Philipp Ludwig II of Hanau-Münzenberg (18 November 1576, in Hanau – 9 August 1612, in Hanau), was one of the most notable counts of

Hanau Hanau () is a city in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is 25 km east of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main and part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its railway Hanau Hauptbahnhof, station is a ma ...

of the

early modern period The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...

, his policies bringing about sweeping changes. Count Philipp Ludwig II of Hanau-Münzenberg was born in the castle at Hanau and baptised two weeks later on 3 December. His parents were Count Philipp Ludwig I of Hanau-Münzenberg (1553–1580) and Countess Magdalene of Waldeck-Wildungen (1558–1599).

Guardianship

He nominally succeeded his deceased father on 4 February 1580, albeit under the guardianship of Counts John VI, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg (1536–1606),

Louis I, Count of Sayn-Wittgenstein Louis I, Count of Sayn-Wittgenstein, nicknamed "the Elder", formally "Louis I of Sayn, Count at Wittgenstein" (7 December 1532 at Wittgenstein Castle, near Bad Laasphe – 2 July 1605, while travelling near Altenkirchen) ruled the County of ...

(1568–1607) and Philipp IV, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (1514–1590), who was replaced in 1585 by his son, Count Philipp V of Hanau-Lichtenberg (1541–1599). His widowed mother, Magdalena, remarried on 9 December 1581 to Count John VII, the Middle, of Nassau-Siegen (1561–1623), the son of one of the guardians. In consequence Philipp Ludwig II and his younger brother, Count Albrecht, joined the Nassau-Dillenburg court, a centre of the Reformation movement in Germany and closely tied to the

Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate was a Imperial State, constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by the Electorate of Baden in 1803. From the end of the 13th century, its ruler was one of the Prince-electors who elected the Holy ...

of the Rhine. The new ideas he encountered here greatly influenced his life. The guardianship was ended only in 1608 at the behest of the Elector Palatine Friedrich IV (1574–1610).

Family

During a wedding feast in

Dillenburg Dillenburg, officially Oranienstadt Dillenburg, is a town in Hesse's Gießen region in Germany. The town was formerly the seat of the old Dillkreis district, which is now part of the Lahn-Dill-Kreis. The town lies on the German- Dutch holiday roa ...

that lasted from 23 October 1596 - 3 November 1596, he married Katharina Belgica, third daughter of

William the Silent William the Silent or William the Taciturn (; 24 April 153310 July 1584), more commonly known in the Netherlands as William of Orange (), was the leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburg Netherlands, Habsburgs that set off the ...

, producing the following children: #Charlotte Louise (1597–1649

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

), not married #Daughter (29 July 1598 – 9 August 1598), died unbaptised #Philipp Ulrich (2 January 1601 – 7 April 1604 Steinau) # Amalia Elisabeth (1602–1651

), married to

Wilhelm V, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel William V () (13 February 1602 – 21 September 1637), a member of the House of Hesse, was Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel from 1627 to 1637. Having come to rule in unfavorable circumstances and in the midst of the Thirty Years' War, he continued to su ...

# Katharina Juliane (1604–1668 Hanau), married first on 11 September 1631 to Count Albrecht Otto II of Solms-Laubach, Rödelheim and Assenheim and secondly on 31 March 1642 to Moritz Christian of Wied-Runkel # Philipp Moritz (1605–1638), who succeeded him, buried in the Marienkirche in Hanau #Wilhelm Reinhard (1607–1630

Aachen Aachen is the List of cities in North Rhine-Westphalia by population, 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, 27th-largest city of Germany, with around 261,000 inhabitants. Aachen is locat ...

), buried in the Marienkirche in Hanau #Heinrich Ludwig (1609–1632) died during the Siege of Maastricht #Friedrich Ludwig (27 July 1610 – 4 October 1628 Paris), buried in the family tomb of the Duke of Bouillon in Sedan #Jakob Johann (1612–1636 Zabern), buried in St. Nikolaus in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

Policies

Count Philipp Ludwig II's policies are notable for their drive of modernisation for his tiny state. With his marriage, he came of age, although the regency continued for his younger brother Albrecht. By using his rights under the

Cuius regio, eius religio () is a Latin phrase which literally means "whose realm, his religion" – meaning that the religion of the ruler was to dictate the religion of those ruled. This legal principle marked a major development in the collective (if not individual) ...

rule, he changed the

confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of people – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information that ...

of his county to

Calvinism Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyteri ...

. He succeeded with this nearly everywhere in his sphere of influence, except in a few villages in the district Bornheimerberg, which surrounded

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

and the condominiums shared with the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

archbishop-

elector of Mainz The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages. The Archb ...

. The villages in the vicinity of Frankfurt had strong ties to this (mainly) Lutheran city and a majority of the villagers just went to Lutheran services in “foreign” Frankfurt territory. Also in the condominiums Philipp Ludwig II shared with the

Archbishopric 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 ...

he couldn’t change anything — whether they had become Lutheran during the reformation or had remained Roman Catholic. The introduction of Calvinism and its location, at only half a

day's journey A day's journey in pre-modern literature, including the Bible and ancient geographers and ethnographers such as Herodotus, is a measurement of distance. In the Bible, it is not as precisely defined as other Biblical measurements of distance; the ...

away from Frankfurt with its trade fair, made Hanau an attractive place to settle for Calvinist refugees from France and later from the

Southern Netherlands The Southern Netherlands, also called the Catholic Netherlands, were the parts of the Low Countries belonging to the Holy Roman Empire which were at first largely controlled by Habsburg Spain (Spanish Netherlands, 1556–1714) and later by the ...

. They were often wealthy traders and were attractive subjects for a ruler in need of tax revenues. In 1597 and 1604, the count and the refugees entered into two treaties which gave them a large degree of self-government and founded the “New Town” of Hanau, south to the historic mediaeval settlement. This proved to be a big success and initiated an economic growth for Hanau which lasted even into the 19th century. Philipp Ludwig II also reinstated a Jewish community in Hanau. Space was allocated for the Jews on the southern fortifications of the historic town, which was no longer needed, due to the new town which protected this side of the old town. This

Ghetto A ghetto is a part of a city in which members of a minority group are concentrated, especially as a result of political, social, legal, religious, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished than other ...

was not part of one either town, but placed directly under the administrative control of the county. Count Philipp Ludwig II also tried to found a university. He founded the “Hohe Landesschule” in Hanau. It was modeled on the Herborn Academy, where he had studied himself. Although it did not develop into a university, it still exists today as a

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

Ancestors

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Philipp Ludwig 02 of Hanau-Munzenberg 1576 births 1612 deaths Counts of Hanau-Münzenberg 17th-century people from the Holy Roman Empire