Walrad Usingen of Nassau (25 February 1635 in

Roermond Roermond (; or ) is a city, municipality, and diocese in the Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg province of the Netherlands. Roermond is a historically important town on the lower Roer on the east bank of the river Meuse. It received City rights i ...

– 17 October 1702 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 ...

), was from 1659 Count, and from 1688 Prince of Nassau-Usingen and founder of Usingen line of the

House of Nassau The House of Nassau is the name of a European aristocratic dynasty. The name originated with a lordship associated with Nassau Castle, which is located in what is now Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Nassau in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With t ...

. He served for most of his career as a general in the

Dutch States Army The Dutch States Army () was the army of the Dutch Republic. It was usually called this, because it was formally the army of the States-General of the Netherlands, the sovereign power of that federal republic. This army was brought to such a size ...

Family

He was the youngest son of Count William Louis of Nassau-Saarbrücken and

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 ...

, daughter of the Margrave George Frederick of Baden-Durlach.

Military career

Walrad was a respected military leader. At different times, he was General Field Marshal of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation and of the United Provinces of the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

under Prince William III of Orange. In 1664, he hurried to

Szentgotthárd Szentgotthárd () is the westernmost town of Hungary. It is situated on the Rába River near the Austrian border. History The town took its name from, and grew up round, the Cistercian Szentgotthárd Abbey, founded here in 1183. In 1664, it was ...

, but he came too late to fight in the Battle of Saint Gotthard. In 1683, he fought successfully in the battle to lift the Turkish siege of Vienna. So he had a role in ensuring that the Islamic conquest of Central Europe by the Ottomans failed. For these feats, King

John III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( (); (); () 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobieski was educated at the Jagiellonian University and toured Eur ...

of Poland granted him the Order of the White Eagle, the highest Polish distinction. Walrad also fought in the

War of the Palatine Succession The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between France and the Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial possessions in the Americas, India, and West Africa. Relat ...

. From 1696, he commanded the Dutch troops. On 1 July 1690, he fought in the Battle of Fleurus and on 3 August 1692 the Battle of Steenkerke. He commanded the left wing of the allied army in the

Battle of Landen The Battle of Landen, also known as Battle of Neerwinden took place on 29 July 1693, during the Nine Years' War near Landen, then in the Spanish Netherlands, now part of Belgium. A Kingdom of France, French army under François-Henri de Montmor ...

(1693). 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 was tasked with implementing the

imperial ban The imperial ban () was a form of outlawry in the Holy Roman Empire. At different times, it could be declared by the Holy Roman Emperor, by the Imperial Diet, or by courts like the League of the Holy Court (''Vehmgericht'') or the '' Reichskammerg ...

against Elector

Joseph Clemens Joseph Clemens (9 December 1862 – 21 January 1936) was an American Methodist Episcopalian chaplain, missionary and plant collector who served and worked in South East Asia and elsewhere. He was born in the rugged western English county of ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, who had sided with France against the Empire. To this end, he commanded the allied troops at the Siege of Kaiserswerth in 1702.

Creation of Nassau-Usingen

Prince William Louis left three sons, who divided the Nassau territories on 31 March 1659 divided area: John Louis received Ottweiler, Gustav Adolph kept

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 Walrad received Usingen and became the founder of a new branch. Walrad was elevated to the rank of prince in 1688. After his death in 1702, he was succeeded as Prince of Nassau-Usingen by his son William Henry.

Legacy in Usingen

From 1659, the residence of the Usingen branch of House of Nassau was in the town of

in the

Taunus The Taunus () is a mountain range in Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, located north west of Frankfurt and north of Wiesbaden. The tallest peak in the range is '' Großer Feldberg'' at 878 m; other notable peaks are '' Kleiner Feldberg' ...

mountains. The town gained significantly in prestige and importance by being the seat of a Nassau and also benefited from Walrad's urban construction zeal. Between 1660 and 1663, Walrad replace the old Usingen Castle by a new palace. In 1905, the grateful city council erected a monument for Walrad in the palace gardens (now a public park). In 1692 a fire destroyed large parts of Usingen. Walrad used this circumstance control to the systematic reconstruction of the upper town of Usingen. He designed the symmetrical streets that characterize the cityscape today were and built representative buildings along the high street. The population of the country around Usingen had been decimated in 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 ...

. Walrad promoted the influx of

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

who had to flee from France, and granted them freedom of religion. The Huguenot Church in Usingen is evidence of this migration.

Marriage and issue

Walrad's first marriage was with Catherine Françoise, Comtesse de Croÿ-Roeulx. This marriage produced three children who survived to adulthood: * Wilhelmine Henriette (1679-1718) Married Count Carl Ludwig Friedrich von Salm (No Issues) * William Henry (1684-1718) * Maria Albertine (1686-1768) Married John George (1702–1725), son of George Philip Count of Ortenburg After the death of his first wife, he married his second wife, Magdalena Elizabeth, Countess of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rochefort. This marriage remained childless.

Works

* ''Vorgeschlagene Conditiones Für die Vbergebung der Vestung Käyserswerth, Statt, Schlosses und angehörigen Schäntzen sowohl dieß- alß jenseith des Rheins'', S.L. Düsseldorf, Beyers, 170
digitized

Notes

References

* Pierre Even: ''Walrad Fürst zu Nassau-Usingen (1635-1702). Reichspatriot zwischen Türkenkriegen und niederländischer Selbstbehauptung'', in: Nassauische Annalen, vol. 114, Wiesbaden, 2003, pp. 179–209.

External links

* * {{Authority control Princes of Nassau Counts of Nassau House of Nassau 17th-century German people 1635 births 1702 deaths Field marshals of the Holy Roman Empire Dutch military personnel of the Nine Years' War Dutch army commanders in the War of the Spanish Succession Dutch military personnel of the War of the Spanish Succession