William II, Prince of Nassau-Dillenburg (28 August 1670 – 21 September 1724 in

Dillenburg Dillenburg, officially Oranienstadt Dillenburg, is a town in Hesse's Gießen region in Germany. The town was formerly the seat of the old Dillkreis district, which is now part of the Lahn-Dill-Kreis. The town lies on the German- Dutch holiday road ...

) was the ruler (i.e.

Fürst ' (, female form ', plural '; from Old High German ', "the first", a translation of the Latin ') is a German word for a ruler and is also a princely title. ' were, since the Middle Ages, members of the highest nobility who ruled over states of ...

) of

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 ...

from 1701 until his death. His parents were

Henry, Prince of Nassau-Dillenburg Henry, Prince of Nassau-Dillenburg (born 28 August 1641 in Dillenburg; died: 18 April 1701 at Ludwigsbrunn Castle) was ruler (i.e. Fürst) of Nassau-Dillenburg from 1662 until his death. Life Henry was the son of George Louis, Prince of Nassau- ...

(1641–1701) and his wife Princess Dorothea Elisabeth of Legnica-Brzeg (1646–1691).

Life

Around 1694 he made his

grand tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tut ...

which took him through Germany, the Netherlands, England, Denmark, Sweden and Italy. After his father's death in 1701 he inherited

. In 1711, Francis Alexander died, and William II inherited a share of Nassau-Hadamar. Negotiations dragged on until 1717; William II received

Mengerskirchen Mengerskirchen is a municipality in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany. Geography Neighbouring communities Mengerskirchen borders in the north on the community of Greifenstein (Lahn-Dill-Kreis), in the east on the community of Löhnberg ...

, Lahr in the

Westerwald The Westerwald (; literally 'Western forest') is a low mountain range on the right bank of the river Rhine in the German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a part of the Rhenish Massif ( or Rhenish ...

, and Frickhofen. In 1709, he was appointed Knight of the Order of Saint Hubert, which had been revived by Elector Palatine John William in September 1708. Leopold Zedlitz-Neukirch, ''Neues preussisches Adels-Lexicon'', p.8
Online
William II died in 1724 and was interred in the Evangelical City Church in Dillenburg. As he had no male heir, his principality was inherited by his brother

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

Marriage and issue

He married on 13 January 1699 in Harzgerode to Johanna Dorothea (24 December 1676 – 29 November 1727), the daughter of Duke

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön-Norburg. They had two children: * Henry Augustus William (15 November 1700 – 22 August 1718) * Elisabeth Charlotte (14 July 1703 – 22 June 1720) The family was interred in the Evangelical City Church in Dillenburg.

Ancestors

External links

Footnotes

Princes of Nassau House of Nassau 1670 births 1724 deaths 17th-century German people 18th-century German people {{Germany-noble-stub