Louis Crato, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken (; 28 March 1663 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 ...

– 14 February 1713 in Saarbrücken) was a German aristocrat and soldier who succeeded his father as Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken.

Early life

Louis was the son of Count Gustav Adolph of Nassau-Saarbrücken and Clara Eleanor, Countess of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein. He was educated at Neuenstein with his uncle, Count Wolfgang Julius of Hohenlohe-Neuenstein, and later in

Tübingen Tübingen (; ) is a traditional college town, university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer (Neckar), Ammer rivers. about one in ...

. His father was at the time a prisoner of war in France.

Career

On his father's death in 1677, he inherited the counties of

and Saarwerden. Due to his young age, his mother initially took over the state. In 1680 they were forced to recognize the supremacy of the French King

Louis XIV 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 ...

and to swear an oath of fealty to him. Saarbrücken and Saar Werden were incorporated into the French kingdom as part of Louis XIV's so-called reunion policy and, shortly afterwards, became part of the Province de la Sarre, founded in . Nevertheless, the old German rulers still retained a certain degree of political influence. Likely due to the lack of opportunities, he entered the

French army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

as a captain in 1682, but left in 1684 after his regiment was disbanded. After being declared of age in 1685, he briefly joined the army of

William III of Orange William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702), also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 167 ...

, however, the French king ended it by threatening to confiscate his share of the revenues of his counties. As a result, Crato rejoined the French army. While he was in the military, his mother continued in the administration of his sovereignty. He soon acquired his own cavalry regiment, first the Nassau Regiment (previously called Dumont), then the Royal German Cavalry Regiment, and after a few years achieved

Lieutenant-General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was normall ...

. During his career, he was distinguished by bravery, coolness and military acumen. He took part in the siege of Luxembourg in 1684. During 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 served in the Netherlands Company at the Battle of Fleurus (1690) (severely wounded), the siege of

Namur Namur (; ; ) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is the capital both of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namur stands at the confl ...

, the Battle of Steenkerke (1692), and the Battle of Neerwinden (1693). The French King rewarded this short spell with the Dutch army by seizing his lands. 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, his lands were returned to him and he became Regent. During the

War of the 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 E ...

he only served in an advisory role. He was considered a good ruler, as he could keep his country out of further wars. He organized the administration of justice and the state finances. He showed benevolence and reorganized the school system.

Personal life

On 25 April 1699 he married Countess Philippine Henriette of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1679–1751), daughter of Count Henry Frederick of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. They had the following children: * Eliza von Nassau-Saarbrücken (1700–1712), who died young. * Eleonora Dorothea von Nassau-Saarbrücken (1701–1702), who died young. * Henriette von Nassau-Saarbrücken (1702–1769) * Caroline von Nassau-Saarbrücken (1704–1774), who married Count Palatine Christian III * Louise Henriette von Nassau-Saarbrücken (1705–1766), who married Prince Frederick Charles of Stolberg-Gedern * Eleonore von Nassau-Saarbrücken (1707–1769), who married Count Louis of Hohenlohe-Langenburg * Louis von Nassau-Saarbrücken (1709–1710), who died young. * Christina von Nassau-Saarbrücken (1711–1712), who died young. Louis died on 14 February 1713 in Saarbrücken. As he had no surviving male issue, he was succeeded in government by his brother Charles Louis.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis Crato, Count of Nassau-Saarbrucken House of Nassau 1663 births 1713 deaths Counts of Nassau-Saarbrücken