Ernest Casimir I (22 December 1573 – 2 June 1632) was a Count of Nassau-Dietz and

Stadtholder of Friesland This is a list of stadtholders ( nl, stadhouders, german: Statthalter) or governors (french: gouverneurs) in the Low Countries, or historical Netherlands region. This includes all the territories in the Low Countries that were acquired by the H ...

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of t ...

and

Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Nove ...

Biography

He was the 11th child of

John 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

Countess Elisabeth of Leuchtenberg Elisabeth of Leuchtenberg (born: March 1537- died: 6 July 1579 in Dillenburg) was the daughter of Landgrave George III, Landgrave of Leuchtenberg and Margravine Barbara of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1495-1552). After her death, the German theologian ...

. After the death of his father, his counties

Nassau-Dillenburg The County of Nassau was a German state within the Holy Roman Empire and later part of the German Confederation. Its ruling dynasty, the male line of which is now extinct, was the House of Nassau. Origins Nassau, originally a county, developed ...

Nassau-Siegen Nassau-Siegen was a principality within the Holy Roman Empire that existed between 1303 and 1328, and again from 1606 to 1743. From 1626 to 1734, it was subdivided into Catholic and Protestant parts. Its capital was the city of Siegen, fo ...

, Nassau-Dietz, and

Vianden Vianden ( lb, Veianen or (locally) ) is a commune with town status in the Oesling, north-eastern Luxembourg, with over 1,800 inhabitants. It is the capital of the canton of Vianden, which is part of the district of Diekirch. Vianden lies on t ...

were divided among his five living sons. Ernest Casimir followed him as Count of Nassau-Dietz. In 1631, he inherited the small county of Spiegelberg near Lauenstein. Ernest Casimir was primarily known as an outstanding military leader during the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt ( nl, Nederlandse Opstand) ( c.1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war included the Ref ...

. He served under Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange, in the siege of the cities of Steenwijk and

Oldenzaal Oldenzaal (; Tweants: ''Oldnzel'') is a municipality and a city in the eastern province of Overijssel in the Netherlands. It is part of the region of Twente and is close to the German border. It received city rights in 1249. Historically, the city ...

, and

Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange Frederick Henry ( nl, Frederik Hendrik; 29 January 1584 – 14 March 1647) was the sovereign prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 1625 until his death in 1647. In the last ...

, during the Siege of Groenlo and the Siege of 's-Hertogenbosch. As Stadtholder of Groningen, he founded the

Nieuweschans Bad Nieuweschans (also ''Lange Akkeren''; ; Gronings: ''Nij-Schans''; German: ''Bad Neuschanz'') is a village in the north-eastern Netherlands on the border with Germany. It forms part of the municipality of Oldambt. Nieuweschans means "new for ...

fortress in 1628. Although he owned little in Friesland, he was popular there, and people granted his heir the right to rule after his death. He was killed by a bullet at the siege of Roermond while he was inspecting the trenches in June 1632. His son, Henry Casimir I, succeeded him as count of Nassau-Dietz and as

and

Family

In 1607, Ernest Casimir married Sophia Hedwig of Brunswick-Lüneburg, daughter of Henry Julius of Brunswick-Lüneburg. They had nine children: # stillborn daughter (1608) # stillborn son (1609) # unnamed son (1610) #

Henry Casimir I, Count of Nassau-Dietz 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 Portuga ...

(21 January 1612 – 13 July 1640) #

William Frederick, Prince of Nassau-Dietz William Frederick ( nl, Willem Frederik; Arnhem 7 August 1613 – Leeuwarden 31 October 1664), Count (from 1654 Imperial Prince) of Nassau-Dietz, Stadtholder of Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe. Biography Family life William Frederick was the se ...

(7 August 1613 – 31 October 1664), married Albertine Agnes of Nassau # Elizabeth (25 July – 18 September 1614) # John Ernest (29 March – May 1617) # Maurice (21 February 1619 – 18 September 1628) # Elizabeth Friso (25 November 1620 – 20 September 1628)

Ancestors

References

External links

* 1573 births 1632 deaths Dutch stadtholders People from Dillenburg German people of the Eighty Years' War {{Europe-noble-stub