Adolf of Nassau (
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 roa ...
, 11 July 1540 –
Heiligerlee, 23 May 1568) was a
count of Nassau, also known as Adolphus of Nassau. He was the fourth son and sixth child of
William I, Count of Nassau-Siegen
William I of Nassau-SiegenIn many sources he is called William I of Nassau(-Dillenburg) and in some sources of Nassau-Katzenelnbogen. He was born with the titles Count of Nassau, Vianden and Diez. Two years before his death, he obtaine ...
and
Juliana of Stolberg
Juliana, Countess of Stolberg-Wernigerode (15 February 1506 in Stolberg, Saxony-Anhalt – 18 June 1580) was the mother of William the Silent, the leader of the successful Dutch Revolt against the Spanish in the 16th century.
Early life and ...
. He was the second youngest brother of
William the Silent
William the Silent or William the Taciturn (; 24 April 153310 July 1584), more commonly known in the Netherlands as William of Orange (), was the leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburg Netherlands, Habsburgs that set off the ...
.
Life and death
He studied at
Wittenberg
Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...
and in 1566 fought against the Turks, then
pushing into Europe. In 1568 his brother William the Silent took up arms against
Philip II of Spain
Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...
and Adolf fought beside him in
Brabant. Adolf then joined the force under his brother
Louis of Nassau
Louis of Nassau (Dutch: Lodewijk van Nassau, 10 January 1538 – 14 April 1574) was a Dutch nobleman, the third son of William I, Count of Nassau-Siegen and Juliana of Stolberg, and the younger brother of Prince William the Silent, William ...
in the north, where he died at the
Battle of Heiligerlee after his horse bolted and crossed Spanish lines.
[Eindelijk lijkt Adolf terecht](_blank)
Dagblad Trouw, 20 January 2016
Archived
on 16 August 2017.
The Spanish troops at Heiligerlee were commanded by
Jan van Ligne, duke of Arenberg (or Aremberg), who also died in the battle.
The death of Adolf of Nassau is mentioned in the
Dutch national anthem (4th verse):
:''Graef Adolff is ghebleven, In Vriesland in den slaech,''
:"Count Adolf has died, in Friesland, in this battle"
Burial
There are several accounts about his burial:
* Count Adolf of Nassau and Jean de Ligne, Count of Arenberg, are said to have laid in state together in the monastic church of Mons Sinai. Later, Adolf would have been transferred to
Midwolda and then to the Grote Kerk of
Emden
Emden () is an Independent city (Germany), independent town and seaport in Lower Saxony in the north-west of Germany and lies on the River Ems (river), Ems, close to the Germany–Netherlands border, Netherlands border. It is the main town in t ...
.
[
]
*Adolf of Nassau is said to have been laid in state in the monastery church and buried with military honours in the castle in
Wedde
Wedde () is a village in the municipality Westerwolde in the province Groningen in the Netherlands. It is located 9 km southeast of Winschoten. The castle Wedderborg is located in the village.
History
Most of Westerwolde was a raised bog ...
. From there he is said to have been transferred to a family castle in
East Frisia
East Frisia () or East Friesland (; ; ; ) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisia (peninsula), East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia and to the ...
.
*It is said that Adolf was buried and then exhumed to prevent the Spaniards from dishonouring his grave. He was then reburied in a secret location.
* He may have been buried in the Grote Kerk in
Emden
Emden () is an Independent city (Germany), independent town and seaport in Lower Saxony in the north-west of Germany and lies on the River Ems (river), Ems, close to the Germany–Netherlands border, Netherlands border. It is the main town in t ...
, as the castle at Wedde, the ''Wedderborg'', remained a crucial battle field in the Eighty Years' War and the Grote Kerk had become a refuge for the Dutch Protestants.
However, there is nothing in the city archives about a possible burial of the count and the church was heavily damaged in the Second World War.
* In January 2016, historian Lammert Doedens put forward the theory that Count Adolf is buried in the Sint-Lambertus church in Oldenburg.
Exhibition in the university museum Groningen, January 2016
Archived
op 2 July 2016. He had received a grant to investigate a family grave and came across a coffin containing the remains of thirty people. The remains of two people were determined to be non-relatives. Doedens believes that one of the two may be Adolf.
The Graaf Adolfmonument
The first monument to Adolf was a simple truncated obelisk with an urn, created in 1826. It was poorly maintained and, by 1868, was badly deteriorated. That year, it was torn down and a contest was organized to design a replacement for Adolf's three-hundredth anniversary. The winning design was by the painter J.H. Egenberger, in conjunction with Pieter Schenkenberg van Mierop (1837-1904), an architect who later emigrated to the United States. The design features a dying Adolf, protected by the Dutch Maiden
The Dutch Maiden ( Dutch: ''Nederlandse Maagd,'' Latin: ''Belgica'' or ''Belgia'') is a national personification of the Low Countries and - sometime after the secession of the Southern Netherlands - solely of the Dutch Republic, and its successor ...
.
The contract for executing the statue was given to the Belgian sculptor, Joseph Geefs
Joseph Germain Geefs or Jozef Germain Geefs (23 December 1808 – 9 October 1885) was a Belgian sculptor. Also his six brothers Guillaume Geefs, Aloys Geefs, Jean Geefs, Théodore Geefs, Charles Geefs and Alexandre Geefs were sculptors.
...
. Originally, Van Mierop wanted the monument to be placed on a stone hill but, after some disagreement, Geefs designed an octagonal pedestal. The first foundation stone was laid on 23 May 1868, by William, Prince of Orange
William, Prince of Orange (Willem Nicolaas Alexander Frederik Karel Hendrik; 4 September 1840 – 11 June 1879), was heir apparent to the Dutch throne as the eldest son of William III of the Netherlands, King William III from 17 March 1849 until ...
and Prince Henry. On the same day, five years later, the monument was unveiled by King William III.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Adolf of Nassau
1540 births
1568 deaths
House of Nassau
Dutch people of the Eighty Years' War (United Provinces)
People from Dillenburg
Sons of counts