Frederick Magnus I, Count of Solms-Laubach (1521 – 13 January 1561 in

Laubach Laubach is a town of approximately 10,000 people in the Gießen region of Hesse, Germany. Laubach is known as a ', a climatic health resort. It is situated east of Gießen. Surrounding Laubach are the towns of Hungen, Grünberg, Schotten and ...

) was

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 ...

Solms-Laubach Solms-Laubach was a County of southern Hesse and eastern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The House of SolmsSee German article on the '' House of Solms'' or French article '' Maison de Solms. had its origins in Solms, Hesse. History Solms-Laubach ...

from 1522 to 1548, and the ruling Count of Solms-Laubach from 1548 until his death. After the early death of his father Otto (1496–1522), Frederick Magnus I took up the government in his father's part of the

County of Solms Geography Location Solms lies right in the Lahn valley at the mouth of the eponymous little river Solmsbach and is nestled between the foothills of both the Taunus and Westerwald at heights from 140 to 400 m above sea level. It is about 7 ...

. He chose

Laubach Castle Laubach is a town of approximately 10,000 people in the Gießen region of Hesse, Germany. Laubach is known as a ', a climatic health resort. It is situated east of Gießen. Surrounding Laubach are the towns of Hungen, Grünberg, Schotten and ...

as his permanent residence and gradually converted the castle into a palace. After the third division of Solms in 1548, Solms-Laubach became a separate principality, with Frederick Magnus I as its first ruler. In 1540, Laubach became a fortress and a militia was established. This militia has been preserved to this day as the ''Laubach festival committee''. Frederick Magnus I was a friend of the Reformer

Philipp Melanchthon Philip Melanchthon. (born Philipp Schwartzerdt; 16 February 1497 – 19 April 1560) was a German Lutheran reformer, collaborator with Martin Luther, the first systematic theologian of the Protestant Reformation, intellectual leader of the Lut ...

. He 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 ...

in Solms-Laubach in 1544. He abolished the

inheritance tax An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and property) of a person who has died. International tax law distinguishes between an e ...

and issued a simplified court order, which developed into the Civil Code of Solms. In 1555, he founded a Latin School, with teachers from

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north of ...

. He also founded the library of Laubach, which now contains over from the 16th century to the present. It is a listed monument and was registered under Heritage Protection Act in 1955. Frederick Magnus I died in 1561 and was succeeded by his son John George I.

Marriage and issue

In 1545, he married Agnes of Wied (1520 – 1588), daughter of Count John III of Wied and Elisabeth of Nassau-Siegen. They had the following children: * John George I (6 November 1546 – 19 August 1600) * Elisabeth (6 March 1549 – 1599), married

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 ...

* Otto (24 June 1550 – 8 February 1612) * Anna (11 April 1557 – 8 December 1586), married

George III, Count of Erbach-Breuberg George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd President ...

Ancestry

External links

Frederick Magnus I
Counts of Solms House of Solms 1521 births 1561 deaths 16th-century German people {{Germany-noble-stub