Louis II of Nassau-Weilburg (9 August 1565,
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 ...
– 8 November 1627,
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 ...
) was a
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: ...
of
Nassau-Weilburg
The House of Nassau-Weilburg, a branch of the House of Nassau, ruled a division of the County of Nassau, which was a state in what is now Germany, then part of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1344 to 1806.
On 17 July 1806, upon the dissolution of t ...
.
Life
Louis was the eldest son of Count
Albert of Nassau-Weilburg-Ottweiler and Countess
Anna of Nassau-Dillenburg
Countess Anne of Nassau-SiegenIn many sources she is called Anne of Nassau-Dillenburg. The County of Nassau-Siegen is erroneously called Nassau-Dillenburg in many sources. The county was not named after the small, unimportant city of Dillenburg ...
. His family moved in 1575 from Weilburg to
Ottweiler
Ottweiler () is a municipality, former seat of the district of Neunkirchen, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the river Blies, approx. 7 km north of Neunkirchen, and 25 km northeast of Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Fr ...
. After his education, he traveled through Europe, in particular
the French-speaking part of Switzerland. He also visited France and princely courts in Germany. During his visit to
William IV of Hesse-Kassel, he met William's daughter Anna Maria and fell in love with her. He married her on 4 June 1589.
After Albert died on 11 November 1593, the inheritance was divided among his three sons. Louis received the areas Ottweiler, Homburg, Kirchheim and Lahr in the left bank of the Rhine. His brothers William (died: 25 November 1597) and John Casimir (died: 29 March 1602) chose the Weilburg part, which also fell to Louis after they died. Louis also inherited the territories of his uncle
Philip IV of Nassau-Saarbrücken (died: 12 March 1602) and
John Louis II of Nassau-Wiesbaden (died: 9 June 1605), who was the last of his line. So he ended up combining the entire property of the
Walram line in one hand.
Louis moved his seat of government to
Saarbrücken Castle
Saarbrücken Castle () is a Baroque château in Saarbrücken, the capital of Saarland. It is located in the district of Alt-Saarbrücken on the left bank of the Saar (river), Saar. Earlier, a medieval castle and a Renaissance castle stood on the ...
. He issued a series of
regulations
Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...
, and provided a better education for his population (e.g. through the establishment of the Louis
Gymnasium Saarland 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 ...
and the promotion of
elementary schools
A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
. He committed himself to make the
Saar
Saar or SAAR has several meanings:
People Given name
* Sarr Boubacar (born 1951), Senegalese professional football player
* Saar Ganor, Israeli archaeologist
* Saar Klein (born 1967), American film editor
Surname
* Ain Saar (born 1968), E ...
navigable and supported many construction projects. Prosperity increased during his reign. However, 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 ...
also began during his reign.
He instructed his registrar Johann Andreae to reorganize the Saarbrücken Archives and the painter Henrich Dors from Altweilnau to design tomb for the Nassau family, resulting in a major "epitaph book" being published in 1632.
Louis had fourteen children, including four sons who survived him and they divided his inheritance:
William Louis,
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 ...
,
Ernest Casimir and Otto.
Marriage and issue
Louis married on 4 June 1589
Anna Maria of Hesse-Kassel
Anna Maria of Hesse-Kassel (27 January 1567, Kassel – 21 November 1626, Neunkirchen) was a princess of Hesse-Kassel by birth and by marriage Countess of Nassau-Saarbrücken.
Life
Anna Maria was the eldest daughter of Landgrave William ...
(1567–1626), daughter of Landgrave
William IV
William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...
of Hesse-Kassel.
*
William Louis (1590–1640) married on 25 November 1615
Anna Amalia of Baden-Durlach
Anna Amalia of Baden-Durlach (born: 9 July 1595; died: 18 November 1651 in Saarbrücken) was a Countess of Nassau-Saarbrücken by marriage to William Louis, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken,Wolfgang Behringer & Gabriele Clemens, Geschichte des Saarlan ...
(born: 9 July 1595; died: 18 November 1651), daughter of Margrave
George Frederick of Baden-Durlach
* Anna Sabina (1591–1593)
* Albert (1593–1595)
* Sophia Amalia (1594–1612)
* George Adolf (1595–1596)
* Philip (1597–1621)
* Louise Juliana (1598–1622)
* Moritz (1599–1601)
* Charles Ernest (1600–1604)
* Mary Elizabeth (1602–1626)
*
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 ...
(1603–1677), Count of Nassau-Idstein
: married firstly on 6 June 1629 Sibylle Magdalene (born: 21 July 1605; died: 22 July 1644), daughter of Margrave
George Frederick of Baden-Durlach
: married secondly in 1646 Countess Anna of Leiningen-Falkenburg (1625–1668)
* Dorothea (1605–1620)
*
Ernest Casimir (1607–1655), Count of Nassau-Weilburg
: married in 1634 Countess Anna Maria of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Homburg (1610–1656)
* Otto (1610–1632)
See also
*
List of counts of Nassau-Saarbrücken
References
*
* Henrich Dors (1590–1651): ''Genealogia Oder Stammregister Der Durchlauchtigen Hoch- Und Wohlgeborenen Fursten, Grafen Und Herren Des Uhralten Hochloblichen Hauses Nassau Samt Etlichen Konterfeitlichen Epitaphien'', Minerva-Verlag Thinnes und Nolte, Saarbrücken 1983,
*
*
External links
Louis II of Nassau-Weilburg in the Saarland biographies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis 02 Nassau Weilburg
16th-century German nobility
17th-century German nobility
House of Nassau
House of Nassau-Weilburg
1565 births
1627 deaths
Counts of Nassau-Wiesbaden-Idstein