Wolfgang Ernst I, Count of Isenburg-Büdingen (

Birstein Birstein is a municipality on the northeastern edge of the Main-Kinzig-Kreis in Hesse, Germany with approximately 6,600 inhabitants. It was the home of the former principality of Isenburg-Birstein. Geography Location The town lies at the southern ...

, 29 December 1560 –

, 21 May 1633) was a German count of the

House of Isenburg The County of Isenburg was a region of Germany located in southern present-day Hesse, located in territories north and south of Frankfurt. The states of Isenburg emerged from the Niederlahngau (located in the Rhineland-Palatinate), which partitio ...

. He was count of

Isenburg-Birstein Isenburg-Birstein was the name of two German historical states centred on Birstein in southeastern Hesse, Germany. The first "Isenburg-Birstein" was a County and was created as a partition of Isenburg-Büdingen-Birstein in 1628. It was merged into ...

from 1596 to 1633, after violently seizing power from Henry of Isenburg-Rönneburg. -- Early life

Wolfgang was the son of Philipp II, Count of Isenburg-Büdingen und Birstein (1526-1596) and his wife, Countess Irmengard of

Solms-Braunfels Solms-Braunfels was a County and later Principality with Imperial immediacy in what is today the federal Land of Hesse in Germany. Solms-Braunfels was a partition of Solms, ruled by the House of Solms, and was raised to a Principality of th ...

(1536-1577). Through his mother he was first cousin once removed of

Amalia of Solms-Braunfels Amalia may refer to: People *Amalia (given name), feminine given name (includes a list of people so named) *Princess Amalia (disambiguation), several princesses with this name Films and television series * ''Amalia'' (1914 film), the first ...

Princess consort of Orange This is a list of women who held the title Princess of Orange by marriage. Princess of Orange is the title used by the female heirs apparent and, prior to 2002, spouses of male heirs apparent. The present Princess of Orange, Catharina-Amalia, i ...

and first cousin of Johannetta of Sayn-Wittgenstein sister-in-law 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 ...

Family and children

He married four times and had several children, who inherited his land after his death. First, he was married on 26 September 1585 with Countess Anna of Gleichen-Rhemda (1565–1598) who bore him the following children: * Wolfgang Henry, Count of Isenburg-Büdingen-Birstein (1588–1635) line of

Isenburg-Büdingen-Birstein Isenburg-Büdingen-Birstein was a County of southern Hesse, Germany, located to the north of Gelnhausen. Isenburg-Büdingen-Birstein was created as a partition of Isenburg-Büdingen in 1511, and was partitioned into Isenburg-Birstein, Isenburg-Büd ...

*Countess Anna Amalie of Isenburg-Büdingen-Birstein (1591–1667), married Arnold Jost of

Bentheim-Bentheim Bentheim-Bentheim was a county in southeastern Lower Saxony, Germany, the borders of which by 1806 were the modern borders of the District of Bentheim. This county was formed from the county of Bentheim in 1277, and from it was formed Bentheim-Ste ...

(1580-1643), son of

Arnold III, Count of Bentheim-Steinfurt-Tecklenburg-Limburg Arnold III of Bentheim-Tecklenburg-Steinfurt-Limburg (10 or 11 October 1554 in Neuenhaus – 11 January 1606 in Tecklenburg) was a German nobleman. He was Count of Bentheim, Tecklenburg and Steinfurt, and Count of Limburg. He ruled as Arno ...

*Count Philipp Ludwig of Isenburg-Büdingen-Birstein (1593–1616) (in a duel) *Count Philipp Ernst of Isenburg-Büdingen-Birstein (1595–1635) *Count Wilhelm Otto of Isenburg-Büdingen-Birstein (1597–1667) Secondly, he married on 16 Aprile 1603 with Countess Elisabeth of Nassau-Dillenburg (1564–1611) a daughter of

Johann VI, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg Count John VI of Nassau-Dillenburg (22 November 1536 – 8 October 1606) was the second son of William the Rich and the younger brother of William the Silent. He has a special place in the history of the Netherlands because he is the male-lin ...

and widow of Philip IV, Count of Nassau-Weilburg but the marriage was childless. Thirdly, he married on 19 Aprile 1616 with Countess Juliane of

Sayn-Wittgenstein Sayn-Wittgenstein was a county of medieval Germany, located in the Sauerland of eastern North Rhine-Westphalia. History Sayn-Wittgenstein was created when Count Salentin of Sayn-Homburg, a member of the House of Sponheim, married the heiress Cou ...

(1583–1627) a daughter of

Louis I, Count of Sayn-Wittgenstein Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...

(1532–1605) from his second marriage with Countess Elisabeth of Solms-Laubach (1549-1599) who bore him one son: *

Johann Ernst, Count of Isenburg-Büdingen-Büdingen Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name ''Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...

(1625–1673) line of Isenburg-Büdingen On 24 Jun 1628 he married for a fourth time, this time

morganatically Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spou ...

to Sabine von Saalfeld (d. 1635).

Ancestry

References

House of Isenburg 1560 births 1633 deaths {{Germany-noble-stub