Louis Frederick, Duke of Württemberg-Montbéliard

Louis Frederick, Duke of Württemberg-Montbéliard
Louis Frederick, Duke of Württemberg-Montbéliard
Spouse(s)	Elisabeth Magdalena of Hesse-Darmstadt Anna Eleonora of Nassau-Weilburg-Saarbrücken
Noble family	House of Württemberg
Father	Frederick I, Duke of Württemberg
Mother	Sibylla of Anhalt
Born	(1586-01-29)29 January 1586 Montbéliard
Died	26 January 1631(1631-01-26) (aged 44) Montbéliard

Louis Frederick of Württemberg-Montbéliard (29 January 1586 in Montbéliard – 26 January 1631 in Montbéliard) was the founder of a side line of the House of Württemberg known as the Dukes of Württemberg-Montbéliard.

Louis Frederick of Württemberg was born at Montbéliard Castle as the fifth child and second son of Duke Frederick I of Württemberg, and princess Sibylla of Anhalt.

On 28 May 1617 Louis Frederick agreed with older brother Duke John Frederick to divide the Württemberg possessions. Louis Frederick received the possessions on the left bank of the Rhine (Montbéliard, Riquewihr and Horburg) with full sovereignty. Thus, Louis Frederick became the founder of the younger Württemberg-Montbéliard line.

During the Thirty Years' War, his territory suffered badly from starvation and the plague. After his brother John Frederick died on 28 July 1628, Louis Frederick moved to Stuttgart, to act as guardian and regent for his our-year-old cousin Eberhard III. His tenure as regent was dominated by conflicts with Emperor Ferdinand II, after Württemberg lost about a third of its territory due to the Edict of Restitution. In November 1630, Louis Frederick returned to Montbéliard, where he died on 26 January 1631.

Louis Frederick married on 14 July 1617 with Elisabeth Magdalena of Hesse-Darmstadt, daughter of Louis V, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. The marriage produced three children:

After Elisabeth Magdalena's death on 9 June 1624, Louis Frederick married on 15 May 1625 with Anna Eleonora of Nassau-Weilburg-Saarbrücken. This marriage also produced three children: