Johann Ludwig (Nassau-Ottweiler)

Johann Ludwig Count of Nassau-Ottweiler (born May 24, 1625 in Saarbrücken , † February 9, 1690 in Reichelsheim ) was the first Count of Nassau-Ottweiler , temporarily regent of other Nassau territories, senior of the House of Nassau and major general.

Life

He was the second son of Wilhelm Ludwig von Nassau-Saarbrücken and Anna-Amalia von Baden-Durlach . He and his parents had to flee to Metz at the age of ten . The father died in 1640. Johann Ludwig and his mother were only able to return to Saarbrücken three years later. He had previously studied at Saumur University . Between 1644 and 1645 he made a cavalier trip to Paris.

After the Peace of Westphalia and the death of his mother in 1651, he took over the government of Nassau-Saarbrücken and Nassau-Usingen and also became the guardian of his two brothers who were still underage. In 1653, the Neunkircher ironworks , which was in princely possession, went back into operation.

He entered French military service in 1656 and became Colonel of the Régiment de Royal-Alsace . He took part in the Spanish-French War and was taken prisoner.

In 1659 the estate was divided with his two brothers. He received the area around Ottweiler and the claim to Homburg . He became the founder of the Nassau-Ottweiler branch line, which existed until 1728.

Even at the time of his guardianship and later, he tried to return the rule of Homburg and the County of Saar Werden von Lorraine, also with the help of Louis XIV. Negotiations took place before the Reichstag . Although Johann Ludwig was granted the sovereign rights to Homburg in 1669 and 1670, the Homburg Fortress remained occupied until the war debts of the empire to Lorraine were settled. When war broke out again between France and Lorraine, Duke Charles IV of Lorraine left the Homburg fortress to Kurtrier , which later had to hand it over to France.

During the Dutch War there was devastation also in areas of Johann Ludwig. When Friedrich von Weilburg died in 1675 , Johann Ludwig took over the guardianship of his children. In 1677 he became a senior in the Nassau family. Nassau possessions were also affected by the reunion policy of Louis XIV. He refused to pay homage to the French king for Ottweiler and Homburg. Instead he resigned the government and transferred the rule to his son Friedrich Ludwig in 1680. He then went to the Nassau countries on the other side of the Rhine.

In 1681 he was appointed sergeant-general in the service of the Upper Rhine Reich Circle in the course of building a new Reich Army . In 1682 he became major general and was a colonel and owner of an infantry regiment. He was still in service during the War of the Palatinate Succession .

He died in Reichelsheim in the Wetterau, where his regiment had taken winter quarters, and was buried in the Protestant church of Reichelsheim.

family

In 1649 he married Dorothea Katharina (1634-1715), a daughter of Count Palatine Christian I of Pfalz-Birkenfeld-Bischweiler . The marriage has the following eight children:

• Christian Ludwig (* / † 1650)
• Friedrich Ludwig (1651–1728)

⚭ July 28, 1680 Countess Christiana von Ahlefeldt (1659–1695), the daughter of Count Friedrich

⚭ September 27, 1697 Countess Luise Sophie von Hanau-Lichtenberg (1662–1751)

• Anna Catharina (1653–1731) ⚭ 1671 Johann Philipp Wild a. Rheingraf zu Dhaun, Count zu Salm (1645–1693)
• Whale wheel (1656–1705)
• Carl Siegfried (1659–1679)
• Ludwig (1661–1699) ⚭ April 9, 1694 Countess Amalie Luise von Hornes (1665–1728), daughter of Count Wilhelm Adrian
• Luise (1662–1741) remained unmarried
• Moritz (1664–1666)

literature

• JS publ; JG Gruber: General Encyclopedia of Sciences and Arts , Section II, Part 21, Leipzig 1842, p. 144. Digitized
• Friederich Köllner : History of the former Nassau-Saarbrück'schen country and its rulers. Saarbrücken 1841, pp. 337-340. Digitized

Web links

• Short biography on saarland-biographien.de