County_of_Nassau

County of Nassau

County of Nassau

State of the Holy Roman Empire (1125–1806)

This article is about the former state in present-day Germany. For its ruling family, including its branches in present-day Netherlands and Luxembourg, see House of Nassau. For other uses, see Nassau County (disambiguation) and Nassau (disambiguation).

The County of Nassau was a German state within the Holy Roman Empire and later part of the German Confederation. Its ruling dynasty, the male line of which is now extinct, was the House of Nassau.

Quick Facts (Princely) County of NassauPrincipalities of Nassau(Gefürsteter) Grafschaft Nassau (German)Fürstentümer Nassau (German), Status ...
Nassau Castle

Origins

Nassau, originally a county, developed on the lower Lahn river in what is known today as Rhineland-Palatinate. The town of Nassau was founded in 915.[1] Dudo of Laurenburg held Nassau as a fiefdom as granted by the Bishopric of Worms. His son, Rupert, built the Nassau Castle there around 1125, declaring himself "Count of Nassau". This title was not officially acknowledged by the Bishop of Worms until 1159 under the rule of Rupert's son, Walram. By 1159, the County of Nassau effectively claimed rights of taxation, toll collection, and justice, at which point it can be considered to become a state.[1]

The Nassauers held the territory between the Taunus and the Westerwald at the lower and middle Lahn. By 1128, they acquired the bailiwick of the Bishopric of Worms, which had numerous rights in the area, and thus created a link between their heritage at the lower Lahn and their possessions near Siegen. In the middle of the 12th century, this relationship was strengthened by the acquisition of parts of the Hesse-Thüringen feudal kingdom, namely the Herborner Mark, the Kalenberger Zent and the Court of Heimau (Löhnberg). Closely linked to this was the "Lordship of Westerwald", also in Nassau's possession at the time. At the end of the 12th century, the House acquired the Reichshof Wiesbaden, an important base in the southwest.

In 1255, after the Counts of Nassau acquired the estates of Weilburg, the sons of Count Henry II divided Nassau for the first time. Walram II received the county of Nassau-Weilburg. From 1328 on, his younger brother, Otto I, held the estates north of the Lahn river, namely the County of Nassau-Siegen and Nassau-Dillenburg. The boundary line was essentially the Lahn, with Otto receiving the northern part of the county with the cities of Siegen, Dillenburg, Herborn and Haiger and Walram retaining the section south of the river, including the cities of Weilburg and Idstein.

County of Nassau-Weilburg

Walram's son Adolf became King of Germany in 1292. His son Count Gerlach abdicated in 1344 and the county was divided under his sons in 1355

  • County of Nassau-Weilburg, again divided from 1442 to 1574
  • County of Nassau-Wiesbaden, again divided from 1480 to 1509
    • County of Nassau-Idstein
    • County of Nassau-Wiesbaden

     fell back to Nassau-Weilburg in 1605

  • County of Nassau-Sonnenberg, partitioned among Nassau-Wiesbaden and Nassau-Weilburg in 1405

In 1605, all parts of Nassau-Weilburg were again unified under Count Louis II; however, after his death in 1627, his sons divided the county again

  • County of Nassau-Idstein, fell to Nassau-Ottweiler in 1721
  • County of Nassau-Saarbrücken (Younger), divided again in 1640
    • County of Nassau-Saarbrücken, fell to Nassau-Ottweiler in 1723
    • County of Nassau-Ottweiler, fell to Nassau-Usingen in 1728
    • County of Nassau-Usingen, Principality in 1688
  • County of Nassau-Weilburg (Younger)

After Nassau-Usingen had inherited Nassau-Ottweiler with former Nassau-Idstein and Nassau-Saarbrücken, it was reunified with Nassau-Weilburg and raised to the Duchy of Nassau in 1806.

County of Nassau-Dillenburg

After the death of Count Otto I, his county was divided between his sons in 1303:

  • County of Nassau-Dillenburg, fell to Nassau-Siegen in 1328
  • County of Nassau-Hadamar (Elder), fell to Nassau-Dillenburg in 1394
  • County of Nassau-Siegen, called Nassau-Dillenburg from 1328 on, again got divided from 1341 to 1561:
    • County of Nassau-Beilstein (Elder)
    • County of Nassau-Dillenburg (Elder)–1606)

In 1504, Henry III of Nassau-Dillenburg inherited the county's estates at Breda in the Duchy of Brabant, while his younger brother William became Count of Nassau-Dillenburg in 1516. After the son of Henry III, René of Châlon died in 1544, Count William's eldest son William the Silent became Prince of Orange and Lord of Breda, Stadtholder in the Low Countries from 1559 on. His younger brother, John VI, again reunited all Nassau-Dillenburg possessions in 1561, though the county was again divided after his death in 1606.

  • County of Nassau-Hadamar (Younger), Principality in 1650, fell to Nassau-Diez in 1743
  • County of Nassau-Siegen, (1607–23), again got divided from 1623 to 1734:
    • County of Nassau-Siegen (Protestant), Principality in 1664, became extinct in 1734
    • County of Nassau-Siegen (Catholic), Principality, fell to Nassau-Diez in 1743
  • County of Nassau-Dillenburg, fell to Nassau-Beilstein in 1620
  • County of Nassau-Beilstein (Younger), called Nassau-Dillenburg (Younger) from 1620 on, Principality in 1652, fell to Nassau-Dietz in 1739
  • County of Nassau-Dietz, fell to Joachim Murat's Grand Duchy of Berg after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806

The Counts of Nassau-Dietz, descendants of William Frederick were stadtholders of Friesland, Groningen and Drenthe and Princes of Orange from 1702 on. When they lost their Dutch possessions during the Napoleonic Wars, they were compensated with the Principality of Nassau-Orange-Fulda. Though they lost their German possessions in 1806, the House of Orange-Nassau, through female succession, was the reigning house of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg until 1890 and is still the royal house of the Netherlands.

Rulers

House of Nassau

Partitions of Nassau under House of Nassau rule

County of Laurenburg/ Nassau
(1093-1255)

County of
Northern Nassau
(Ottonian Line)
(1255-1303)
County of
Southern Nassau
(Walramian Line)
(1255-1355)
County of
Dillenburg
(1st creation)
(1303-1328)		        County of
Hadamar
(1st creation)
(1303-1394)
      
County of
Beilstein
(1343-1561)		       
       County of
Sonnenberg
(1355-1404)		       
      
      
County of
Weilburg
(1355-1806)
County of
Siegen
(1303-1652/64)
Barony of
Breda
(1403-1544)
Renamed as:

Principality of
Orange-Nassau
(1st creation,
Siegen-Breda line)
(1544-1702)[2]		        County of
Wiesbaden-Idstein
(1st creation)
(1355-1605)
(divided 1370-86; 1480-1509; 1554-56; 1564-66)
      
County of
Saarbrücken
(1st creation)
(1429-1574)
             
      
      
County of
Hadamar
(2nd creation)
(1620-1650)
Raised to:
Principality of
Hadamar
(1650-1711)		 (In 1623 divided in Catholic and Protestant ruling lines)

Both lines raised to:
Catholic Principality
of Siegen
(1652-1743)
and

Protestant Principality
of Siegen
(1664-1734)		       
      
                     County of
Idstein
(2nd creation)
(1627-1688)

Raised to:
Principality of
Idstein
(1688-1721)
              County of
Ottweiler
(1659-1721)		       
                           

County of
Dillenburg
(2nd creation)
(1606-1654)

Raised to:

Principality of
Dillenburg
(1654-1739)		                     

County of
Dietz
(1606-1654)
Raised to:

Principality of
Dietz
(1654-1702)
       
County of
Saarbrücken
(2nd creation)
(1627-1728)
                    
Renamed as:

Principality of
Orange-Nassau
(2nd creation, Dietz line)
(1702-1806)		 County of Usingen
(1659-1688)
Raised to:
Principality of Usingen
(1688-1806)
      
      
              Principality of
Saarbrücken
(1741-1797)
              Annexed by France
      

Principality of Orange-Nassau
(2nd creation, Dietz line)
(1813-1815)		 Duchy of Nassau
(1806-1866)
      
Annexed by Prussia

Table of rulers

More information Ruler, Born ...

Nassau's successor states

Main articles: List of monarchs of Luxembourg and List of monarchs of the Netherlands

Kings and Queens of the Netherlands (from the House of Orange-Nassau-Dietz)

Royal Palace of Amsterdam
  • 1815–1840: William I, also Duke and Grand Duke of Luxemburg and Duke of Limburg
  • 1840–1849: William II, also Grand Duke of Luxemburg and Duke of Limburg
  • 1849–1890: William III, also Grand Duke of Luxemburg and Duke of Limburg
  • 1890–1948: Wilhelmina

Following defunct German laws that no longer have relevance due to the end of German nobility, the House of Orange-Nassau(-Dietz) has been extinct since the death of Wilhelmina (1962). Dutch laws and the Dutch nation do not consider it extinct.

Grand Dukes of Luxembourg (from the House of Nassau-Weilburg)

Main article: Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg
Grand Ducal Palace, Luxembourg

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Abramson, Scott F. (2017-01-01). "The Economic Origins of the Territorial State". International Organization. 71 (1): 97–130. doi:10.1017/S0020818316000308. ISSN 0020-8183.
  2. [2]
    Renaming came with the inheritance of the Principality of Orange by René of Nassau-Breda, heir of the Barony of Breda.
  3. [3]
    Despite being one of the main Ottonian successors of the original County of Nassau, the County of Siegen restarts the counting of Henrys, which doesn't happen, for example, with the names Waleran or Rupert in the Walramian line, which see its counting continued in following divisions.
  4. [4]
    Actually it is known that Adolph was a minor at the time of his succession, but it's not stated anywhere who was his regent
  5. [5]
    (in German) RI XIII H. 5 n. 149 in: Regesta Imperii Online.
  6. [6]
    Namely 1/3 of Nassau-Hadamar in 1711, Protestant Nassau-Siegen in 1734, and 1/2 of Nassau-Dillenburg in 1739. In 1732, Frederick William I of Prussia left him his Dutch properties, including Huis ten Bosch palace and Het Loo Palace. He also ceded his part of Hadamar to William Hyacinth of Nassau-Siegen (1742), received the latter's part of Nassau-Dillenburg, and then succeeded him in his possessions (1743).
  7. [7]
    Hay, Mark Edward (1 June 2016). "The House of Nassau between France and Independence, 1795–1814: Lesser Powers, Strategies of Conflict Resolution, Dynastic Networks". The International History Review. 38 (3): 482–504. doi:10.1080/07075332.2015.1046387. S2CID 155502574.
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