Count Louis of Stolberg (12 January 1505 in Stolberg – 1 September 1574 in Wertheim) was a German nobleman. He ruled

Eppstein Eppstein is a town in the Main-Taunus-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. Eppstein lies west of Frankfurt am Main, around 12 km north east of the state capital Wiesbaden, and is at the edge of the Taunus mountains. The ruins of the Eppstein castle is ...

- Königstein from 1535 until his death.

Life

Louis was born at Stolberg castle, as the son of Count Bodo VIII and his wife, Countess

Anna of Eppstein-Königstein Anna of Eppstein-Königstein (1481 in Königstein – 7 August 1538 in Stolberg) was the daughter of Philip I of Eppstein-Königstein and his wife, Louise de la Marck. Marriage and issue On 24 August 1500, the pregnant Anna married Bodo VIII ...

. He was their third son and the fourth of their twelve children. Among his siblings were Count Wolfgang, Abess

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna of East Anglia, King (died c.654) * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th c ...

of Quedlinburg, Countess

Juliana Juliana (variants Julianna, Giuliana, Iuliana, Yuliana, etc) is a feminine given name which is the feminine version of the Roman name Julianus. Juliana or Giuliana was the name of a number of early saints, notably Saint Julian the Hospitaller, whi ...

of Hanau-Münzenberg and later Nassau-Dillenburg, Count

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

of Stolberg-Wernigerode, Countess Catherine of Henneberg, Count Albert of Stolberg-Schwarza and Count Christopher of Stolberg-Gedern, who was

provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

at Halberstadt From the age of nine, he was educated by his maternal uncle Eberhard IV of Eppstein in Königstein. Later, he studied at the

University of Wittenberg Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (), also referred to as MLU, is a public research university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg. It is the largest and oldest university in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. MLU offers German and i ...

, where he converted to

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

in 1521. The expansion and consolidation of the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

became his main objective after his conversion. He acted as councillor to Emperor

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

and his successors Ferdinand I and Maximilian II. He was frequently sent on diplomatic missions, to Queen

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

of England and to the Spanish court. His maternal uncle Eberhard IV had no sons and made Louis his universal heir. From 1527, Louis acted as Eberhard's co-ruler. Emperor Charles V recognized Eberhard's will in 1528. In 1535, Eberhard died and Louis inherited his possessions. In 1540, he introduced the Reformation in his territory. However, he did not participate in the

Schmalkaldic War The Schmalkaldic War (; July 1546May 1547) was fought within the territories of the Holy Roman Empire between the allied forces of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and Maurice, Duke of Saxony against the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League, with the forc ...

Marriage and issue

Louis married Walburga of Wied (died 1578), the daughter of John III of Wied (died 1533) 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 ...

(1488–1559). Together, they had a son and three daughters: *

Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

, married Michael III, Count of Wertheim, the last Count of Wertheim. When Michael III died in 1556 without a male heir, Louis managed to acquire the County of Wertheim and Wertheim Castle, and a 50% share of Breuburg Castle and the Lordship of Breuberg. Catherine remarried in 1566, to Count Philip II of Eberstein (1523–1589). * Elisabeth, married Count Dietrich of Manderscheid-Virneburg. He died in 1593 and a year later, she remarried to Baron William of Criechingen. * Bodo, was educated at the court of the Duke of Bavaria. In 1568, he moved to Quedlinburg. He died before his father. *

(13 April 1548 – 2 November 1599), married on 2 September 1566 to Count

Louis III Louis III may refer to: * Louis the Younger, sometimes III of Germany (835–882) * Louis III of France (865–882) * Louis the Blind, Louis III, Holy Roman Emperor, (c. 880–928) * Louis the Child, sometimes III of Germany (893–911) * Louis III ...

of Löwenstein-Wertheim (17 February 1530 – 13 March 1611).

His heirs

As Louis had no surviving male heir, the

County of Königstein The County of Königstein was an imperially immediate territory of the Holy Roman Empire within the Upper Rhenish Circle. House of Eppstein On 6 August 1505 Maximilian I granted the titles of lords of Königstein, Eppstein and Munzenberg to th ...

fell to his younger brother Christopher. Louis' widow Walburga received the city, district, and winery of

Butzbach Butzbach () is a town in the Wetteraukreis district in Hessen, Germany. It is located approximately 16 km south of Gießen and 35 km north of Frankfurt am Main. In 2007, the town hosted the 47th Hessentag state festival from 1 to 10 Jun ...

as her

Wittum Wittum (), Widum or Witthum is a medieval Latin legal term, known in marital and ecclesiastical law. Provide for a widow at the wedding The term referred initially to steps taken by a husband to provide for his wife if she became a widow. The wi ...

State Archive of Baden-Württemberg, file Wertheim, cabinet G-Rep. 10a, drawer III-IV
document A 85
/ref> The

Electorate of Mainz The Electorate of Mainz ( or '; ), previously known in English as Mentz and by its French name Mayence, was one of the most prestigious and influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. In the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, the Archbishop-Elec ...

annexed the district of Königstein after Christopher died childless in 1581. The Counts of Stolberg inherited the districts of Ortenberg and Gedern and shares of

and

Münzenberg Münzenberg is a town in the Wetteraukreis district in Hesse, Germany. It is located 13 km north of Friedberg, Hesse, Friedberg, and 16 km southeast of Gießen. Münzenberg Castle is located outside the town. Population development B ...

. In 1598, his son-in-law

won a dispute over the County of Wertheim that had lasted for 20 years.

References

External links

Biography on the wiki of the Königstein heritage preservation society

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis Stolberg House of Stolberg Counts of Stolberg 1505 births 1574 deaths 16th-century German nobility