Walrad Usingen of Nassau (25 February 1635 in Roermond – 17 October 1702 in

Usingen Usingen is a small town in the Hochtaunuskreis in Hessen, Germany. Until 1972, this residential and school town was the seat of the former district of Usingen. Coat of arms The earliest seal whose appearance is known – there had been earlier on ...

), was from 1659 Count, and from 1688 Prince of

Nassau-Usingen Nassau-Usingen was a county of the Holy Roman Empire in the Upper Rhenish Circle that became a principality in 1688. The origin of the county lies in the medieval county of Weilnau that was acquired by the counts of Nassau-Weilburg in 1602. Tha ...

and founder of Usingen line of the House of Nassau.

Family

He was the youngest son of Count William Louis of Nassau-Saarbrücken and

Anna Amalia of Baden-Durlach Anna Amalia of Baden-Durlach (born: 9 July 1595; died: 18 November 1651 in Saarbrücken) was a Countess of Nassau-Saarbrücken by marriage to William Louis, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken, and regent of Nassau-Saarbrücken during the minority of her ...

, daughter of the Margrave George Frederick of Baden-Durlach.

Military career

Walrad was a respected military leader. At different times, he was General Field Marshal of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation and of the United Provinces of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

under Prince

William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198) * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...

of Orange. In 1664, he hurried to Szentgotthárd, but he came too late to fight in the Battle of Saint Gotthard. In 1683, he fought successfully in the battle to lift the Turkish

siege of Vienna Sieges of Vienna may refer to: * Siege of Vienna (1239) * Siege of Vienna (1276) * Siege of Vienna (1287) * Siege of Vienna (1477), unsuccessful Hungarian attempt during the Austro–Hungarian War. *Siege of Vienna (1485), Hungarian victory during ...

. So he had a role in ensuring that the Islamic conquest of Central Europe by the Ottomans failed. For these feats, King

John III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( pl, Jan III Sobieski; lt, Jonas III Sobieskis; la, Ioannes III Sobiscius; 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobie ...

of Poland granted him the Order of the White Eagle, the highest Polish distinction. Walrad also fought in the War of the Palatine Succession. From 1696, he commanded the Dutch troops. On 1 July 1690, he fought in the Battle of Fleurus and on 3 August 1692 the

Battle of Steenkerke The Battle of Steenkerque, also known as ''Steenkerke'', ''Steenkirk'' or ''Steinkirk'' was fought on 3 August 1692, during the Nine Years' War, near Steenkerque, then part of the Spanish Netherlands but now in modern Belgium A French force ...

. He commanded the left wing of the allied army in the Battle of Landen (1693). During the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

, he was tasked with implementing the imperial ban against Elector

Joseph Clemens Joseph Clemens (9 December 1862 – 21 January 1936) was an American Methodist Episcopal Church, Methodist Episcopalian chaplain, missionary and plant collecting, plant collector who served and worked in South East Asia and elsewhere. He was bor ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

, who had sided with France against the Empire. To this end, he commanded the allied troops at the

Siege of Kaiserswerth The siege of Kaiserswerth (18 April – 15 June 1702), was a siege of the War of the Spanish Succession. Prussian and Dutch troops numbering 38,000 men and 215 artillery pieces and mortars under the command of Imperial Field Marshal Walrad, Pr ...

in 1702.

Creation of Nassau-Usingen

Prince William Louis left three sons, who divided the Nassau territories on 31 March 1659 divided area: John Louis received

Ottweiler Ottweiler () is a municipality, former seat of the district of Neunkirchen, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the river Blies, approx. 7 km north of Neunkirchen, and 25 km northeast of Saarbrücken. Culture The town is notable f ...

, Gustav Adolph kept

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; Rhine Franconian: ''Saarbrigge'' ; lb, Saarbrécken ; lat, Saravipons, lit=The Bridge(s) across the Saar river) is the capital and largest city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken is S ...

and Walrad received Usingen and became the founder of a new branch. Walrad was elevated to the rank of prince in 1688. After his death in 1702, he was succeeded as Prince of Nassau-Usingen by his son William Henry.

Legacy in Usingen

From 1659, the residence of the Usingen branch of House of Nassau was in the town of

in the

Taunus The Taunus is a mountain range in Hesse, Germany, located north of Frankfurt. The tallest peak in the range is ''Großer Feldberg'' at 878 m; other notable peaks are ''Kleiner Feldberg'' (825 m) and ''Altkönig'' (798 m). The Taunus range spans ...

mountains. The town gained significantly in prestige and importance by being the seat of a Nassau and also benefited from Walrad's urban construction zeal. Between 1660 and 1663, Walrad replace the old Usingen Castle by a new palace. In 1905, the grateful city council erected a monument for Walrad in the palace gardens (now a public park). In 1692 a fire destroyed large parts of Usingen. Walrad used this circumstance control to the systematic reconstruction of the upper town of Usingen. He designed the symmetrical streets that characterize the cityscape today were and built representative buildings along the high street. The population of the country around Usingen had been decimated in the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

. Walrad promoted the influx of

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 ...

who had to flee from France, and granted them freedom of religion. The Huguenot Church in Usingen is evidence of this migration.

Marriage and issue

Walrad's first marriage was with Catherine Françoise, Comtesse de Croÿ-Roeulx. This marriage produced three children who survived to adulthood: * Wilhelmine Henriette (1679-1718) Married Count Carl Ludwig Friedrich von Salm (No Issues) * William Henry (1684-1718) * Maria Albertine (1686-1768) Married John George (1702–1725), son of George Philip Count of Ortenburg After the death of his first wife, he married his second wife, Magdalena Elizabeth, Countess of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort. This marriage remained childless.

Works

* ''Vorgeschlagene Conditiones Für die Vbergebung der Vestung Käyserswerth, Statt, Schlosses und angehörigen Schäntzen sowohl dieß- alß jenseith des Rheins'', S.L. Düsseldorf, Beyers, 170
digitized

Notes

References

* Pierre Even: ''Walrad Fürst zu Nassau-Usingen (1635-1702). Reichspatriot zwischen Türkenkriegen und niederländischer Selbstbehauptung'', in: Nassauische Annalen, vol. 114, Wiesbaden, 2003, pp. 179–209.

External links

* * {{Authority control Princes of Nassau Counts of Nassau House of Nassau 17th-century German people 1635 births 1702 deaths Field marshals of the Holy Roman Empire Dutch military personnel of the Nine Years' War Dutch army commanders in the War of the Spanish Succession