Count Palatine Wolfgang of Zweibrücken (german: Pfalzgraf Wolfgang von Zweibrücken; 26 September 1526 – 11 June 1569) was member of the

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate o ...

family of the

Counts Palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an ord ...

and Duke of

Zweibrücken Zweibrücken (; french: Deux-Ponts, ; Palatinate German: ''Zweebrigge'', ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river. Name The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; olde ...

from 1532. With the support of his

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

, his uncle Rupert (later made the Count of Veldenz), Wolfgang introduced 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 ...

to Zweibrücken as early as 1537.

Biography

He was the only son of

Louis II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken Louis II of Zweibrücken (german: Pfalzgraf Ludwig II. von Zweibrücken-Neuburg "der Jüngere") (14 September 1502 – 3 December 1532) was Count Palatine and Duke of Zweibrücken from 1514 to 1532. Early life He was the son of Alexander, Cou ...

and his wife

Elisabeth of Hesse Elisabeth of Hesse (13 February 1539 – 14 March 1582) was a German noblewoman. She was a daughter of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse and Christine of Saxony, daughter of George, Duke of Saxony. On 8 July 1560 she married Louis VI, Elector Pal ...

, daughter of

William I, Landgrave of Hesse William I of Hesse (german: Wilhelm) (4 July 1466 – 8 February 1515) was the Landgrave of Hesse ( Lower Hesse) from 1471 to 1493. His parents were Louis the Frank (1438–1471) and Mechthild, daughter of Count Louis I of Württemberg. On 17 ...

. His father died in 1532, so the

regency A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

of Palatinate-Zweibrücken passed to Louis' younger brother Rupert until 1543. In 1557 Wolfgang received the territory of

Palatinate-Neuburg Palatinate-Neuburg (german: Herzogtum Pfalz-Neuburg) was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire, founded in 1505 by a branch of the House of Wittelsbach. Its capital was Neuburg an der Donau. Its area was about 2,750 km², with a population of ...

in accordance with the Contract of

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

. In 1548 the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

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 ...

occupied his

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 ...

territories and reintroduced Catholic practices. This imposition ended in 1552. The Peace of Augsburg of 1555 ended the religious conflict, and in 1557 several ecclesiastical states in Germany were

secularised In sociology, secularization (or secularisation) is the transformation of a society from close identification with religious values and institutions toward non-religious values and secular institutions. The ''secularization thesis'' expresses the ...

, a few of which Wolfgang obtained. In 1566 he served as a cavalry officer in the

Turkish Wars A series of military conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and various European states took place from the Late Middle Ages up through the early 20th century. The earliest conflicts began during the Byzantine–Ottoman wars, waged in Anatolia in ...

. In 1569 he came to the aid of French

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss politica ...

with 14,000 mercenaries during the "Third War" of the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estim ...

(his intervention was financed by

Queen Elizabeth I of England 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 ...

). He invaded

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

, but was killed in the conflict. He was buried in

Meisenheim Meisenheim () is a town in the Bad Kreuznach district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the like-named ''Verbandsgemeinde'', and is also its seat. Meisenheim is a state-recognized recreational resort (''Erholungsort'') and it is s ...

Succession

When the young Wolfgang's father died, his uncle Rupert had served as the child's

. In 1543, when Wolfgang reached majority and took on the responsibility of office, he enacted the Marburg Contract, giving Rupert the

County of Veldenz The County of Veldenz was a principality in the contemporary Land Rhineland-Palatinate. The county was located partially between Kaiserslautern, Sponheim and Zweibrücken, partially on the Mosel in the Archbishopric of Trier. A municipality of ...

. After his death, Wolfgang's remaining land was split among his five sons who then created three branches: Philip Louis ( House of Palatinate-Neuburg), John (

House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken The House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch of the Wittelsbach dynasty, was the ruling dynasty of Sweden from 1654 to 1720. By this point it had splintered into several different houses. The Royal House of Sweden was represented by the bra ...

) and Charles ( House of Palatinate-Birkenfeld). Otto Henry and Frederick had no surviving sons. The House of Palatinate-Neuburg inherited 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 ...

in 1685 and by its cadet branch

Palatinate-Sulzbach Palatinate-Sulzbach was the name of two separate states of the Holy Roman Empire located in modern Amberg-Sulzbach, Bavaria, Germany, ruled by a branch of the House of Wittelsbach. Palatinate-Sulzbach (1569–1604) Palatinate-Sulzbach was pa ...

also

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

in 1777. The House of Palatinate-Birkenfeld then inherited the

and Bavaria in 1799. The House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken contributed to the monarchy in Sweden from 1654 onwards through its cadet branch Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Kleeburg.

Family and children

He was married in 1545 to

Anna of Hesse Anna of Hesse (26 October 1529, Kassel – 10 July 1591, Meisenheim) was a princess of Hesse by birth and marriage Countess Palatine of Zweibrücken. Early life Anna was a daughter of Landgrave Philip I of Hesse (1501–1567) from his mar ...

, daughter of

Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse (13 November 1504 – 31 March 1567), nicknamed (in English: "the Magnanimous"), was a German nobleman and champion of the Protestant Reformation, notable for being one of the most important of the early Protestan ...

. They had the following children: * Countess Palatine Christine (1546 – 1619). * Philipp Ludwig of Pfalz-Neuburg (1547–1614), married Anna of Cleves (1552–1632), daughter of

William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg William of Jülich-Cleves-Berge (William I of Cleves, William V of Jülich-Berg) (german: Wilhelm der Reiche; 28 July 1516 – 5 January 1592) was a Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg (1539–1592). William was born in and died in Düsseldorf. He was th ...

. Their grandson was

Philip William, Elector Palatine Philip William of Neuburg, Elector Palatine (german: Philipp Wilhelm) (24 November 1615 – 2 September 1690) was Count Palatine of Neuburg from 1653 to 1690, Duke of Jülich and Berg from 1653 to 1679 and Elector of the Palatinate from 1685 to 1 ...

. * John I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken (1550–1604), married his sister-in-law Magdalene (1553–1633), daughter of

. Their grandson was

Charles X Gustav of Sweden Charles X Gustav, also Carl Gustav ( sv, Karl X Gustav; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. Afte ...

. * Countess Palatine Dorothea Agnes (1551–1552). * Countess Palatine Elisabeth (1553–1554). * Countess Palatine Anna (1554–1576). * Countess Palatine Elisabeth (1555–1625). *

Otto Henry, Count Palatine of Sulzbach Otto Henry of Sulzbach (22 July 1556 – 29 August 1604) was the Count Palatine of Sulzbach from 1569 until 1604. Life Otto Henry was born in Amberg in 1556 as one of five sons of Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken. After his father's ...

(1556–1604), married Dorothea Maria of

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...

. *

Frederick, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Vohenstrauss-Parkstein Frederick of Zweibrücken-Vohenstrauss-Parkstein (German: Friedrich) (11 April 1557 – 17 December 1597) was the Duke of Vohenstrauss-Parkstein from 1569 until 1597. Life Frederick was born in Meisenheim in 1557 as the fourth son of Wolfgan ...

(1557–1597), married Katharina Sophie of

Legnica Legnica (Polish: ; german: Liegnitz, szl, Lignica, cz, Lehnice, la, Lignitium) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River (left tributary of the Oder) and the Czarna Woda (Kaczawa), Czarna Woda ...

. * Countess Palatine Barbara (1559 – 1618), married on 7 November 1591 Gottfried, Count of Oettingen-Oettingen. *

Charles I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld Charles I of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld (4 September 1560 – 16 December 1600), Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke in Bavaria, Count to Veldenz and Sponheim was the Duke of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld from 1569 until 1600. Life Charles was born in Ne ...

(1560–1600), married Dorothea of Brunswick-Lüneburg and became ancestor to the line of

Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld was a state of the Holy Roman Empire based around Birkenfeld within the Upper Rhenish Circle. It was formed in 1569, after the partition of Palatine Zweibrücken and was reincorporated into that state in 1731. ...

and the

Dukes in Bavaria Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...

and later

Kings of Bavaria Kings or King's may refer to: *Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh' ...

. * Countess Palatine Maria Elisabeth (1561–1629), married in 1585 Emich XII, Count of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hardenburg. * Countess Palatine Susanna (1564–1565).

Ancestors

References

Grosses vollständiges Universal-Lexicon The ''Grosses vollständiges Universal-Lexicon aller Wissenschafften und Künste'' ( en, Great Complete Encyclopedia of All Sciences and Arts, , italic=yes) is a 68-volume German encyclopedia published by Johann Heinrich Zedler between 1731 and 1 ...

External links

Die Genealogie der Wittelsbacher
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrucken Wolfgang of Zweibrücken Wolfgang of Zweibrücken Counts Palatine of Neuburg Counts Palatine of Sulzbach House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken House of Wittelsbach Military personnel killed in action Christians of the Crusades Counts Palatine of Zweibrücken People of the French Wars of Religion Burials in Rhineland-Palatinate