Ernest Casimir of Nassau-Weilburg (15 November 1607 – 16 April 1655) was the founder of the ''younger'' line of Nassau-Weilburg. He was a son of

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 ...

and his wife

Anna Maria of Hesse-Kassel Anna Maria of Hesse-Kassel (27 January 1567, Kassel – 21 November 1626, Neunkirchen) was a princess of Hesse-Kassel by birth and by marriage Countess of Nassau-Saarbrücken. Life Anna Maria was the eldest daughter of Landgrave William ...

(1567–1626).

Life

He was born in

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken has 181,959 inhabitants and is Saarland's administrative, commerci ...

. His father, Louis II, had been able to unite all the territories of Walram branch of Nassau. After his death in 1627, the territories were divided among four brothers, with William Louis, the oldest, acting as regent for the youngest two. When Otto, the youngest died in 1632, and Ernest Casimir came of age, the three surviving brothers divided the territory anew. The oldest, William Louis, received Nassau-Saarbrücken,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

received Idstein and Ernest Casimir received Weilburg, Merenberg, Gleiberg, Hüttenberg, Reichelsheim, Kirchheim, Stauf, Bolanden and parts of Homburg Ernest Casimir did not spend much time in his own territory. In 1634, he had to flee from the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

. He fled to

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

and returned after the 1648

Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy Roman Empire ...

. Even after the peace had been signed, it took a while before all rightful rulers had been restored to power.Ernst Friedrich Keller: ''Drangsale des Nassauischen Volkes in den Zeiten des 30 jährigen Krieges'', p. 465
Digitized
During this period, the brothers concluded the ''Treaty of Gotha'' of 16 July 1651, in which division of 1632 was confirmed and again adjusted. He died 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 ...

Marriage and issue

In 1634 Ernest Casimir married Anna Maria of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hachenburg (1610–1656). She was the daughter of Count William II of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hachenburg (1569–1623). The couple had the following children: * William Louis (1634–1636) * Marie Eleonore (1636–1678), married Count Casimir of Eberstein (d. 1660) * Casimir (1638–1639) *

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...

(1640–1675), married Christiane Elisabeth of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Homburg (1646–1678), daughter of Count Ernest of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Homburg (1599–1649)

Ancestors

Footnotes

Counts of Nassau House of Nassau 1607 births 1655 deaths Burials in the Royal Crypt of Weilburg Schlosskirche Counts of the Holy Roman Empire {{Germany-count-stub