Anna of Nassau-Dillenburg (21 September 1541 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 roa ...

– 12 February 1616 in

Weilburg Weilburg () is, with just under 13,000 inhabitants, the third biggest town in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany, after Limburg an der Lahn and Bad Camberg. Geography Location The community lies in the Lahn valley between the Wes ...

) was a countesses of the

House of Nassau The House of Nassau is the name of a European aristocratic dynasty. The name originated with a lordship associated with Nassau Castle, which is located in what is now Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Nassau in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With t ...

. She married her cousin

Albert, Count of Nassau-Weilburg Albert of Nassau-Weilburg-Ottweiler (26 December 1537, Weilburg – 11 November 1593, Ottweiler), was a count of the House of Nassau. His territory included the areas around Weilburg, Ottweiler and Lahr in the Black Forest. Like his father, ...

and settled in

Schloss Weilburg Schloss Weilburg (Weilburg Palace) is a Baroque ''Schloss'' in Weilburg, Hesse, Germany. It is located on a spur above the river Lahn and occupies about half of the area of the Old Town of Weilburg. It contains the ''Hochschloss'' ("High Palace") ...

, where he ruled the district of

Life

Anna was a daughter of Count William "the Rich" of

Nassau-Dillenburg The County of Nassau was a German state within the Holy Roman Empire from the period of the formal recognition of the countly title in 1159 (though "de facto" sovereignty began in 1125) until the declaration of the Duchy of Nassau in 1806 with ...

and his second wife, Countess

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 ...

. She was the seventh child in their marriage, the fourth daughter. The eldest was William I of Orange (1533–1584), known as

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 ...

. She had the same name as her aunt Anna of Nassau-Siegen (1440/41–1514), who had died twenty seven years before she was born. She married Count Albert, Count of Nassau-Weilburg on

16 June Events Pre-1600 * 632 – Yazdegerd III ascends the throne as king (''shah'') of the Persian Empire. He becomes the last ruler of the Sasanian dynasty (modern Iran). *1407 – Ming–Hồ War: Retired King Hồ Quý Ly and his son K ...

1559 Year 1559 ( MDLIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 15 – Elizabeth I of England is crowned, in Westminster Abbey. * February 27 – Queen Elizabeth I of England e ...

in the Castle of

. On that day in Dillenburg two other marriages in the House of Orange took place:

Johann 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-l ...

married

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 ...

, and

Elisabeth of Nassau-Dillenburg Countess Elisabeth of Nassau-Dillenburg (25 September 1542, Dillenburg – 18 November 1603, Dillenburg) was a daughter of William I, Count of Nassau-Siegen and Juliana of Stolberg and one of the sisters of William the Silent. Marriage and issue ...

married Conrad, Count of Solms-Braunfels.A.W.J. Mulder, "Juliana, Gravin van Stolberg," in:'' Moeders uit ons vorstenhuis'', 1938. p. 17-18 Over the years their house inherited part of the county of

Nassau-Weilburg The House of Nassau-Weilburg, a branch of the House of Nassau, ruled a division of the County of Nassau, which was a state in what is now Germany, then part of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1344 to 1806. On 17 July 1806, upon the dissolution of t ...

. After his fathers dead in

1561 Year 1561 ( MDLXI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 4 – Paolo Battista Giudice Calvi is elected as the new Doge of the Republic of Genoa, but serves for only ...

Albert gained part of territory and his father's debts: Weilburg, Gleiberg, Cleen, labor and Burgschwalbach. In

1574 __NOTOC__ Year 1574 ( MDLXXIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 22 – Mohammed II becomes the new Sultan of Morocco upon the death of his father, Abdallah al-Ghal ...

he inherited another part of Nassau-Saarbrücken after the death of Count John III. In 1574 a new castle was built in

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 Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Fr ...

, which became their residence.

Family

Albert and Anna had the following fourteen children: * Anna Amalia (1560–1635), married Count Otto of

Solms Solms () is a town west of Wetzlar in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis, Hessen, Germany with around 13,500 inhabitants. In the constituent community of Burgsolms once stood the ancestral castle of the Counts and Princes of House of Solms, Solms. Geography Lo ...

Sonnewalde Sonnewalde is a town in the Elbe-Elster district, in Lower Lusatia, Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 8 km northwest of Finsterwalde. History From 1815 to 1947, Sonnewalde was part of the Prussian Province of Brandenburg. From 1952 to 199 ...

* Juliane (1562) * Catherine (1563–1613), died unmarried *

Louis II, Count of Nassau-Weilburg Louis II of Nassau-Weilburg (9 August 1565, Weilburg – 8 November 1627, Saarbrücken) was a count of Nassau-Weilburg. Life Louis was the eldest son of Count Albert, Count of Nassau-Weilburg, Albert of Nassau-Weilburg-Ottweiler and Counte ...

(1565–1627); inherited

* George Philip (1567–1570) * Albert (1569–1570) * William (1570–1597); inherited Weilburg * Elizabeth (1572–1607), married Count George II of

Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg was one of several imperial counties and later principalities ruled by the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein. Most of the former county is located in the present district of Siegen-Wittgenstein (in the modern state of North ...

* Juliane (born: 1574) * John Casimir (1577–1602), married Elisabeth, a daughter of

George I, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt George I of Hesse-Darmstadt (10 September 1547 – 7 February 1596) was the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt from 1567 to 1596. Early life Born on 10 September 1547 in Kassel, he was the fourth son of Philip I the Magnanimous of Hesse and his w ...

; inherited Gleiberg * Anna Ottilie (1582–1635), married Count William III of

Sayn-Wittgenstein Sayn-Wittgenstein was a county of medieval Germany, located in the Sauerland of eastern North Rhine-Westphalia. History Sayn-Wittgenstein was created when Count Salentin of Sayn-Homburg (1314-1392), a member of the House of Sponheim, married ...

* Anna Sibylla (born: 1575), married Baron Peter Ernest II of Kriechingen-Püttlingen * Magdalena (1580–1658), died unmarried * Ernestina (1584–1665), married Louis Philip of Wied

References

House of Nassau 1541 births 1616 deaths Countesses of Nassau 16th-century German nobility 16th-century German women Burials in the Royal Crypt of Weilburg Schlosskirche Daughters of counts Mothers of German monarchs Countesses in the Holy Roman Empire {{Germany-countess-stub