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

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; Rhine Franconian: ''Saarbrigge'' ; lb, Saarbrécken ; lat, Saravipons, lit=The Bridge(s) across the Saar river) is the capital and largest city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken is S ...

– 2 March 1794 in

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

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

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

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 (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the ea ...

. His

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...

led to England (from 1759 to 1766), and the Netherlands, France, and Germany. 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 Schwarzburg dynasty lands. Since th ...

(1751–1780). The marriage was an unhappy one, and Wihelmine retreated to Hallberg Castle, where she raised their son: * Henry Louis (1768–1797) 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 her

maidservant A handmaiden, handmaid or maidservant is a personal maid or female servant. Depending on culture or historical period, a handmaiden may be of slave status or may be simply an employee. However, the term ''handmaiden'' generally implies lowly ...

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 spous ...

, 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 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was e ...

conferred upon Katharina the title Duchess of Dillange. 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 given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "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 mo ...

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 grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

in Saarbrücken to his smaller hunting lodges in the surrounding area. 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 Friedrich may refer to: Names * Friedrich (surname), people with the surname ''Friedrich'' * Friedrich (given name), people with the given name ''Friedrich'' Other * Friedrich (board game), a board game about Frederick the Great and the Seven Year ...

, which his father had begun. He was an

enlightened absolutist Enlightened absolutism (also called enlightened despotism) refers to the conduct and policies of European absolute monarchs during the 18th and early 19th centuries who were influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment, espousing them to enhance ...

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 offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...

and abolished torture. In 1793, his health was failing when he fled before the

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

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

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 ...

. 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)