Philip II (Nassau-Saarbrücken)

Count Philip II of Nassau-Saarbrücken

Philip II of Nassau-Saarbrücken (born July 25, 1509 in Saarbrücken , † June 19, 1554 in Strasbourg ) was Count of Saarbrücken .

family

He was the eldest son of Count Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Saarbrücken and his second wife Katharina von Moers- Saar Werden . He himself married Katharina Apollonia von Leiningen-Hartenburg in 1535, daughter of Count Emich IX. from Leiningen . There were no children from the marriage.

Life

Count Philipp was raised in the Catholic faith. Between 1528 and 1543 he served the Elector Ludwig V of the Palatinate . From 1543 to 1545 he was co-regent of his father. The possessions were divided. He himself got the county of Saarbrücken. The brothers Johann IV. And Adolf shared the rest. Johann received the dominions of Ottweiler and Homburg . Among other things, Adolf received the Saarbrücken shares in the Kirchheim dominion . The county of Saar Werden remained in common ownership. The father kept a quarter of the income.

After the father's death, the division of the estate with his brothers was confirmed. Philipp now resided in Saarbrücken. Charles V confirmed the possession of the imperial fiefs and the hereditary union of the brothers while passing through Saarbrücken.

Old Bridge in Saarbrücken, the oldest surviving bridge in Saarland

He hardly took part in imperial politics and devoted himself particularly to domestic politics. In the years 1547/48 he had the old stone bridge built to replace the previous ferry in Saarbrücken . In order to raise the cost of 20,000 guilders, the emperor allowed him to increase the customs duties. In 1550 an institution for feeding the poor was set up. To this end, he and his wife set up a foundation with a capital of 2,000 guilders. He has also improved Saarbrücken's water supply.

In addition, he tried to round off his territory. Like his father, he endeavored to buy back or swap the possessions lent by his ancestors as fiefs. In 1549 he forced the Sankt Arnual monastery to sign a contract. In this, the monastery gave up its previous magisterial rights. The attempt of the monastery to complain to the emperor was unsuccessful. In 1550 he enforced the protective bailiff over the Abbey of St. Nabor . The St. Martin Abbey in Lubeln also chose him to be guardian. The Bishop of Metz mortgaged or sold a number of properties to him. Further pledges came from the Archbishop of Trier . Except for the Blieskastel rulership , these were redeemed again. The property of Blieskastel was brought before the Reich Chamber of Commerce .

In the church, Philip remained Catholic. The Graf joined the 1548 led by Charles V. Augsburg Interim in. In addition, a special contract was concluded with the emperor. When the imperial armies marched through on the advance and return march to attack Metz, the population suffered from the imperial and the advancing French.

In 1554, the dean Nikolaus Beuck tried to reformation in St. Arnual Abbey . Some time later Philip gave the rule to his brothers for health reasons. He died a short time later in Strasbourg.

He was buried in St. Arnual Abbey. A colored painted grave monument reminds of him. Since Philip was childless, his property fell to his two brothers.

literature

• General Encyclopedia of Sciences and Arts. Third section OZ. Part 23 Leipzig, 1847 pp. 122–124
• Friederich Köllner: History of the former Nassau-Saarbrück'schen country and its rulers. Part 1. Saarbrücken 1841, pp. 258–267, digitized

Web links

• Entry on saarland-biographien.de

predecessor	Office	successor
Johann Ludwig	Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken 1545–1554	Johann