Philipp III, Count of Hanau-Münzenberg

Philipp III, Count of Hanau-Münzenberg
Epitaph of Philipp III in the St. Mary's Church in Hanau
Spouse(s)	Countess Palatine Helena of Simmern
Noble family	House of Hanau
Father	Philipp II, Count of Hanau-Münzenberg
Mother	Juliana of Stolberg
Born	(1526-11-30)30 November 1526
Died	14 November 1561(1561-11-14) (aged 34)

Count Phillip III of Hanau-Münzenberg (30 November 1526 – 14 November 1561) ruled the County of Hanau-Münzenberg from 1529 until his death.

He was the second son of Philipp II (born: 17 August 1501; died: 28 March 1529) and his wife, Countess Juliana of Stolberg (born: 15 February 1506; died: 18 June 1580). Philipp III's elder brother died young; Philipp III was only three years old when he inherited the county. His mother and relatives petitioned the Reichskammergericht to establish a regency council. The council consisted of:

There was a problem: Philipp II had demanded that his younger brother Balthasar would waive his claims on Hanau-Münzenberg before he could become a regent. A deed to this effect had been prepared, but Philipp II had died before he could seal the deed. It was argued that this deed was not legally valid, because it had not been sealed, and that Balthasar therefore had a claim to rule Hanau-Münzenberg himself and that this potential claim stood in the way of his becoming a regent. This problem was resolved by arguing that Philipp II, by not sealing the deed before his death, had implicitly withdrawn his demand.

Philipp III and his younger brother Reinhard of Hanau-Münzenberg studied at the universities of Mainz and Ingolstadt. They then made a Grand Tour to Antwerp, Mechelen, Leuven, Brussels, Breda and Strasbourg and then to Buchsweiler (now: Bouxwiller in France), the "capital" of Hanau-Lichtenberg, where they visited their relatives. From Buchsweiler, they travelled to France, where they studied at Orléans and Bourges.

During his reign — in fact, while the regency council was ruling on his behalf — the Reformation took hold in the County of Hanau-Münzenberg. Among his regency council, his uncle Balthasar was supporting the reformation, while Count Reinhard I of Solms-Lich-Hohensolms was opposed to it. Initially, the reformation was introduced gradually: when church staff retired, their successor would be a Lutheran. As early as 1523, the pastor Adolf Arborgast was includeded in the chapter of the St. Mary's church. When he was appointed, he explained that he wanted to spend little effort on vespers and the daily mass, but would instead concentrate on his sermons and putting forward the Gospel. The real reformer of Hanau was his successor Philipp Neunheller MA; during his time in office, the new faith gained more and more ground. The Catholic faith was never officially banned. The number of Catholic priests steadily decreased, as they were not replaced when they retired.