Philip III (Nassau-Weilburg)

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Philip III von Nassau-Weilburg (born September 20, 1504 in Neuweilnau Castle , † October 4, 1559 in Weilburg ) was Count of Nassau-Weilburg . His most important achievements included the introduction of the Reformation , the establishment of the Philippinum grammar school and the start of construction on today 's Weilburg Castle .

Life

Philipp was the son of Ludwig I of Nassau-Weilburg (* around 1473; † 1523). After the death of his father, he took over government at the age of 19.

The Nassau sub-county Nassau-Weilburg comprised the offices of Weilburg , Merenberg , Usingen , Sonnenberg and Gleiberg under Philipp . Important places were Kirberg , Weilmünster and Neuweilnau . Furthermore, the rule included shares in different areas, each of which was jointly owned. Co-owners were among others the Counts of Nassau-Saarbrücken and Nassau-Wiesbaden or the Landgrave of Hesse .

Philip's reign fell into the age of the Reformation . He wanted to promote this in his rule. To do this, he allied himself with Philip I of Hesse . On the other hand, he made sure that he did not become a vassal of Hesse. He therefore emphasized his position as an imperial count and was active early on in the Wetterau Imperial Counts College .

Philipp died in Weilburg at the age of 55 and was buried in the castle church. He left a heavily indebted sub-county to his heirs. His goals had exceeded his capabilities.

His sons Albrecht and Philipp ruled the district of Weilburg together until 1561 and then divided it up among themselves.

Foreign policy

Because of his father's high debt, Johann Ludwig I of Nassau-Saarbrücken was appointed as guardian in the Nassau-Weilburg rule . It was not until 1524 that Philip was able to take his rule. At the beginning of his independent reign he arranged for the rule of Kirchheim and Stauf , which was jointly owned by Nassau-Weilburg and Nassau-Saarbrücken, to be divided. The hereditary brotherhood with Nassau-Saarbrücken was also renewed in 1524. With the advancement of the Reformation in Nassau-Weilburg, the counts fell increasingly apart and Philipp sought support in the Wetterau Counts' Association.

At the Diet of Regensburg in 1532 Philip said of Nassau-Weilburg together with Philip of Nassau-Wiesbaden position of 16 horsemen and 80 infantrymen to Emperor Charles V to. These should be used in the war against the Ottoman Empire . In return, Philipp received market rights for Rückershausen and Usingen .

After the end of the Wetterau Counts' Association (1535), Philip approached Hesse. On January 25, 1536, he concluded a comprehensive exchange contract with Philip I of Hesse. Hesse received the tax pledged to Nassau for the imperial city of Wetzlar , sovereignty over Kalsmunt Castle , the imperial bailiwick over Wetzlar and rule over the Altenberg monastery . In return, Philip III. from Nassau-Weilburg castle and city Katzenelnbogen , the Hessian quarter to castle and office Löhnberg and the right to redeem the Hessian part of castle and office Hadamar from the pledge.

On the recommendation of Philip I of Hesse, Philipp von Nassau-Weilburg officially joined the Schmalkaldic League on August 26, 1537 . But he was reluctant to support the federal government. In particular, agreed special contributions were not paid by Philipp. The main reason given by Philipp was that no copy of the federal constitution had been sent to him.

However, the double marriage of Philip I of Hesse (1540) and the lack of commitment by the federal government to support Trier again led Philip to distance himself from the federal government without his officially resigning. The federal government continued to warn Philipp about missing contributions. However, Philip stayed in close contact with Philip I of Hesse.

In the Schmalkaldic War , Philip of Nassau-Weilburg then supported Philip I of Hesse with eight horsemen. Even after the initial victories of the imperial troops on the Danube, he called back this support. The Imperial Field Marshal Reinhard zu Solms then brought about a reconciliation between Philipp von Nassau-Weilburg and Emperor Karl V.

After he had given up the activity in the Schmalkaldic League, Philip tried again to revitalize the Wetterau Counts' Association. The re-establishment takes place in 1542 in Wetzlar. In 1549 Philip was elected captain of the club.

Mining

In order to improve the budget situation, Philipp tried to intensify the mining industry . Together with his bourgeois partners, he founded several iron mines in the Weilmünster area between 1524 and 1530. Over time, the count's family succeeded in gaining a majority in the mountain companies. In 1536 Philip issued a uniform mountain order for his entire domain. The hoped-for economic upturn did not materialize, however.

Construction

Today's east wing is the house that Philipp had built in Weilburg

Philipp was the initiator of several construction projects in his sub-county. The most important thing was the construction of a new residence in Weilburg. The builders Nikolaus Schickedanz from Frankfurt (east wing) and Balthasar Wolff from Heilbronn (south and west wing) were engaged in the Weilburg Castle , which was built in two construction phases . The construction work lasted from 1533 to 1549. A representative residential building was built, today's east wing of Weilburg Castle and the south and west wings as farm buildings. The alliance coat of arms of Philip III is still on the stair tower of the east wing today . from Nassau-Weilburg and Amalie to Isenburg-Büdingen attached.

The dilapidated Weilburg town church was repaired and a new tower was built in 1555. This tower also served as an elevated tank for water at times. It was also later integrated into Weilburg Castle.

In 1555, a stone bridge across the Lahn was built below Weilburg Castle . This bridge connected the lords of Weilburg and Merenberg.

After the work in Weilburg was completed, Usingen Castle was rebuilt from 1551 to 1558 .

reformation

The Reformation was introduced in Nassau-Weilburg under Philip . In doing so, he initially followed the spiritual trend in the Wetterau Counts' Association, but from 1526 onwards he increasingly took the lead. The Reformation was implemented quickly, especially in the areas that he owned together with Philip I of Hesse. These areas were the office Hüttenberg and the country on the Lahn ( Heuchelheim , Kinzenbach, Launsbach , Wißmar , Rodheim and Fellingshausen ).

Philip took part in the meeting of the Wetterau Counts' Association on June 20, 1524. In this case, it was decided not to apply the Worms Edict . Then there was a conflict between Philip and Archbishop Richard von Trier . The archbishop complained that Philip was interfering in his ecclesiastical jurisdiction and withholding taxes due to him.

In the German Peasants' War , however, Philip took part on the side of the archbishops of Trier and Mainz to put down the uprising.

At the meeting of the Wetterau Counts' Association in Butzbach in 1525 , in the presence of Hermann von Neuenahr , the Protestant faith was awarded. A list of all monasteries and monasteries was drawn up in order to tax them in the future. For the Weilburg Abbey the tax was set at 100 guilders and for the Pfannstiel monastery at 15 guilders.

With Erhard Schnepf , Philipp called the first evangelical preacher into his rule in 1525/26. After the Diet of Speyer in 1526, Schnepf was commissioned to carry out the Reformation in Weilburg. During this task Schnepf encountered resistance from the Weilburger Stift, the Weilburg parish priest Johann Roß and above all the Pfannstiel monastery. Despite protests from the archbishops of Mainz and Trier, Philipp held on to Erhard Schnepf. Internal disputes in the Wetterau Count Association, however, slowed the speed of the Reformation. After Schnepf's call to the newly founded University of Marburg in 1527, Philipp tried to hold the preacher in Weilburg. For this purpose, Johann Roß, pastor in Weilburg for 28 years, was expelled from the country. In 1528, however, Schnepf moved to the University of Marburg.

The Reformation was now continued by the court preacher Heinrich Stroß (Romanus). Stroß carried out the first comprehensive visitation in Nassau-Weilburg in 1535 .

After joining the Schmalkaldic League, the Reformation in Nassau-Weilburg was accelerated. Philipp ordered the abolition of the small Johanniter convent Pfannstiel and the sale of the valuable liturgical implements of the Walpurgis pen in Weilburg . In 1540 Philipp founded a free school in Weilburg, which quickly developed into the center of education. The free school is the forerunner of the Philippinum Weilburg grammar school .

After the death of Heinrich Stroß in 1546 Kasper Goltwurm was appointed to Weilburg as the new court preacher. In 1547 he held a synod with the clergy of the county in Weilburg and made a contribution to the free school. Goltwurm was officially appointed a visitor in 1548.

The Reformation was interrupted by the Augsburg Interim . Goltwurm encouraged the pastors to resist the Catholic Counter-Reformation , which was carried out by the Archbishops in Trier and Mainz. The Counter-Reformation failed because the archbishops did not have enough Catholic pastors to fill all pastoral posts and therefore had to keep the Reformed pastors in office. However, in 1550 Philipp had to leave Goltwurm for half a year. During the time he traveled to Wittenberg and wrote the book The Beautiful and Comforting Historia of Joseph , which he dedicated to Philip.

After the Passau Treaty in 1552, Philipp and Goltwurm were able to resume the Reformation. The Catholic pastors who had been appointed in the meantime were removed from their parishes. Numerous chalices and vestments were sold. The Weilburg Abbey got a new order. A synod of the Reformed clergy was convened in Weilburg in 1553. On January 3, 1555, the Weilburger Stift was finally dissolved. With the Augsburg Imperial and Religious Peace , the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the archbishops was abolished.

Marriages and offspring

Philipp married Elisabeth von Sayn-Hachenburg (* unknown; † February 5, 1530/31) in 1523. Her family also belonged to the Wetterau Grafenverein. The four children together died at an early age.

After the death of his first wife, he married Anna von Mansfeld (* 1520; † December 26, 1537), daughter of Count Albrecht von Mansfeld, in 1536 . This marriage was mediated by Philip I of Hesse. She died on the day of the birth of her only child Albrecht (born December 26, 1537, † November 11, 1593 in Ottweiler ).

Isenburg and Nassau-Weilburg alliance coat of arms, Weilburg Castle

In his third marriage, Philipp married Amalie zu Isenburg-Büdingen in 1541 (* June 23, 1522, † May 18, 1579 in Offenbach ). This marriage was also mediated by Philip I of Hesse. The wedding anniversary was August 17, 1541. He had three children with her:

  • Philipp (born October 14, 1542; † March 12, 1602 in Saarbrücken)
  • Ottilie (* July 27, 1546; † around 1610) ⚭ 1567 Count Otto I. von Salm-Kyrburg (* August 15, 1545; † June 7, 1607)
  • Anna Amalie (born July 26, 1549 - † January 7, 1598) ⚭ 1588 Count Friedrich I. von Salm (* February 3, 1547 - † October 26, 1608)

See also

literature

Web links

predecessor Office successor
Ludwig I. Count of Nassau-Weilburg
1523–1559 		Albrecht
Philip IV
personal data
SURNAME Philip III
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Nassau-Weilburg, Philip III. from (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Count of Nassau-Weilburg; reformer
DATE OF BIRTH September 20, 1504
PLACE OF BIRTH Neuweilnau Castle
DATE OF DEATH October 4, 1559
Place of death Weilburg