg), also known as the Grand Duchy of Berg and Cleves, was a territorial grand duchy established in 1806 by Emperor Napoleon after his victory at the Battle of Austerlitz (1805) on territories bet ...
and the
Duchy of Nassau
The Duchy of Nassau (German: ''Herzogtum Nassau'') was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what is now the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a member of the Confederation of the Rhine and later of the G ...
.
After Napoleon defeated Prussia in the
Battle of Jena–Auerstedt
The twin battles of Jena and Auerstedt (; older spelling: ''Auerstädt'') were fought on 14 October 1806 on the plateau west of the river Saale in today's Germany, between the forces of Napoleon I of France and Frederick William III of Pruss ...
(14 October 1806), the Prince of Orange lost his remaining possessions (including the mediated ones). Fulda was occupied by French troops on 27 October 1806. William Frederick would subsequently enter Prussian and later Austrian military service to fight against Napoleon.
Legacy
Fulda remained under French rule until 19 May 1810, when it was incorporated into the
Grand Duchy of Frankfurt
The Grand Duchy of Frankfurt was a German satellite state of Napoleonic creation. It came into existence in 1810 through the combination of the former territories of the Archbishopric of Mainz along with the Free City of Frankfurt itself.
Histor ...
. Corvey was incorporated into the
Kingdom of Westphalia
The Kingdom of Westphalia was a kingdom in Germany, with a population of 2.6 million, that existed from 1807 to 1813. It included territory in Hesse and other parts of present-day Germany. While formally independent, it was a vassal state of the ...
on 7 December 1807 and Dortmund into the
Grand Duchy of Berg
The Grand Duchy of Berg (german: Großherzogtum Berg), also known as the Grand Duchy of Berg and Cleves, was a territorial grand duchy established in 1806 by Emperor Napoleon after his victory at the Battle of Austerlitz (1805) on territories bet ...
on 1 March 1808. With the
defeat of the French in 1813, the Prince of Orange regained his possessions in the Low Countries but lost his claims to the principality Nassau-Orange-Fulda. By the final act of the
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...
in 1815, it was decided not to restore the Principality of Nassau-Orange-Fulda; Corvey and Dortmund became part of the
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...
, and Fulda was divided between the
Electorate of Hesse
The Electorate of Hesse (german: Kurfürstentum Hessen), also known as Hesse-Kassel or Kurhessen, was a landgraviate whose prince was given the right to elect the Emperor by Napoleon. When the Holy Roman Empire was abolished in 1806, its prin ...
(Hesse-Cassel),
the (Grand) Duchy of
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (german: Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach) was a historical German state, created as a duchy in 1809 by the merger of the Ernestine duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach, which had been in personal union since 1741. It was rais ...
, and the
Kingdom of Bavaria
The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German E ...
. The episcopal seat was restored in 1821.
In 1866, Fulda was annexed by Prussia.
See also
*
Principality of Orange
The Principality of Orange (french: la Principauté d'Orange; oc, Principat d'Aurenja) was, from 1163 to 1713, a feudal state in Provence, in the south of modern-day France, on the east bank of the river Rhone, north of the city of Avignon, an ...
*
Principality of Orange-Nassau
The House of Orange-Nassau (Dutch: ''Huis van Oranje-Nassau'', ) is the current reigning house of the Netherlands. A branch of the European House of Nassau, the house has played a central role in the politics and government of the Netherlands ...
*
House of Orange-Nassau
The House of Orange-Nassau (Dutch: ''Huis van Oranje-Nassau'', ) is the current reigning house of the Netherlands. A branch of the European House of Nassau, the house has played a central role in the politics and government of the Netherlands ...
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nassau-Orange-Fulda, Principality
Dortmund
House of Orange-Nassau
1803 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire
1806 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire
Principalities of the Holy Roman Empire
States and territories established in 1803
States and territories disestablished in 1806