Ernest Casimir (22 December 1573 – 2 June 1632) was a Count of Nassau-Dietz and Stadtholder of Friesland,

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

and

Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Jan ...

Biography

He was the 11th child of John VI, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg, and Countess Elisabeth of Leuchtenberg. After the death of his father, his counties

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 ...

Nassau-Siegen Nassau-Siegen was a principality within the Holy Roman Empire that existed between 1303 and 1328, and again from 1606 to 1743. From 1626 to 1734, it was subdivided into Catholic and Protestant parts. Its capital was the city of Siegen, found ...

, Nassau-Dietz, and

Vianden Vianden ( or (locally) ) is a commune with town status in the Éislek region, north-eastern Luxembourg, with a population of 2,203 as of 2023. It is part of the canton of the same name. Vianden lies on the Our river, near the border between ...

were divided among his five living sons. Ernest Casimir followed him as Count of Nassau-Dietz. In 1631, he inherited the small county of Spiegelberg near Lauenstein. Ernest Casimir was primarily known as an outstanding military leader during the

Eighty Years' War The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...

. He served under

Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange Maurice of Orange (; 14 November 1567 – 23 April 1625) was ''stadtholder'' of all the provinces of the Dutch Republic except for Lordship of Frisia, Friesland from 1585 at the earliest until his death on 23 April 1625. Before he became P ...

, in the siege of the cities of

Steenwijk Steenwijk (; or ), datedly known in English as Stenwick, is a city in the Dutch province of Overijssel. It is located in the municipality of Steenwijkerland. It is the largest town of the municipality. Steenwijk received city rights in 1327. I ...

and

Oldenzaal Oldenzaal (; Tweants: ''Oldnzel'') is a municipality and a city in the eastern province of Overijssel in the Netherlands. It is part of the region of Twente and is close to the German border. It received city rights in 1249. Historically, the ...

, and

Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange Frederick Henry (; 29 January 1584 – 14 March 1647) was the sovereign prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from his older half-brother's death on 23 April 1625 until his ...

, during the Siege of Groenlo and the

Siege of 's-Hertogenbosch The siege of 's-Hertogenbosch also known as the siege of Bois-Le-DucMarkham pp. 435-38 was an action in 1629, during the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo–Spanish War in which a Dutch and English army captured the city of 's-Hertogenbosch.Knigh ...

. As Stadtholder of Groningen, he founded the

Nieuweschans Bad Nieuweschans (; ; ; also Lange Akkeren) is a village in the north-eastern Netherlands on the border with Germany. It forms part of the municipality of Oldambt. Nieuweschans means "new fortification ( sconce)". In 2009, the word Bad (" spa") ...

fortress in 1628. Although he owned little in Friesland, he was popular there, and people granted his heir the right to rule after his death. He was killed by a bullet at the siege of Roermond while he was inspecting the trenches in June 1632. The hat he was wearing when he was shot and killed is now in the

Rijksmuseum The Rijksmuseum () is the national museum of the Netherlands dedicated to Dutch arts and history and is located in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square in the borough of Amsterdam South, close to the Van Gogh Museum, the S ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. His son, Henry Casimir I, succeeded him as count of Nassau-Dietz and as Stadtholder of Friesland,

and

Family

In 1607, Ernest Casimir married Sophia Hedwig of Brunswick-Lüneburg, daughter of Henry Julius of Brunswick-Lüneburg. They had nine children: # stillborn daughter (1608) # stillborn son (1609) # unnamed son (1610) # Henry Casimir I, Count of Nassau-Dietz (21 January 1612 – 13 July 1640) #

William Frederick, Prince of Nassau-Dietz William Frederick (; Arnhem 7 August 1613 – Leeuwarden 31 October 1664), was Count (from 1654 Imperial Prince) of Nassau-Dietz, Stadtholder of Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe. Biography Family life William Frederick was the second son of Er ...

(7 August 1613 – 31 October 1664), married Albertine Agnes of Nassau # Elizabeth (25 July – 18 September 1614) # John Ernest (29 March – May 1617) # Maurice (21 February 1619 – 18 September 1628) # Elizabeth Friso (25 November 1620 – 20 September 1628)

Ancestors

References

External links

1573 births 1632 deaths Stadtholders in the Low Countries People from Dillenburg German people of the Eighty Years' War 17th-century Dutch military personnel Stadtholders of Frisia {{Europe-noble-stub