Johann Ludwig (Nassau-Hadamar)

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Prince Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Hadamar

Prince Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Hadamar (born August 12, 1590 in Dillenburg ; † March 6, 1653 in Hadamar ) was the most important ruler in the Principality of Nassau-Hadamar and, above all , known far beyond the national borders for his negotiating leadership in the Peace of Westphalia .

ancestors

Johann Ludwig was the son of Count Johann VI. von Nassau-Dillenburg and his third wife Johannetta von Sayn-Wittgenstein (1561–1622) born. After the father's death on October 8, 1606, on March 31, 1607 his property was divided among his sons who were still living at that time. The sons from her first marriage with Elisabeth Landgravine von Leuchtenberg (1537–1579) were

Johann Ludwig was the youngest son of the count and took over office and castle in Hadamar . Since Johann Ludwig was not of legal age at the time of the division of the estate, Count Johann von Sayn and Count Adolf and Johann Albrecht zu Solms took over the guardianship. Johann Ludwig founded the younger Nassau-Hadamar line of the Nassau-Ottonian main line .

education

First he was taught at the court school in Dillenburg by the Unna- born Preceptor Eberhard Cnopius and at the high school in Herborn founded by his father . On June 7, 1604, he traveled with the son of his half-brother Georg von Nassau-Beilstein , his nephew Johann Philipp (1590-1607), to Sedan and studied there at the Acadèmie des Exercises , which was shaped by humanism , that of Heinrich , the Duke of Bouillon and husband of Johann Ludwig's cousin Elisabeth von Oranien-Nassau . Johann Ludwig's nephew Wilhelm von Nassau-Hilchenbach , a son of his half-brother Johann VII von Nassau-Siegen , later studied there with his two relatives. The academy with its important library and excellent teachers probably exerted the greatest influence on the young student during his school days. In February 1606 Johann Ludwig fled from Sedan from the troops of the French King Henry IV . The young counts reached Geneva on April 7th via Strasbourg and Basel , where Johann Ludwig continued his studies at the university there until April 29th, 1607. Through this training he gained a comprehensive general education and expanded his language skills, especially in Latin and French.

Educational trips

According to studies in Sedan and Geneva end of the period of educational travel began for Johann Ludwig April 1607: From Geneva it took him first to France in the Provence, Languedoc and the sovereign principality of Orange , which at that time by his cousin Philip William of Orange was ruled . In Poitiers he visited Charlotte Flandrina von Orange-Nassau , a half-sister of Philipp Wilhelm, who was the abbess of the Catholic nunnery of Ste-Croix . On July 4th, 1607, he arrived in Paris, where he also met the French King Henry IV . After a nine-month stay there, he traveled on April 10, 1608 via Normandy, Picardy and Rouen to Calais, from where he translated to Dover on April 22, 1608. During his stay in London , he was also the English King James I presented. Back on the continent, he visited Flanders, Brabant and Brussels and was the guest of another cousin, Prince Moritz of Orange-Nassau and his eldest brother Wilhelm Ludwig of Nassau-Dillenburg , who was governor of Friesland at the time.

Johann Ludwig was back in Dillenburg on May 13, 1608, but just under a year later on April 28, 1609 he began an intensive eight-month journey that now took him through many areas and cities of the former German Empire: Hesse, Westphalia, Braunschweig, Bremen, Stade, Hamburg, the Duchy of Holstein, Hadersleben, Sonnenberg, Lübeck, the Duchy of Mecklenburg, the Electorate of Brandenburg, Berlin, Meissen, Dresden, Prague, Vienna, Passau, Regensburg, Amberg, Nuremberg and Kassel.

In 1610 Johann Ludwig again visited his relative Moritz von Orange in his army camp in the Netherlands . There, as during a visit in 1614, he seems to have been more of an observer of the fighting during the Eighty Years' War than an active officer.

It is also worth mentioning that he returned to London in February 1614, where he received the Order of the Garter from King James I of England for Moritz of Orange, in his absence .

Marriage and offspring

Johann Ludwig married Ursula on August 26, 1617 in Detmold, who was born on February 15, 1598 as the daughter of Count Simon the Elder of Lippe-Detmold and Elisabeth of Holstein-Schaumburg. She was a regent very popular with the people, who gave birth to her husband 15 children in 21 years of marriage, five of whom died in the year of birth and three between the ages of one and four. She herself died on 27 July 1638 Hadamar in childbirth .

  1. Johanna Elisabeth (born January 17, 1619 in Dillenburg; † March 2, 1647 in Harzgerode) - married from August 10, 1642 (Bückeburg) to Prince Friedrich von Anhalt-Bernburg-Harzgerode
  2. Luise (Ludovica) Ursula (born March 22, 1620 in Dillenburg, † 1635 in Hanau)
  3. Sophia Magdalena (born February 16, 1622 in Hadamar; † June 28, 1658 in Dillenburg) - married from September 25, 1656 (Hadamar) to Prince Ludwig Heinrich von Nassau-Dillenburg (1594–1662)
  4. Johann Ludwig (born August 29, 1623 in Hadamar; † January 12, 1624 ibid)
  5. Simon Ludwig (* December 8, 1624 in Hadamar; † February 28, 1628 there)
  6. Moritz Heinrich (born April 23, 1626 - † January 24, 1679), successor of the prince
  7. Hermann Otto (born December 3, 1627 in Hadamar; † July 26, 1660 in Frankfurt), member of the cathedral chapters in Mainz , Cologne and Trier
  8. Philipp Ludwig (born December 11, 1628 in Hadamar; † December 24, 1629 ibid)
  9. Anna Katharina (* April 27, 1630 in Hadamar; † June 10, 1630 ibid)
  10. Johann Ernst (born October 25, 1631 in Hadamar; † September 28, 1651 there), soldier
  11. - Name not known - (* January 2, 1633)
  12. Anselm Ferdinand (born January 4, 1634 in Hadamar; † May 3, 1634 ibid)
  13. Johann Ludwig (* / † August 7, 1635 in Hadamar)
  14. Franz Bernhard (born September 21, 1637 in Hadamar; † September 15, 1695 ibid), Provost of the Cathedral in Cologne, Strasbourg, Emmerich and Bremen. After the death of his brother Moritz Heinrich, he became the guardian and regent for his son Franz Alexander
  15. Marie Elisabeth (* July 23, 1638 in Hadamar; † July 23, 1651 ibid)

The following monarchs are direct descendants of Johann Ludwig via the relationship shown:

Significance in the Thirty Years War

When Johann Ludwig was 28 years old, the Thirty Years' War began in 1618 , which had a major impact on his life and work. With diplomatic negotiations, but also with bribery, he tried to avoid the marching of imperial and Protestant troops through his county as much as possible. Due to the billeting of mercenaries, looting and the required taxes in kind, his subjects nevertheless suffered considerably from the chaos of war. Heavily indebted due to the war, he had to sell Esterau to General Peter Melander von Holzappel in 1643 .

In the course of the war he fell out of favor with the emperor, as the Count, who was raised in Calvinism, supported the aims of the Reformed together with his brothers in Dillenburg and Diez. In order to prevent the emperor from withdrawing their lands, the Nassau counts sent their brother Johann Ludwig, who was considered a good diplomat and also appreciated by Emperor Ferdinand II for his excellent upbringing and education, to mediate at the imperial court in Vienna . There, in addition to the change from the Calvinist to the Catholic faith, there was not only a religious change in Johann Ludwig, but also a political change.

From 1638 he pushed ahead with negotiations to end the war in Cologne and Münster . In this task he was able to make full use of his diplomatic skills, which he had already sharpened at a young age, and finally crowned it with the successful conclusion in which, in 1645, alongside Maximilian von und zu Trauttmansdorff , he worked as an imperial representative in the negotiations on the Peace of Westphalia in Münster and the Negotiations until 1648 led to a successful result. With Johannes Ludovicus Comes Nassauhe he was the first to sign the peace treaty .

He was in 1647 by King for his efforts for the realization of peace between Spain and Holland Philip IV. To the Knights of the Golden Fleece appointed. As a special thank you for his services in bringing about the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, he was in 1650 by Emperor Ferdinand III. elevated to the rank of prince. In addition, he received a large sum of money. To round off his rule he was able to acquire the village of Obertiefenbach from the county of Wied in 1649 .

Hadamar Castle

South wing of Hadamar Castle

In the years 1612 to 1629 Johann Ludwig had Hadamar Castle converted into a modern castle , the design of which was certainly influenced by his travels to numerous European countries. He was significantly supported in this by the builder Joachim Rumpf from Hanau . To build the castle, he had to buy numerous surrounding plots, as the houses of the townspeople were located near the old castle. The resettlement of the affected residents led to the expansion of the city into a modern residential city.

The construction work on the north and east wings was completed by the time she married Countess Ursula in 1617. The south wing with the palace chapel and the farm yards in the south of the palace were completed by 1629. In the years 1637 to 1648 construction work on the castle was suspended due to the count's diplomatic trips.

religion

During his diplomatic stay in Vienna , Count Johann Ludwig converted to Catholicism in 1629 under the influence of the imperial confessor Lamormaini . On his return, he initiated a moderate counter-reformation in his county in 1630 and informed the subjects that, according to the principle of the Augsburg Religious Peace of 1555, he was cuius regio, eius religio , which granted the sovereigns the right to determine the beliefs of their subjects,

I decided to banish Calvinism, which was hated by God and the Emperor, from his country, and instead to reinstate the Catholic faith, which they carelessly abandoned 80 years ago, in his rights and in his churches; he was counting entirely on the obedience and assistance of his subjects.

After converting to religion, a Jesuit settlement (1630), a Franciscan monastery (1635) and a Dominican monastery were established in the following years. Johann Ludwig did not subordinate the church organization in Nassau-Hadamar to the responsible Archdiocese of Trier , but instead, as sovereign, reserved the highest decision-making power. Through the mediation of the Cologne Nuncio Fabio Chigi , this measure was confirmed with a papal indult of 1648. After lengthy negotiations between the Premonstratensian Abbot in Arnstein and Johann Ludwig, the Jesuits of Hadamar, who received preferential rights after Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Hadamar's conversion to the Catholic faith, acquired all goods on October 3, 1652 by means of a deed of foundation of the Beselich monastery .

The great tolerance towards his wife, Countess Ursula, to whom he left the option to carry out the change of faith or to remain true to her reformed faith, is considered admirable. Ursula opted for Calvinism and also raised her children according to the Reformed faith. The sons were raised Catholics. She died in 1638 at the age of forty, four days after the birth of her 15th child.

Johann Ludwig is responsible for the expansion of the Catholic school system in Hadamar. His plan to build a Catholic high school under the direction of the Jesuits was only realized after his death.

Retirement

Memorial plaque for the heart burial of Prince Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Hadamar
Johann Ludwig's coffin in the royal crypt in Hadamar

During the peace negotiations in Münster, the prince suffered a stroke in 1648 and was temporarily paralyzed on one side. Only after his convalescence in Bad Ems was he able to resume his work as the emperor's agent. However, in November 1652 he fell ill again so seriously that almost without exception he was tied to the bed until his death.

The coffin with the body of Johann Ludwig is located in the Hadamar princely crypt on the Mönchsberg. In keeping with baroque piety, his heart was buried in the place where his heart hung, namely in the Jesuit monastery of that time. During restoration work on the town church in 1965, the container with the heart was found by construction workers and buried there again behind a marble slab.

Others

He was a member of the Fruitful Society with the company name of the declarer .

The Fürst-Johann-Ludwig-Schule was named after the prince in 1972. It is a cooperative comprehensive school in the Hadamar district of Niederhadamar with a catchment area that also includes the surrounding communities.

literature

  • Lothar Hartmann: Prince Johann Ludwig School Hadamar. Information, data, reports. 1990, ZDB ID 28550-x .
  • Andreas Räß : The convertites since the Reformation are represented by their lives and their writings. Volume 7: From 1653-1670. Herder, Freiburg (Breisgau) 1868, pp. 534-550.
  • Regium for a peacemaker. In: Nassauische Neue Presse , March 17, 2003.
  • Walter Michel: Letters for the conversion of Count Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Hadamar (1629/30). In: Archive for Middle Rhine Church History . Vol. 42, 1990, pp. 285-302.
  • Walter Michel: Found the heart of Prince Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Hadamar. In: Nassauische Annalen (NassA). Vol. 76, 1965, p. 226.
  • Walter Michel: On the 400th birthday of Prince Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Hadamar. In: Nassauische Annalen (NassA). Vol. 102, 1991, p. 87.
  • Karl Joseph Stahl (editor): Journey from Hadamar to Vienna in the 17th century. Travel diary of Count Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Hadamar (1590–1653) in 1629. Illustrated translation into today's German. Appendix: copied original text from Hess. Main State Archive Wiesbaden 171 Z 642/6707. KJ Stahl, Hadamar 1979.
  • Karl Josef Stahl: Hadamar. City and castle. A local story on the occasion of the 650th anniversary of the granting of city rights to the city of Hadamar in 1974. Hadamar City Council, Hadamar 1974.
  • Rouven Pons: Tradition of the Thoughtless. The drawings by Prince Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Hadamar (1590–1653). In: leaps in time. Research on the early modern period 17/4 (2013), pp. 469–496.

Web links

Commons : Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Hadamar  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Otto Renkhoff: Nassauische Biographie , Wiesbaden 2nd ed. 1992. Page 553
  2. ^ Walter Michel: Prince Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Hadamar - Becoming a peace envoy; in: "1648 - Legatus Plenipotentarius - Count Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Hadamar and the Westphalian Peace", published by the Hadamar Cultural Community , 1999. ISBN 3930428083 , page 13
  3. ↑ Prince Johann Ludwig School Hadamar: Who was Prince Johann Ludwig? , accessed March 28, 2016
  4. ^ Walter Michel: Prince Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Hadamar - Becoming a peace envoy; in: "1648 - Legatus Plenipotentarius - Count Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Hadamar and the Westphalian Peace", published by the Hadamar Cultural Community , 1999. ISBN 3930428083 , page 14
  5. ^ Walter Michel: Prince Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Hadamar - Becoming a peace envoy; in: "1648 - Legatus Plenipotentarius - Count Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Hadamar and the Westphalian Peace", published by the Hadamar Cultural Community , 1999. ISBN 3930428083 , pages 18f
  6. ^ Walter Michel: Prince Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Hadamar - Becoming a peace envoy; in: "1648 - Legatus Plenipotentarius - Count Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Hadamar and the Westphalian Peace", published by the Hadamar Cultural Community , 1999. ISBN 3930428083 , pages 20-24
  7. ^ Franz-Josef Sehr : 250 years pilgrimage chapel Maria Hilf Beselich . In: Yearbook for the Limburg-Weilburg district 2017 . The district committee of the district of Limburg-Weilburg, Limburg-Weilburg 2016, ISBN 3-927006-54-8 , p. 137-141 .
predecessor Office successor
Johann VI. Count of Nassau-Hadamar
from 1650 Prince
1607–1653 		Moritz Heinrich
personal data
SURNAME Johann Ludwig
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Hadamar
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German nobleman
DATE OF BIRTH August 12, 1590
PLACE OF BIRTH Dillenburg
DATE OF DEATH March 6, 1653
Place of death Hadamar