Count Palatine Wolfgang of Zweibrücken (; 26 September 1526 – 11 June 1569) was member of the

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

family of the

Counts Palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German language, German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank abo ...

and Duke of

Zweibrücken Zweibrücken (; ; , ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach (Blies), Schwarzbach River. Name The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; older forms of the name include Middl ...

from 1532. With the support of his

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

, his uncle Rupert (later made the Count of Veldenz), Wolfgang introduced the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

to Zweibrücken in 1537.

Biography

He was the only son of

Louis II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken Louis II of Zweibrücken () (14 September 1502 – 3 December 1532) was Count Palatine and Duke of Zweibrücken from 1514 to 1532. Early life He was the son of Alexander, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken (1462–1514) and his wife Countess Marga ...

and his wife Elisabeth of Hesse, daughter of William I, Landgrave of Hesse. His father died in 1532, so the

regency In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

of Palatinate-Zweibrücken passed to Louis' younger brother Rupert until 1543. In 1557 Wolfgang received the territory of

Palatinate-Neuburg Palatinate-Neuburg () was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire, founded in 1505 by a branch of the House of Wittelsbach. Its capital was Neuburg an der Donau. Its area was about 2,750 km2, with a population of some 100,000. History The Du ...

in accordance with the Contract of

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

. In 1548 the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

occupied his

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

territories and reintroduced Catholic practices. Wolfgang regained his territories in 1552. Despite the

Peace of Augsburg The Peace of Augsburg (), also called the Augsburg Settlement, was a treaty between Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and the Schmalkaldic League, signed on 25 September 1555 in the German city of Augsburg. It officially ended the religious struggl ...

of 1555 several ecclesiastical states in Germany were secularised in 1557, a few of which Wolfgang obtained. In 1566 he served as a cavalry officer in the

Turkish Wars A series of military conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and various European states took place from the Late Middle Ages up through the early 20th century. The earliest conflicts began during the Byzantine–Ottoman wars, waged in Anatolia in ...

. In 1569 he came to the aid of French

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, ...

with 14,000 mercenaries during the Third of the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants (called Huguenots) from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease di ...

(his intervention was financed in part by Queen Elizabeth I of England). He invaded

Burgundy Burgundy ( ; ; Burgundian: ''Bregogne'') is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. ...

, but was killed in the conflict. He was buried in Meisenheim.

Succession

When the young Wolfgang's father died, his uncle Rupert had served as the child's

. In 1543, when Wolfgang reached majority and took on the responsibility of office, he enacted the Marburg Contract, giving Rupert the

County of Veldenz The County Palatine of Veldenz was a principality in the contemporary States of Germany, Land Rhineland-Palatinate with full voting rights to the Reichstag. The county was located partially between Kaiserslautern, Sponheim and Zweibrücken, part ...

. After his death, Wolfgang's remaining land was split among his five sons who then created three branches: Philip Louis ( House of Palatinate-Neuburg), John ( House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken) and Charles ( House of Palatinate-Birkenfeld). Otto Henry and Frederick had no surviving sons. The House of Palatinate-Neuburg inherited 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 ...

in 1685 and by its cadet branch Palatinate-Sulzbach also

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

in 1777. The House of Palatinate-Birkenfeld then inherited the

and Bavaria in 1799. The House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken contributed to the monarchy in Sweden from 1654 onwards through its cadet branch Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Kleeburg.

Family and children

He was married in 1545 to Anna of Hesse, daughter of

Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse (13 November 1504 – 31 March 1567), nicknamed (), was a German nobleman and champion of the Protestant Reformation, notable for being one of the most important of the early Protestant rulers in Germany. He was ...

. They had the following children: * Countess Palatine Christine (1546 – 1619). *

Philipp Ludwig of Pfalz-Neuburg Philipp Ludwig of Neuburg (2 October 1547 – 22 August 1614) was Count Palatine of Neuburg from 1569 until 1614. Life Philipp Ludwig was born in Zweibrücken in 1547 as the eldest son of Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken. After his fath ...

(1547–1614), married Anna of Cleves (1552–1632), daughter of William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg. Their grandson was

Philip William, Elector Palatine Philip William of Neuburg, Elector Palatine () (24 November 1615 – 2 September 1690) was Count Palatine of Neuburg from 1653 to 1690, Duchy of Jülich, Duke of Jülich and Berg (German region), Berg from 1653 to 1679 and Electorate of the Palat ...

. * John I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken (1550–1604), married his sister-in-law Magdalene (1553–1633), daughter of William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg. Their grandson was

Charles X Gustav of Sweden Charles X Gustav, also Carl X Gustav (; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. After his father's ...

. * Countess Palatine Dorothea Agnes (1551–1552). * Countess Palatine Elisabeth (1553–1554). * Countess Palatine Anna (1554–1576). * Countess Palatine Elisabeth (1555–1625). * Otto Henry, Count Palatine of Sulzbach (1556–1604), married Dorothea Maria of

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

. * Frederick, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Vohenstrauss-Parkstein (1557–1597), married Katharina Sophie of

Legnica Legnica (; , ; ; ) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River and the Czarna Woda. As well as being the seat of the county, since 1992 the city has been the seat of the Diocese of Legnica. Le ...

. * Countess Palatine Barbara (1559 – 1618), married on 7 November 1591 Gottfried, Count of Oettingen-Oettingen. * Charles I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld (1560–1600), married Dorothea of Brunswick-Lüneburg and became ancestor to the line of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld and the Dukes in Bavaria and later Kings of Bavaria. * Countess Palatine Maria Elisabeth (1561–1629), married in 1585 Emich XII, Count of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hardenburg. * Countess Palatine Susanna (1564–1565).

Ancestors

References

Grosses vollständiges Universal-Lexicon The ''Grosses vollständiges Universal-Lexicon aller Wissenschafften und Künste'' () is a 68-volume German encyclopedia published by Johann Heinrich Zedler between 1731 and 1754. It was one of the largest printed encyclopedias ever, and the firs ...

External links

Die Genealogie der Wittelsbacher
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrucken Wolfgang of Zweibrücken Wolfgang of Zweibrücken Counts Palatine of Neuburg Counts Palatine of Sulzbach House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken House of Wittelsbach Military personnel killed in action Christians of the Crusades Counts Palatine of Zweibrücken People of the French Wars of Religion Burials in Rhineland-Palatinate People from Zweibrücken Military personnel from Rhineland-Palatinate