Nassau-Weilburg

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Territory in the Holy Roman Empire
Nassau-Weilburg
coat of arms
Nassau-Fuersten-Wappen (Walramsche line) .png
Nassau-Weilburg around 1714


Ruler / government Count , Prince


Parliament 1 curate vote in the Imperial Council as a member of the Wetterau Imperial Counts College
Reichskreis Upper Rhine
Capitals / residences Weilburg Castle
Dynasties House Nassau
Denomination / Religions Protestant after 1526
Language / n German


Incorporated into risen in the Duchy of Nassau


Nassau-Weilburg was the common name of a line of the House of Nassau and one of the imperial immediate territories ruled by them in the Holy Roman Empire . The Nassau-Weilburg area was first an imperial county, which was elevated to a prince-duchy in 1366 . In 1688/1737 the prince counts also received the title and rank of imperial prince . In 1806 they became dukes . The Grand Dukes of Luxembourg emerged from the house in 1890 .

Early time

Weilburg was already a royal estate in the Merovingian era . The Counts of Lahngau , who belonged to the Conradins, built a castle there in 906. The collegiate monastery Sankt Walpurgis was founded in 912. As an imperial fief, Weilburg fell to the bishops of Worms from 939 . The Counts of Nassau had been bailiffs of the Hochstift Worms since 1124. In 1255 the area around Weilburg von Worms was mortgaged to the Counts of Nassau. King Adolf von Nassau acquired Weilburg entirely for the Nassau family in 1292.

Boom in the late Middle Ages

The problem for a successful territorial policy was the small size and lack of unity of the area of ​​the Walram line of the House of Nassau, to which Weilburg also belonged. This changed under Gerlach I , a son of Adolf von Nassau, who succeeded in 1326 in enlarging the Weilburg area by acquiring the pledge to the lordship of Neuweilnau . In addition, through the marriage of his son Johann in 1328, the right to the inheritance of the lords of Merenberg and Gleiberg was acquired. In addition, there were half of the Hüttenberg court and the Reichsvogtei over Wetzlar . After Gerlach's death, the Walram lands were divided among his sons. A line under Adolf I was the older Wiesbaden-Idstein line, which existed until 1605.

The second was the Nassau-Weilburg line founded in 1355 under Johann I. In 1381, when Johann Ludwig married Katharina von Saar Werden, the county of Saarbrücken fell to Nassau-Weilburg. As a result, Nassau-Weilburg pursued a successful territorial policy, especially in the area on the left bank of the Rhine. In addition, under Philip I in 1391, the dominions of Kirchheim and Stauf came . The Counts finally bought Neuweilnau in 1405, and Bingenheim , Reichelsheim , Altershausen , parts of Homburg , Löhnberg , Sonnenberg , Cleeberg and Mensfelden were added .

The territory of the Nassau-Weilburg line included the county of Nassau-Weilburg. These included the offices of Weilburg , Weilmünster , Löhnberg , Merenberg , Kleeberg , Atzbach , Miehlen and Reichelsheim . In addition, the Kirchheim office was composed of the Kirchheim and Stauf dominions . The county of Saar Werden and the rule of Alsenz also belonged to Nassau-Weilburg.

Early modern age

Nassovia Comitatus in 1645
Weilburg Castle
Kirchheimbolanden Castle

This area was divided into a new Nassau-Weilburg line and the Nassau-Saarbrücken line in 1428/1442 . The latter had its focus on the left bank of the Rhine. The split meant a weakening of Nassau-Weilburg, which was subsequently barely able to pursue an expansive territorial policy. During the early modern period, Nassau-Weilburg belonged to the Upper Rhine Empire . The counts belonged to the Wetterauische Reichsgrafenkollegium .

The Reformation was introduced in 1526. While parts of the house of Nassau later became Calvinist , Nassau-Weilburg was Lutheran .

In 1561, the Nassau-Weilburg house was divided again into Nassau-Weilburg and Nassau-Weilnau. The Counts of Nassau-Weilnau inherited Nassau-Saarbrücken in 1574. In 1602 the holdings of Nassau-Weilnau came back to Nassau-Weilburg. A short time later, Nassau-Idstein also came to Nassau-Weilburg. Thus, under Ludwig II, all Valramian possessions were reunited in one hand. Already under Philip III. Weilburg Castle was expanded into a palace in the Renaissance style.

During the Thirty Years' War the Nassau people emerged as supporters of the Swedish King Gustav Adolf and the Heilbronn League . When the Counts refused to sign the Peace of Prague in 1635, Emperor Ferdinand II withdrew their lands from them . The Nassau property was not restored until the Peace of Westphalia in 1648.

The county of Nassau-Weilburg was divided again in 1629/1651. Nassau-Idstein (existing until 1721), Nassau-Weilburg (existing until 1806) and Nassau-Saarbrücken, which was later further divided, were created. The division led to a considerable territorial fragmentation, so that none of the counties was able to play an independent political role. At least Nassau-Usingen, Nassau-Idstein and Nassau-Weilburg succeeded in getting the imperial dignity confirmed by the emperor in 1688 . However, in order to avoid was Virilstimme in the Imperial Council of connected so that Nassau-Weilburg, in view of the fact since the 14th century titled "Princely Count" being the holder, denied his share of the firm charge Caesar's, and to a few years after the eradication Nassau Idsteins initially renounced the explicit use of the princely title. Count Johann Ernst had Weilburg Castle extended in a representative baroque style.

In the 18th century parts of the area were exchanged with various other rulers, which somewhat alleviated the geographical fragmentation of Nassau-Weilburg. In 1783 Prince Karl Christian joined the Nassau Heritage Association for Nassau-Weilburg . A large part of the Imperial County of Sayn - Hachenberg came to Nassau-Weilburg through marriage in 1799 .

19th century

Friedrich Wilhelm of Nassau-Weilburg

The possessions on the left bank of the Rhine were lost to France in the First Coalition War after the left bank of the Rhine was occupied by French revolutionary troops in October 1794 ; the assignment under international law took place in 1801 in the Peace of Lunéville . In the course of the Reichsdeputation Hauptschluss , the Prince of Nassau-Weilburg was compensated for his lost possessions on the left bank of the Rhine with the remains of the Archbishopric Trier on the right bank of the Rhine . In 1806 Nassau-Weilburg became a member of the Rhine Confederation and merged with Nassau-Usingen to form the Duchy of Nassau . There were also other areas. From 1816 the Dukes of Nassau-Weilburg ruled the Duchy of Nassau alone. As a result of the German War of 1866, Nassau was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia and the dukes resigned with 8.5 million thalers and the Weilburg and Biebrich castles .

Duke Adolf von Nassau became Grand Duke of Luxembourg in 1890 . The actual Nassau-Weilburg line expired in 1912 with the death of Wilhelm IV and merged with his daughter Grand Duchess Charlotte in the Luxembourg-Nassau house. Despite the marriage to Felix von Bourbon-Parma , the gender name of the monarch took precedence over the name of the prince consort, according to Luxembourg constitution and naming law. Hence the official name of the ruling dynasty of Luxembourg-Nassau, descended from the house of Nassau-Weilburg, and the civil status name of the Grand Ducal Nassau family.

Regents

Reign Surname Date of birth date of death Remarks
1344 / 55-1371 Johann I. 1309 September 20, 1371 Son of Gerlach von Nassau
1371-1429 Philip I. 1368 July 2, 1429
1429-1492 Philip II March 12, 1418 March 10, 1492
1429-1442 Johann II. April 4, 1423 July 25, 1472 Brother of Philip II
1492-1523 Ludwig I. 1466 May 28, 1523 Grandson of Philip II
1523-1559 Philip III September 20, 1504 October 4, 1559
1559-1593 Albrecht December 26, 1537 November 11, 1593
1559-1602 Philip IV October 14, 1542 March 12, 1602 Brother of Albrecht
1593-1625 Ludwig II. August 9, 1565 November 8, 1627 Son of Albrecht
1625/29 / 51-1655 Ernst Casimir November 15, 1607 April 26, 1655
1655-1675 Friedrich April 26, 1640 September 19, 1675
1675-1719 Johann Ernst June 13, 1664 February 27, 1719
1675-1684 Friedrich Ludwig August 21, 1665 August 14, 1684 Brother of Johann Ernst
1719-1753 Karl August 17th September 1685 November 9, 1753
1753-1788 Karl Christian January 16, 1735 November 28, 1788
1788-1806 / 16 Friedrich Wilhelm October 25, 1768 January 9, 1816

literature

  • Alfred Bruns: Nassau . In: Gerhard Taddey (Hrsg.): Lexicon of German history . People, events, institutions. From the turn of the times to the end of the 2nd World War. 2nd, revised edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 1983, ISBN 3-520-80002-0 , p. 861.
  • Gerhard Köbler : Nassau . In: Historical Lexicon of the German States. The German territories from the Middle Ages to the present. 4th edition, Munich 1992, ISBN 3-406-35865-9 , p. 400 ff.
  • Gerhard Köbler: Nassau-Weilburg . In: Historical Lexicon of the German States. The German territories from the Middle Ages to the present. 4th edition, Munich 1992, ISBN 3-406-35865-9 , pp. 407 f.
  • Andreas Wilhelm: Nassau-Weilburg 1648-1806. Territorial constitution and imperial legal order. Historical Commission for Nassau , Wiesbaden 2007. ISBN 978-3-930221-18-9
  • Marc Schoentgen / Pierre Even: The Luxembourg-Nassau Dynasty 1890-2015 , Editions Saint Paul, ISBN 978-2-87963-974-1

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ernst Joachim: Johann Ernst von Nassau-Weilburg. In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (1881), pp. 272-273; see. also Vinzenz Czech (2003): Legitimation and Representation: On the Dynamic Self-Image of Thuringian-Saxon Imperial Counts in the Early Modern Era , p. 282 f.