Wilhelm Moritz (Solms-Braunfels)

Wilhelm Moritz zu Solms-Braunfels

Wilhelm Moritz zu Solms-Braunfels (-Greifenstein-Hungen) (born April 4, 1651 in Greifenstein ; † February 9, 1724 in Braunfels ) was a royal Prussian Real Privy Councilor and Count zu Greifenstein , Braunfels and Hungen from the House of Solms as well Knight of the Black Eagle Order .

Life

origin

His parents were Count Wilhelm II of Solms-Greifenstein (1609-1676) and his first wife Johannetta (Hanna) Sibylla zu Solms-Hohensolms (1616-1651).

Military career

Together with his brother Friedrich Magnus he was trained in Marburg under the supervision of the court master Johann Ulrich von Backhofen (1643–1700); In 1670 he went on a cavalier tour to France and Switzerland .

Wilhelm Moritz then entered service in Hesse and was given command of an infantry company. He fought with her during the Dutch War in the Battle of Sinsheim and the Siege of Philippsburg . His brother Friedrich Magnus became captain of the Prince of Orange's guard in 1675. He died of an amputation on July 27, 1676. This became necessary after his leg was torn to pieces by a hand grenade during the storming of Fort Dauphin near Maastricht .

After the death of his father, the count inherited Greifenstein and Wölfersheim . In 1678 he inherited Moritz von Solms-Hungen (1622–1678) and received half of Hungen, in 1684 he became lord of the county of Kriechingen . When his cousin Heinrich Trajektin von Solms-Braunfels died in 1693 , he inherited Braunfels and all of Hungen. He then moved to Braunfels Castle. In 1699 he received the county of Tecklenburg after a 150-year process. He sold these to the Prussians in 1706. For being able to enforce this deal against his agnates , he received the Order of the Black Eagle from the Prussian King on July 13, 1707 and was appointed to the Privy Council.

Wilhelm Moritz zu Solms-Braunfels (1711)

He tried hard to develop his country economically. In 1685 he bought the village of Daubhausen in order to settle Huguenots who had fled France after the edict of Nantes was repealed . The refugees concluded the Aßlar contract with the count, which regulated their rights. In 1686 they also received a farm and a forest area, on which the Greifenthal settlement developed . Over time, Waldensians and Walloons also settled there . On August 26, 1722, the count issued a letter of freedom for these places, which gave them a certain administration and jurisdiction of their own.

family

Alliance coat of arms (1714) of Count and Magdalene Sophie, born Princess of Hesse-Homburg

Wilhelm Moritz married on January 23, 1679 in Bingenheim Princess Magdalene Sophie von Hessen-Homburg (* April 24, 1660, † March 22, 1720), a daughter of Landgrave Wilhelm Christoph von Hessen-Homburg . The couple had the following children:

• Wilhelm Friedrich (April 20, 1680 - August 24, 1680)
• Karl Ludwig (born October 22, 1681 - † February 7, 1682)
• Wilhelm Heinrich (8 November 1682 - 12 December 1700)
• Leopold Karl (December 27, 1689 - April 2, 1690)
• Friedrich Wilhelm (born January 21, 1696 - † February 24, 1761) (from 1742 Prince of Solms-Braunfels)

⚭ April 15, 1719 Princess Magdalena Henriette von Nassau-Weilburg (* September 21, 1691; † August 29, 1725) daughter of Johann Ernst von Nassau-Weilburg

⚭ March 9, 1726 Countess Sophie Magdalena Benigna zu Solms-Laubach (* 1701; † 1744) daughter of Karl Otto von Solms-Laubach-Utphe and Tecklenburg

⚭ December 30, 1745 Countess Palatine Caroline Katharina von Birkenfeld (* December 19, 1699; † May 11, 1785) daughter of Johann Karl von Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen

• Sophia Sibylla Wilhelmina (June 29, 1684 - February 1, 1727)
• Maria Ernestina (born July 26, 1685 - † November 10, 1685)
• Elisabeth Magdalena (* July 25, 1686; † October 24, 1686)
• Albertina Amelia (April 6, 1688 - March 14, 1689),
• Christiane Charlotte (* November 10, 1690; † October 16, 1751) ⚭ October 3, 1722 Landgrave Kasimir Wilhelm von Hessen-Homburg (* March 23, 1690; † October 9, 1726)
• Daughter (* February 1691)
• Magdalena Sibylla (* 1698)
• Dorothea Sophie (April 9, 1699; † November 15, 1733) ⚭ December 3, 1730 Albrecht Christoph zu Dohna-Schlobitten (1698–1752)

literature

• Barbara Dölemeyer: The Huguenots . P. 135, partial view .
• Rudolph zu Solms-Laubach: History of the Count and Princely House of Solms . Pp. 74ff and 95ff .
• Christian August Ludwig Klaproth, Immanuel Karl Wilhelm Cosmar: The Royal Prussian and Electoral Brandenburg Real Secret State Council on its bicentennial foundation day . P. 397, digitized .

Web links

• Wilhelm Moritz in Stammreihen.de
• Solms-Greifenstein, Wilhelm Moritz Graf too. Hessian biography. (As of June 30, 2010). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
• Family tree Solms