Louis, Prince of Nassau-Saarbrücken (3 January 1745 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 ...

– 2 March 1794 in

Aschaffenburg Aschaffenburg (; Hessian: ''Aschebersch'', ) is a town in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg, despite being its administrative seat, is not part of the district of Aschaffenburg. Aschaffenburg belonged to the Archbishopric ...

) was the last ruling prince of Nassau-Saarbrücken. He ruled from 1768 until the French Revolution.

Early life

Louis was born in

as the second child and first son of William Henry of Nassau-Saarbrücken and his wife Princess Sophie of Erbach-Erbach. Like his father, he was educated at the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...

. His Grand Tour led to England (from 1759 to 1766), and the Netherlands, France, and Germany.

Career

After his father's death in 1768, Louis took up the business of government in Nassau-Saarbrücken. He largely continued his father's economic policies, but was increasingly subject to financial constraints, so that he had to mortgage the Lordship of Jugenheim to the principality of

Nassau-Usingen Nassau-Usingen was a county of the Holy Roman Empire in the Upper Rhenish Circle that became a principality in 1688. The origin of the county lies in the medieval county of Weilnau that was acquired by the counts of Nassau-Weilburg in 1602. Tha ...

from 1769 until 1777. In 1770, he requested Emperor

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

to appoint a Debt Commission. This commission was dissolved in 1782. Since his financial position was still tight, Louis moved his seat of government from the

palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

in Saarbrücken to his smaller hunting lodges in the surrounding area, such as Schloss Jägersberg. Despite his tight financial position, Louis was able to complete some construction projects. In 1769, he constructed the palace and garden on the . In 1775, he completed the by Friedrich Joachim Stengel, which his father had begun. He was an enlightened absolutist ruler. He issued new regulations for agriculture and forestry and reformed the school system. He also reformed the

penal code A criminal code or penal code is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of, a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain Crime, offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that ...

and abolished torture.

Personal life

On 30 October 1766 Louis married at Schwarzburg Castle to Princess Wilhelmine of

Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was a small historic state in present-day Thuringia, Germany, with its capital at Rudolstadt. History Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was established in 1599 in the course of a resettlement of House of Schwarzburg, Schwarzburg dy ...

(1751–1780). The marriage was an unhappy one, and Wihelmine retreated to

Halberg Castle Halberg Castle () is a German schloss, castle built between 1877 and 1880 on Halberg mountain near Saarbrücken. The castle is located in the area of the former municipality of Brebach, which was merged with Fechingen to form Brebach-Fechingen in ...

, where she raised their son: * Henry Louis (1768–1797), who married Princess Marie Françoise Maximilienne of Saint Mauris-Montbarrey, the daughter of Prince

Alexandre Marie Léonor de Saint-Mauris de Montbarrey Alexandre Marie Eleonor of Saint-Mauris, count of Montbarrey, then prince of Montbarrey and Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (1774), grandee of Spain of first class (1780), knight of the Holy Spirit, lieutenant general (1780). Biography Born in B ...

, in 1785. Outside his marriage, Louis fathered two illegitimate children with Baroness Amalie Frederike of Dorsberg, Frederika Louisa (1771), who married François Leclerc d'Alteville, and Louis Charles Philip (1774-1871). On 28 February 1787, he married his

maidservant A handmaiden (nowadays less commonly handmaid or maidservant) is a personal maid or female servant. The term is also used metaphorically for something whose primary role is to serve or assist. Depending on culture or historical period, a handma ...

Katharina Kest (1757–1829). Since she was a commoner, Louis rose her to Countess of Ottweiler. From this

morganatic marriage Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spou ...

, he had seven other children, including his youngest son Adolph: * Louis Albert (1775–1784) * Charles Louis (1776–1799) * Louise (1778–1855) * Henry (1779–1781) * Louis (1785–1796) * Catherine (1786–1818) * Adolph Louis (1789–1812) In 1787, the Emperor legitimized their marriage. In 1789,

Louis XVI of France Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

conferred upon Katharina the title Duchess of Dillange. In 1793, his health was failing when he fled before the French Revolution to

with

his mother ''His Mother'' is a 1912 American silent film produced by Kalem Company. It was directed by Sidney Olcott with Gene Gauntier and Jack J. Clark in the leading roles. It was one of more than a dozen films produced by the Kalem Company filmed in Ir ...

. He died there in exile, and was buried in the

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

St. Lawrence Church in

Usingen Usingen () is a small town in the Hochtaunuskreis in Hessen, Germany. Until 1972, this residential and school town was the seat of the former district of Usingen. Coat of arms The earliest seal whose appearance is known – there had been earlier ...

. On 23 November 1995, his body was transferred to the Castle Church in Saarbrücken.

Ancestors

References

* Albert Ruppersberg: ''Geschichte der Grafschaft Saarbrücken'',vol. 2, Saarbrücken, 2nd ed., 1910 (reprinted: St. Ingbert, 1979), p. 295-372

External links

The funeral of Prince Louis of Nassau-Saarbrücken

Louis of Nassau-Saarbrücken in the Saarland biographies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis of Nassau Saarbrucken Princes of Nassau People from Saarbrücken House of Nassau 1745 births 1794 deaths 18th-century German people Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)