William Louis, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken
| William Louis, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken | |
|---|---|
Coat of arms of William Louis shows the arms of counties of Nassau, Moers, Will Saar, Saarbrücken and in the heart the shield of Lahr-Mahlberg
|
|
| Spouse(s) | Countess Anna Amalia of Baden-Durlach |
| Noble family | Nassau |
| Father | Louis II, Count of Nassau-Weilburg |
| Mother | Anna Maria of Hesse-Kassel |
| Born |
18 December 1590 Ottweiler |
| Died | 22 August 1640 (aged 49) Metz |
William Louis of Nassau-Saarbrücken (18 December 1590, Ottweiler – 22 August 1640, Metz), was a Count of Saarbrücken.
His parents were Louis II of Nassau-Weilburg (died: 8 November 1627 in Saarbrücken) and Landgravine Anna Maria of Hesse-Kassel (1567–1626). His father had in 1605 re-united all the possessions of the Walram line of the House of Nassau.
After his education at Metz from 1609 to 1614 he made a Grand Tour of France, the Netherlands and England.
In 1616 William Louis became co-regent with his father. His father died in 1627 and he became guardian of his two youngest brothers, Otto and Ernest Casimir. On 29 January 1629 in Ottweiler, the inheritance was split and William Louis received the County of Saarbrücken, the Office Ottweiler, the Bailiwick of Herbitzheim, and the Community of Saarwellingen. His brother John received Idstein, Wiesbaden and Sonnenberg. William Louis remained Regent of Wehen and the district of Burgschwalbach, the territories of his two youngest brothers, as they were still minors.
Shortly thereafter, on 2 March 1629, Emperor Ferdinand II issued the Edict of Restitution, by which church property that had been confiscated after 1552 under the Peace of Passau, was returned to its previous owner. Based on this Edict, the Prince Bishops of Mainz and Trier claimed substantial parts of the possessions of the Nassau brothers. The Court of Appeal ruled on 7 July 1629 in a dispute between Lorraine and Nassau, that the city and county of Saarwerden and Bockenheim and Wieberstweiler were fiefs of Metz and should therefore be reurned to Lorraine, and the Nassau familty could keep the rest of their county. The Duke of Lorraine, however, took possession of the whole of the County of Saarwerden and the Lordship of Herbitzheim. William Louis appealed, and his appeal was acknowledged on 27 July 1630 by Superintendent Abraham Staymle at Strasbourg. William Louis took the case to the Imperial Council of Princes in Regensburg and demanded the imperial investiture on 23 July 1631 (although he had refused to join the Catholic League, or to provide troops). Late in 1631, King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden and his army arrived at the Rhine. William Louis and his brothers joined him, thereby declaring war on the Emperor. William Louis himself served as a lieutenant colonel in the cavalry regiment of Rhinegrave Otto Louis of Salm-Kyrburg-Mörchingen and fought with them in the Upper Rhine Valley.
...
Wikipedia