George August Samuel of Nassau-Idstein (26 February 1665, in

Idstein Idstein () is a town of about 25,000 inhabitants in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt (region), Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Because of its well preserved historical Altstadt (Old Town) it is part of the ''Deutsch ...

– 26 October 1721, in Biebrich) was

Graf (; feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility and later also of the Russian nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title ...

from 1677, and Prince from 1688 until his death, of Nassau-Idstein. He worked mainly in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

Life

Georg August was just 12 years old when his father

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 ...

died in 1677. Two regents took up government: Count John Caspar of Leiningen-Dagsburg and Count John August of Solms. George August studied in

Giessen Giessen, spelled in German (), is a town in the Germany, German States of Germany, state () of Hesse, capital of both the Giessen (district), district of Giessen and the Giessen (region), administrative region of Giessen. The population is appro ...

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and later in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and Brabant. During his Grand Tour, he visited several European courts; he was particularly impressed by the

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

. In 1683, he participated in the defense of

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

during the siege and

battle of Vienna The Battle of Vienna took place at Kahlenberg Mountain near Vienna on 1683 after the city had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months. The battle was fought by the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarchy) and the Polish–Li ...

. One year later, he became the reigning count on his 18th birthday. On 4 August 1688, Emperor Leopold I raised him to Prince as a reward for his services at Vienna, and also because he had paid a large sum of money. On 22 November, he married Princess Henriette Dorothea of Oettingen (born: 14 November 1672 in Oettingen in Bayern; died: 23 May 1728 in

) a daughter of Prince Albert Ernest I of Oettingen and Christiane Friederike of Württemberg. They had twelve children, three boys and nine girls. However, two of the girls and all three boys died in early childhood.http://tempo.ifrance.com/nidstein1.htm The city of

and the whole county of Nassau-Idstein had suffered badly during 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 ...

and again during the plague in 1675. Only a few dozen of the original 1800 inhabitants were still alive. Under George August both experienced an enormous upswing. He initiated a number of construction projects. He completed the residential palace in Idstein, he constructed the ''Herrengarten'' park and the Pheasants Park in Wiesbaden, he constructed a

French formal garden The French formal garden, also called the , is a style of "Landscape architecture, landscape" garden based on symmetry and the principle of imposing order on nature. Its epitome is generally considered to be the Gardens of Versailles designed ...

on thebanks of the Rhine at Biebrich and he remodeled the City Palace at Wiesbaden. A garden house was the only part of the future

Biebrich Palace Biebrich Palace () is a Baroque residence (''Schloss'') in the borough of Biebrich in the city of Wiesbaden, Hesse, Germany. Built in 1702 by Prince Georg August Samuel of Nassau-Idstein, it served as the ducal residence for the independent Du ...

completed during his lifetime. George died of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

in August 1721, as did his two youngest daughters.Gottfried Kiesow: ''Architekturführer Wiesbaden. Die Stadt des Historismus'', 2006, , p. 303

Legacy

The ''Georgenthal'' manor was named after him; the ''Henriettenthaler Hof'' manor was named after his wife.

Issue

* Frederick Ernest (born: 27 August 1689 in Idstein; died: 21 March 1690 in Idstein), Hereditary Prince of Nassau-Idstein, died in infancy * Christine Louise (born: 31 March 1691 in Idstein; died: 13 April 1723 in

Aurich Aurich (; East Frisian Low Saxon: ''Auerk'', West Frisian: ''Auwerk'', ) is a town in the East Frisian region of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Aurich and is the second largest City in East Frisia, both in popula ...

), married on 23 September 1709 with Prince George Albert of East Frisia (1689 – 1734) * Charlotte Eberhardine (born: 16 July 1692 in Idstein; died: 6 February 1693 in Idstein), died in infancy * Henriette Charlotte (born: 9 November 1693 in Idstein; died: 8 April 1734 in

Delitzsch Delitzsch (; Slavic: ''delč'' or ''delcz'' for hill) is a town in Saxony in Germany, 20 km north of Leipzig and 30 km east of Halle (Saale). With 24,850 inhabitants at the end of 2015, it is the largest town in the district of Nordsach ...

), married on 4 November 1711 with Duke Maurice Wilhelm of Saxe-Merseburg (1688 – 1731) * Eleanor Charlotte (born: 28 November 1696 in Idstein; died: 8 December 1696 in Idstein), died in infancy * Albertine Juliane (born: 29 March 1698 in Idstein; died: 9 October 1722 in Marksuhl), married on 14 February 1713 with Duke Wilhelm Heinrich of Saxe-Eisenach (1691 – 1741) * Auguste Friederike (born: 17 August 1699 in Idstein; died: 8 June 1750 in

Kirchheim unter Teck Kirchheim unter Teck (, ; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Kircha'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, in the Esslingen (district), district of Esslingen. It is located on the small river Lauter (Neckar), Lauter, a tributary of the Neckar. It i ...

), married on 17 August 1723 with Prince Charles August of Nassau-Weilburg (1685 – 1753) * Johannette Wilhelmine (born: 14 September 1700 in Idstein; died: 2 June 1756 in

Lemgo Lemgo (; ) is a university and old Hanseatic League, Hanseatic town in the Lippe district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated between the Teutoburg Forest and the Weser Uplands, 25 km east of Bielefeld and 70 km west of H ...

), married on 16 October 1719 with Count Simon Henry Adolph of Lippe-Detmold (1694 – 1734) * Frederick August (born: 30 April 1702 in Idstein, died: 30 January 1703 in Idstein), Hereditary Prince of Nassau-Idstein, died in infancy * William Samuel (born: 14 February 1704 in Idstein; died: 4 May 1704 in Idstein), Hereditary Prince of Nassau-Idstein, died in infancy * Elisabeth Francisca (born: 17 September 1708 in Idstein; died: 7 November 1721 in Idstein), died young * Charlotte Louise (born: 17 March 1710 in Idstein; died: 4 November 1721 in Biebrich), died young

References

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:George August, Count of Nassau Idstein Counts of Nassau Princes of the Holy Roman Empire House of Nassau People from Wiesbaden 1665 births 1721 deaths