John, Count of Nassau-Idstein
Encyclopedia
Count John of Nassau-Idstein (born: 24 November 1603 in Saarbrücken
; died: 23 May 1677 in Idstein
) was Count of Nassau and Protestant Regent of Idstein.
(1565-1627) and his wife, countess Anna Maria of Hesse-Kassel
(1567-1626). His father had in 1605 reunited all the possessions of the Walram line of the House of Nassau
: Saarbrücken, Weilburg and Idstein. His brother was William Louis
. When the brothers divided their father's inheritance on 29 January 1629 in Ottweiler, William Louis received the County of Saarbrücken, the district of Ottweiler
, the Bailiwick of Herbitzheim, and the community of Saarwellingen
. John received the Lordship of Idstein
, Wiesbaden
and Sonnenberg. The two younger brothers, Ernest Casimir
and Otto received Wehener Grund and the district of Burgschwalbach
. However, since they were still minors, William Louis administered those territories as regent.
Shortly thereafter, their territories were put at risk by the Imperial Edict of Restitution
of 2 March 1629, when the Prince-Archbishops of Mainz and Trier claimed restitution of church properties that had been confiscated after the Peace of Passau
of 1552. On 7 July 1629, the Reichskammergericht
ruled that the House of Nassau had to return city and castle of Sarrewerden
, Bouquenom and Wieberstweiler to the Bishopric of Metz
as fiefs of Lorraine. They were allowed to keep their other disputed possessions.
In 1629 he married Sibylla Magdalena of Baden-Durlach (born: 21 July 1605; died: 26 July 1644 in Strasbourg
), daughter of George Frederick
, Margrave of Baden-Durlach and Wild- and Rhinegravine Juliane Ursula of Salm-Neufville.
When, at the end of that year, King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
appeared the Rhine, presented William Louis, John and Ernest Casimir joined him in his war against the Emperor. After King Gustavus Adolphus had fallen on 16 November 1632, the three counts committed themselves on a meeting of Protestant princes in Heilbronn to continue fighting the Emperor, now under the Swedish Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna
. John signed the alliance with France against the Emperor on 5 September 1633, as the representative of the Nassau brothers.
The youngest brother, Otto, died on 24 November 1632. On 11 December, Ernest Casimir came of age and the brothers decided to revise the division of the inheritance. In this new division, Ernest Casimir received the districts of Weilburg
and Mehrenberg, the County of Gleiberg and the districts of Kirchheim and Stauf, which had been Otto's. The brothers decided to share the district of Usingen
and Stockheim
. In 1634 in Frankfurt, the brothers reached a compromise with the Lords of hohengeroldseck
over the onwership of Lahr
.
After Sweden and its allies were defeated, Emperor Ferdinand II
terminated the fief of the Nassau territories. On 30 May 1635, a number of Imperial Princes, including the Electors of Brandenburg and Saxony, had closed the Peace of Prague
, which granted amnesty
to most of the princes who had fought against the emperor. The Counts of Nassau, however, had been explicitly excluded from this amnesty. John chose to go into exile ot Strasbourg. In November 1635, imperial commissioner Bertram von Sturm arrived in Nassau and announced an imperial ban on the three brothers. All their territories and possessions were declared foreited. Until 1646, the citizens of Idstein would suffer from hunger, disease and military despotism.
Countess Magdalena Sibylla died in 1644 at the age of 39. On 6 December 1646, John remarried in Strasbourg, with Countess Anna of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Falkenburg (born: 25 May 1625 in Dagsburg
; died: 24 Dezember 1688 in Idstein
), daughter of Count Philip George of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Falkenburg und Countess Anna of Erbach. After the marriage ceremony, John returned to Idstein with his new wife.
In 1653, his eldest son became a Catholic. John disowned him. In 1665, his son George August Samuel
was born. He would become John's successor.
In 1666, the construction of a new church in Idstein began.
In 1668, the plague broke out in Idstein. Countess Anna died at the age of 43.
In 1672, John made an unsuccesful attempt to be raised to the rank of Imperial Prince.
In 1658, Amtmann
Plebanus began persecuting witches.
In 1676, a new wave of witch hunts were conducted in Idstein. Between 3 February 1676 and 31 March 1677, 31 women and 8 men were executed for witchcraft. Persecutions ended when John died on 23 May 1677, at the age of 74.
Saarbrücken
Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....
; died: 23 May 1677 in Idstein
Idstein
Idstein is a town of about 25,000 inhabitants in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Because of its well preserved historical Altstadt it is part of the Deutsche Fachwerkstraße , connecting towns with fine timber-frame buildings and...
) was Count of Nassau and Protestant Regent of Idstein.
Life
His parents were Louis II of Nassau-WeilburgLouis II, Count of Nassau-Weilburg
Louis II of Nassau-Weilburg was a count of Nassau-Weilburg.- Life :Louis was the eldest son of Count Albert of Nassau-Weilburg-Ottweiler and Countess Anna of Nassau-Dillenburg. His family moved in 1575 from Weilburg to Ottweiler...
(1565-1627) and his wife, countess Anna Maria of Hesse-Kassel
Anna Maria of Hesse-Kassel
Anna Maria of Hesse-Kassel was a princess of Hesse-Kassel by birth and by marriage Countess of Nassau-Saarbrücken.- Life :...
(1567-1626). His father had in 1605 reunited all the possessions of the Walram line of the House of Nassau
House of Nassau
The House of Nassau is a diversified aristocratic dynasty in Europe. It is named after the lordship associated with Nassau Castle, located in present-day Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The lords of Nassau were originally titled Count of Nassau, then elevated to the princely class as...
: Saarbrücken, Weilburg and Idstein. His brother was William Louis
William Louis, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken
William Louis of Nassau-Saarbrücken , was a Count of Saarbrücken.- Life :His parents were Louis II of Nassau-Weilburg and Landgravine Anna Maria of Hesse-Kassel...
. When the brothers divided their father's inheritance on 29 January 1629 in Ottweiler, William Louis received the County of Saarbrücken, the district of Ottweiler
Ottweiler
Ottweiler is a municipality, former seat of the district of Neunkirchen, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the river Blies, approx. 7 km north of Neunkirchen, and 25 km northeast of Saarbrücken.The town is notable for the Ottweiler porcelain....
, the Bailiwick of Herbitzheim, and the community of Saarwellingen
Saarwellingen
Saarwellingen is a municipality in the district of Saarlouis in Saarland, Germany. As of 2002 it has a population of 13,940.-External links:*http://www.saarwellingen.de...
. John received the Lordship of Idstein
Idstein
Idstein is a town of about 25,000 inhabitants in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Because of its well preserved historical Altstadt it is part of the Deutsche Fachwerkstraße , connecting towns with fine timber-frame buildings and...
, Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
and Sonnenberg. The two younger brothers, Ernest Casimir
Ernest Casimir, Count of Nassau-Weilburg
Ernest Casimir of Nassau-Weilburg was the founder the younger line of Nassau-Weilburg.He was a son of Louis II, Count of Nassau-Weilburg and his wife Anna Maria of Hesse-Kassel .- Life :...
and Otto received Wehener Grund and the district of Burgschwalbach
Burgschwalbach
Burgschwalbach is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Lahn, in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany....
. However, since they were still minors, William Louis administered those territories as regent.
Shortly thereafter, their territories were put at risk by the Imperial Edict of Restitution
Edict of Restitution
The Edict of Restitution, passed eleven years into the Thirty Years' Wars on March 6, 1629 following Catholic successes at arms, was a belated attempt by Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor to impose and restore the religious and territorial situations reached in the Peace of Augsburg...
of 2 March 1629, when the Prince-Archbishops of Mainz and Trier claimed restitution of church properties that had been confiscated after the Peace of Passau
Peace of Passau
Holy Roman Emperor Charles V had won a victory against Protestantism in the Schmalkaldic War of 1547. Many Protestant princes were unhappy with the religious terms of the Augsburg Interim imposed after this victory. In January 1552, led by Maurice of Saxony, many formed an alliance with Henry II of...
of 1552. On 7 July 1629, the Reichskammergericht
Reichskammergericht
The Reichskammergericht or Imperial Chamber Court was one of two highest judicial institutions in the Holy Roman Empire, the other one being the Aulic Council in Vienna. It was founded in 1495 by the Imperial Diet in Worms...
ruled that the House of Nassau had to return city and castle of Sarrewerden
Sarrewerden
Sarrewerden is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.-References:*...
, Bouquenom and Wieberstweiler to the Bishopric of Metz
Bishopric of Metz
The Bishopric of Metz was a prince-bishopric of the Holy Roman Empire. It was one of the Three Bishoprics that were annexed by France in 1552....
as fiefs of Lorraine. They were allowed to keep their other disputed possessions.
In 1629 he married Sibylla Magdalena of Baden-Durlach (born: 21 July 1605; died: 26 July 1644 in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
), daughter of George Frederick
Georg Friedrich, Margrave of Baden-Durlach
George Frederick of Baden-Durlach was Margrave of Baden-Durlach from 1604 until his abdication in 1622. He also ruled Baden-Baden....
, Margrave of Baden-Durlach and Wild- and Rhinegravine Juliane Ursula of Salm-Neufville.
When, at the end of that year, King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden
Gustav II Adolf has been widely known in English by his Latinized name Gustavus Adolphus Magnus and variously in historical writings also as Gustavus, or Gustavus the Great, or Gustav Adolph the Great,...
appeared the Rhine, presented William Louis, John and Ernest Casimir joined him in his war against the Emperor. After King Gustavus Adolphus had fallen on 16 November 1632, the three counts committed themselves on a meeting of Protestant princes in Heilbronn to continue fighting the Emperor, now under the Swedish Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna
Axel Oxenstierna
Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna af Södermöre , Count of Södermöre, was a Swedish statesman. He became a member of the Swedish Privy Council in 1609 and served as Lord High Chancellor of Sweden from 1612 until his death. He was a confidant of first Gustavus Adolphus and then Queen Christina.Oxenstierna...
. John signed the alliance with France against the Emperor on 5 September 1633, as the representative of the Nassau brothers.
The youngest brother, Otto, died on 24 November 1632. On 11 December, Ernest Casimir came of age and the brothers decided to revise the division of the inheritance. In this new division, Ernest Casimir received the districts of Weilburg
Weilburg
Weilburg is, with just under 14,000 inhabitants, the third biggest town in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany, after Limburg an der Lahn and Bad Camberg.- Location :...
and Mehrenberg, the County of Gleiberg and the districts of Kirchheim and Stauf, which had been Otto's. The brothers decided to share the district of Usingen
Usingen
Usingen is a small town in the Hochtaunuskreis in Hessen, Germany. Until 1972, this residential and school town was the seat of the former district of Usingen.-Location:...
and Stockheim
Stockheim
Stockheim is a municipality in the district of Kronach in Bavaria in Germany....
. In 1634 in Frankfurt, the brothers reached a compromise with the Lords of hohengeroldseck
Hohengeroldseck
The Hohengeroldseck family or House of Geroldseck was a German noble family which arrived in Baden-Baden about 948 AD and ended on the male line in 1636 with the death of Kurfürsten Jacob von und zu Geroldseck. They were heavily involved in mining of ores, especially silver. The Hohengeroldseck...
over the onwership of Lahr
Lahr
Lahr is a city in western Baden-Württemberg, Germany, approximately 38 km north of Freiburg in Breisgau and 100 km south of Karlsruhe...
.
After Sweden and its allies were defeated, Emperor Ferdinand II
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II , a member of the House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Bohemia , and King of Hungary . His rule coincided with the Thirty Years' War.- Life :...
terminated the fief of the Nassau territories. On 30 May 1635, a number of Imperial Princes, including the Electors of Brandenburg and Saxony, had closed the Peace of Prague
Peace of Prague (1635)
The Peace of Prague of 30 May 1635 was a treaty between the Habsburg Emperor Ferdinand II and the Electorate of Saxony representing most of the Protestant states of the Holy Roman Empire...
, which granted amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
to most of the princes who had fought against the emperor. The Counts of Nassau, however, had been explicitly excluded from this amnesty. John chose to go into exile ot Strasbourg. In November 1635, imperial commissioner Bertram von Sturm arrived in Nassau and announced an imperial ban on the three brothers. All their territories and possessions were declared foreited. Until 1646, the citizens of Idstein would suffer from hunger, disease and military despotism.
Countess Magdalena Sibylla died in 1644 at the age of 39. On 6 December 1646, John remarried in Strasbourg, with Countess Anna of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Falkenburg (born: 25 May 1625 in Dagsburg
Dabo
Dabo is a Japanese rapper. He first appeared on the Japanese hip-hop scene in the 1990s, collaborating in a Shakkazombie song, "Tomo ni ikkou". Since 2002, he has released three albums: Hitman , Diamond , and The Force...
; died: 24 Dezember 1688 in Idstein
Idstein
Idstein is a town of about 25,000 inhabitants in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Because of its well preserved historical Altstadt it is part of the Deutsche Fachwerkstraße , connecting towns with fine timber-frame buildings and...
), daughter of Count Philip George of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Falkenburg und Countess Anna of Erbach. After the marriage ceremony, John returned to Idstein with his new wife.
In 1653, his eldest son became a Catholic. John disowned him. In 1665, his son George August Samuel
George August, Count of Nassau-Idstein
George August Samuel of Nassau-Idstein , was from 1677 and Graf in 1688 until his death in Count of Nassau-Idstein. He worked mainly in Wiesbaden.- Life :...
was born. He would become John's successor.
In 1666, the construction of a new church in Idstein began.
In 1668, the plague broke out in Idstein. Countess Anna died at the age of 43.
In 1672, John made an unsuccesful attempt to be raised to the rank of Imperial Prince.
Witch hunts
In 1630, witch hunts began in his territory. John ordered the pastors to preach against the havoc brought about by witches.In 1658, Amtmann
Amtmann
Amtmann can be :*a feudal, administrative and/or gubernatorial title, such as Bezirksamtmann . Amtmann, ammann and amman were a kind of bailiff in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and in Brussels....
Plebanus began persecuting witches.
In 1676, a new wave of witch hunts were conducted in Idstein. Between 3 February 1676 and 31 March 1677, 31 women and 8 men were executed for witchcraft. Persecutions ended when John died on 23 May 1677, at the age of 74.
Successor
John was succeeded by his son George August Samuel, who was only 12 years old when John died. Count John Casimir of Leiningen acted as regent. John described the office of a regent in his "political testament" as a taks for with the regent must later give account before God.Issue
John had a total of 25 children with his two wives, including:- Gustav Adolph (1632-1664)
- Louis Frederick (1633-1656)
- John (1638-1658)
- Charles (1649-1651)
- George William (1656-1657)
- Philip Louis (1662-1664)
- George August SamuelGeorge August, Count of Nassau-IdsteinGeorge August Samuel of Nassau-Idstein , was from 1677 and Graf in 1688 until his death in Count of Nassau-Idstein. He worked mainly in Wiesbaden.- Life :...
(1665-1721), married Henriette Dorothea of Oettingen (1672-1728), daughter of Prince Albert Ernest I of Oettingen - Ottile Anna (1630-1632)
- Bernhardine Sofie (1634-1642)
- Juliane Sabine (1639-2. October 1639)
- Christine Elizabeth (1651-1676)
- Eleanor Louise (1653-1677)
- Ernestine (1654-1655)
- Johanette (1657-1733), married Count Christian Louis of WaldeckChristian Louis, Count of WaldeckCount Christian Louis of Waldeck was from 1645 Count of Waldeck-Wildungen and from 1692 Count of Waldeck and Pyrmont....
(d. 1706) - Sibylle Charlotte (1658-1660)
- Dorothea Amalie (1661-1740) Count Louis Frederick of Wied (d. 1709)
External links
- History of the witch hunts in Nassau (side entry)
- tempo.ifrance.com
- The witch hunt in Idstein with a list of the victims of the witch hunts in Idstein 1676-1677