Albrecht of Hanau-Münzenberg
| Albert of Hanau-Münzenberg | |
|---|---|
| Spouse(s) | Ehrengard of Isenburg |
| Noble family | House of Hanau |
| Father | Philip Louis I, Count of Hanau-Münzenberg |
| Mother | Countess Magdalena of Waldeck |
| Born | 12 November 1579 |
| Died | 19 December 1635 (aged 56) Strasbourg |
Albert of Hanau-Münzenberg (12 November 1579 – 19 December 1635 in Strasbourg) was the younger son of Philip Louis I of Hanau-Münzenberg (1553-1580) and his wife, Countess Magdalena of Waldeck (1558-1599). The only sons of his parents to reach adulthood were Albert and his elder brother Philip Louis II. Albert's son John Ernest was the last male member of the Hanau-Münzenberg line of the House of Hanau.
When his father died in 1580, Albert and his brother were still minors and a regency was necessary. The regents were Counts John VI, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg (1536–1606), Louis I, Count of Sayn-Wittgenstein (1568–1607) and Philip IV, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (1514–1590), who was replaced in 1585 by his son, Count Philip V of Hanau-Lichtenberg (1541–1599).
Albert's mother Magdalena remarried in 1581 to John VII, Count of Nassau, the son of his guardian and regent. She and her sons from her first marriage then moved to the Nassau court in Dillenburg. At the time, this was a centre of Calvinism in Germany. The court in Dillenburg maintained cordial relations with the Reformed court of the Electorate of the Palatinate in Heidelberg.
However, Philip IV of Hanau-Lichtenberg, Albert's Lutheran guardian, and later his son Philip V, vehemently resisted this Calvinist influence, though ultimately their resistance was in vain. Philip V tried to have the Lutheran Duke Richard of Simmern-Sponheim, a younger brother of Elector Palatine Frederick III appointed as co-regent. He managed to obtain a mandate to this effect from the Reichskammergericht, however, the Calvinist prevented Richard's installation and prevented the people of Hanau-Münzenberg from paying tribute to Duke Richard. Instead, they installed Duke John Casimir of the Palatinate-Simmern as upper guardian, an honorary position, which nevertheless strengthened the Calvinist hold on Hanau-Münzenberg.
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