Johann Ernst of Nassau-Weilburg (

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 ...

, 13 June 1664 –

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

, 27 February 1719) was an Imperial

Generalfeldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (; from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several German states and the Holy Roman Empire, (''Reichsgeneralfeldmarsch ...

, from 1675 to 1688

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

and from 1688 until his death Prince (Fürst) of Nassau-Weiburg.

Biography

Johann Ernst was the eldest son of Frederick, Count of Nassau-Weilburg (1640–1675) and Christiane Elisabeth of Sayn-Wittgenstein (1646–1678). After the death of his parents, his regents were Johann, Count of Nassau-Idstein and after his death, Johann Louis, Count of Nassau-Ottweiler. In Juli 1679 Johann Ernst started his studies at the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

. Between 1681 and 1682 he stayed at the court of King

Louis XIV of France LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

in 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 ...

. Johann Ernst became the only ruler of Nassau-Weilburg when his brother Frederick William Louis was killed in 1684 during the siege of

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

. His territories on the left bank of the Rhine were occupied by France and only returned after the

Treaty of Ryswick The Peace of Ryswick, or Rijswijk, was a series of treaties signed in the Dutch city of Rijswijk between 20 September and 30 October 1697. They ended the 1688 to 1697 Nine Years' War between France and the Grand Alliance, which included the Dutc ...

in 1697. Johann Ernst had an important military career. In 1684 he commanded a

Dragoon Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility, but dismounted to fight on foot. From the early 17th century onward, dragoons were increasingly also employed as conventional cavalry and trained for combat wi ...

regiment in the service of the

Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, also known as the Hessian Palatinate (), was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. The state was created in 1567 when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided upon t ...

. In 1688, at the start of the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

, he defended

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

. Later he participated in the Siege of Mainz (1689), the

Battle of Fleurus (1690) The Battle of Fleurus, fought on 1 July 1690 near Fleurus, then part of the Spanish Netherlands, now in modern Belgium, was a major engagement of the Nine Years' War. A French army led by Marshall Luxembourg defeated an Allied force under ...

and the

Battle of Landen The Battle of Landen, also known as Battle of Neerwinden took place on 29 July 1693, during the Nine Years' War near Landen, then in the Spanish Netherlands, now part of Belgium. A Kingdom of France, French army under François-Henri de Montmor ...

(1693). In September 1696 Johann Ernst entered as general in the service of the

Electoral Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by the Electorate of Baden in 1803. From the end of the 13th century, its ruler was one of the Prince-electors who elected the Holy Roman Empero ...

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

, which enraged his former employer

Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel Charles of Hesse-Kassel (; 3 August 1654 – 23 March 1730), member of the House of Hesse, was the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel from 1670 to 1730. Childhood Charles was the second son of William VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, and Hedwig Sophi ...

. After the Peace of Ryswick, Johann Ernst became governor of the Palatinate city of

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

. In 1701, at the outbreak of the

War of Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish ...

, Johann Ernst raised an army, participated in the successful Siege of Landau in 1702 and the consequent chasing of an army under

Marshal of France Marshal of France (, plural ') is a French military distinction, rather than a military rank, that is awarded to General officer, generals for exceptional achievements. The title has been awarded since 1185, though briefly abolished (1793–1804) ...

Tallard Tallard (; ) is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Location Tallard is to the south of Gap, close to the road from Gap to Marseille. The motorway A51 ends just to the ...

from the

Hunsrück The Hunsrück () is a long, triangular, pronounced mountain range, upland in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the valleys of the Moselle (river), Moselle-Saar (north-to-west), the Nahe (south), and the Rhine (east). It is continued ...

. For this achievement, he was made an Imperial

. When Prince

Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy-Carignano (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736), better known as Prince Eugene, was a distinguished Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty durin ...

marched in 1703 to Bavaria against the French

Marshal Villars Claude Louis Hector de Villars, Prince of Martigues, Marquis then (1st) Duke of Villars, Viscount of Melun (, 8 May 1653 – 17 June 1734) was a French people, French military commander and an illustrious general of Louis XIV of France. He was on ...

, Johann Ernst stayed on the Rhine to defend Landau against Tallard. This led on November 15, 1703, to the

Battle of Speyerbach The Battle of Speyerbach took place on 15 November 1703 during the War of the Spanish Succession, near Speyer in the modern German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. A French army commanded by Camille de Tallard defeated an Allied force under F ...

. It was a terrible defeat. 8000 men were lost and Johann Ernst's eldest son, Colonel Frederick Ludwig of Nassau-Weilburg was killed. Hereafter, Johann Ernst never fought a major engagement again and withdrew from active service all together in 1706. He was ''Großhofmeister'' of the Elector Palatinate until 1716 and returned to Weilburg, where he died in 1719.

Building

In the 1700s, Johann Ernst initiated the expansion of his residence,

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") ...

, from a Renaissance Palace to a Baroque complex, adding orangeries, stables, a church and terrace gardens.

Marriage and issue

Johann Ernst married on April 3, 1683, Countess Maria Polyxena of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hartenburg (February 7, 1662 – April 22, 1725), daughter of Friedrich Emich, Count of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hartenburg (1621-1698) and Countess Sybille von Waldeck-Wildungen (1619-1678). They had nine children: * Frederick Louis (1683–1703), killed in the

* Charles August (1685–1753) married Princess Auguste Friederike Wilhelmine of Nassau-Idstein (1699-1750) * Maria Polyxena (1686–1687) * Johanna Louise (1687–1688) * Charles Ernst (1689–1709) * Henry Louis (1690–1691) * Magdalena Henriette (1691–1725) married Frederick William, 1st Prince of Solms-Braunfels * Albertina (1693–1748) * a daughter (1694)

Ancestors

References

* Ernst Joachim:
Johann Ernst von Nassau-Weilburg
', in:

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB; ) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences between 1875 and 1912 in 56 volumes, printed in Lei ...

(1881), S. 272-273 * Dr. C. Spielmann: ''Geschichte der Stadt und Herrschaft Weilburg'', 1896, Neuauflage 2003

External links

Worldroots

Weilburg , - {{DEFAULTSORT:John Ernst Of Nassau-Weilburg 1664 births 1719 deaths Counts of Nassau University of Tübingen alumni German army commanders in the War of the Spanish Succession House of Nassau-Weilburg People from Weilburg Burials in the Royal Crypt of Weilburg Schlosskirche Field marshals of Germany Generals of the Holy Roman Empire Military personnel from Hesse