Simon VI, Count of Lippe

Simon VI, Count of Lippe
Simon VI of Lippe
Spouse(s)	Armgard, Countess of Rietberg Elizabeth of Schaumburg and Holstein-Pinneberg.
Noble family	House of Lippe
Father	Bernhard VIII, Count of Lippe
Mother	Catherine of Waldeck
Born	(1554-04-15)15 April 1554 Detmold
Died	7 December 1613(1613-12-07) (aged 59) Brake, now part of Lemgo
Religion	Lutheran (till 1605), then Reformed

Count Simon VI of Lippe (15 April 1554 in Detmold – 7 December 1613 in Brake (now part of Lemgo)) was an imperial count and ruler of the County of Lippe from 1563 until his death.

Simon was the son of Count Bernhard VIII of Lippe (1527–1563) and his wife Catherine (1524–1583), daughter of the Count Philip III of Waldeck-Eisenberg and Anna of Cleves. Since he was still a minor when his father died, his uncle Hermann Simon of Pyrmont took up the regency until 1579.

Simon was an intelligent prince, a man after the renaissance ideal. He corresponded with many leading scientists of his time, among them Tycho Brahe and Jost Bürgi. He acted as a counselor and chamberlain to the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II, for whom he undertook diplomatic missions, such as mediation in inheritance disputes between princes. He acted as an intermediary and an agent in the trade in Dutch paintings.

The castle at Brake had been pledged to Christoph von Donop from 1562 to 1570. In 1584-1589, Simon had it expanded in the style of the Weser Renaissance. He used is as his residence until his death. In September 1599 he suffered a severe defeat at the Siege of Rees by the Spaniards. From 1600, he employed the Dutch military architect Johan van Rijswijk. Under Simon VI, the County converted to Calvinism in 1605. Using his monarchic privilege of cuius regio, eius religio he prompted the conversion of the Church of Lippe to Calvinism. This led to a dispute with many of his subjects, especially the Free and Hanseatic City of Lemgo, which had been Lutheran since 1522. Lemgo defied the edict to convert to Calvinism, leading to the Revolt of Lemgo. This religious dispute was resolved by the Peace of Röhrentrup in 1617, granting Lemgo the right to determine its faith independently. The Lutheran minority only joined the else Reformed Church of Lippe again in 1882.