John Ernst of Nassau-Weilburg
Encyclopedia
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 :...
, June 13, 1664 – Heidelberg
Heidelberg
-Early history:Between 600,000 and 200,000 years ago, "Heidelberg Man" died at nearby Mauer. His jaw bone was discovered in 1907; with scientific dating, his remains were determined to be the earliest evidence of human life in Europe. In the 5th century BC, a Celtic fortress of refuge and place of...
, February 27, 1719) was an Imperial Generalfeldmarschall
Generalfeldmarschall
Field Marshal or Generalfeldmarschall in German, was a rank in the armies of several German states and the Holy Roman Empire; in the Austrian Empire, the rank Feldmarschall was used...
, from 1675 to 1688 Count and from 1688 till his death Prince (Fürst) of Nassau-Weilburg.
John Ernst was the eldest son of Frederick of Nassau-Weilburg (1640–1675) and Christiane Elisabeth von Sayn-Wittgenstein (1646–1678). After the death of his parents, his regents were Johann von Nassau-Idstein and after his death, Johann Ludwig von Nassau-Ottweiler.
In Juli 1679 John Ernst started his studies at the University of Tübingen. Between 1681 and 1682 he stayed at the court of King Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
in the Palace of Versailles
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
.
John Ernst married on April 3, 1683 Maria Polyxena of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hartenburg (February 7, 1662 - April 22, 1725).
They had 9 children :
- Friedrich Ludwig (1683–1703), killed in the Battle of SpeyerbachBattle of SpeyerbachThe Battle of Speyerbach took place on 15 November 1703 in the War of the Spanish Succession. A French army besieging Landau surprised and defeated a German relief army near Speyer.- Prelude :...
- Charles AugustCharles August, Prince of Nassau-WeilburgCharles August was from 1719 to 1753 Prince of Nassau-Weilburg.Karl August was the second son of John Ernst of Nassau-Weilburg and Maria Polyxena of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hartenburg. In his youth, he works as a diplomat for Saxony; for a while he was the Saxon ambassador to Paris...
(1685–1753) - Maria Polyxena (1686–1687)
- Johanna Louise (1687–1688)
- Karl Ernst (1689–1709)
- Heinrich Ludwig (1690–1691)
- Magdalena (1691–1725)
- Albertina (1693–1748)
- a daughter (1694)
John Ernst became the only ruler of Nassau-Weilburg when his brother Frederick Ludwig was killed in 1684 during the siege of Buda
Buda
For detailed information see: History of Buda CastleBuda is the western part of the Hungarian capital Budapest on the west bank of the Danube. The name Buda takes its name from the name of Bleda the Hun ruler, whose name is also Buda in Hungarian.Buda comprises about one-third of Budapest's...
. His territories on the leftbank of the Rhine were occupied by France and only returned after the Treaty of Ryswick
Treaty of Ryswick
The Treaty of Ryswick or Ryswyck was signed on 20 September 1697 and named after Ryswick in the Dutch Republic. The treaty settled the Nine Years' War, which pitted France against the Grand Alliance of England, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and the United Provinces.Negotiations started in May...
in 1697.
John Ernst had an important military career. In 1684 he commanded a Dragoon
Dragoon
The word dragoon originally meant mounted infantry, who were trained in horse riding as well as infantry fighting skills. However, usage altered over time and during the 18th century, dragoons evolved into conventional light cavalry units and personnel...
regiment in the service of the Landgrave of Hessen-Kassel. In 1688, at the start of the Nine Years' War, he defended Koblenz
Koblenz
Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...
. Later he participated in the Siege of Mainz (1689), the Battle of Fleurus (1690)
Battle of Fleurus (1690)
The Battle of Fleurus, fought on 1 July 1690, was a major engagement of the Nine Years' War. In a bold envelopment the Duc de Luxembourg, commanding Louis XIV’s army of some 35,000 men, soundly defeated Prince Waldeck’s Allied force of approximately 38,000 men comprising mainly Dutch, German, and...
and the Battle of Landen
Battle of Landen
The Battle of Landen , in the current Belgian province of Flemish Brabant, was a battle in the Nine Years' War, fought in present-day Belgium on 29 July 1693 between the French army of Marshal Luxembourg and the Allied army of King William III of England...
(1693).
In September 1696 John Ernst entered as general in the service of the Electoral Palatinate als General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
, which enraged his former employer Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel
Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel
Karl I was Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel from 1670 till his death.Born at Kassel, he was the son of Wilhelm VI of Hesse-Kassel and Hedwig Sophia of Brandenburg, daughter of Georg Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg. After the early death of his father, his mother ruled as regent until 1675...
.
After the Peace of Ryswick, John Ernst became governor of the Palatinate city of Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
.
In 1701, at the outbreak of the War of Spanish Succession, John Ernst raised an army, participated in the taking of Landau
Landau
Landau or Landau in der Pfalz is an autonomous city surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town , a long-standing cultural centre, and a market and shopping town, surrounded by vineyards and wine-growing villages of the...
in 1702 and the consequent chasing of an army under Marshal of France
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
Tallard
Camille d'Hostun, duc de Tallard
Camille d'Hostun de la Baume, duc de Tallard was a French noble, diplomat and military commander, who became Marshal of France.-Military career:...
from the Hunsrück
Hunsrück
The Hunsrück is a low mountain range in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the river valleys of the Moselle , the Nahe , and the Rhine . The Hunsrück is continued by the Taunus mountains on the eastern side of the Rhine. In the north behind the Moselle it is continued by the Eifel...
. For this achievement, he was made an Imperial Generalfeldmarschall
Generalfeldmarschall
Field Marshal or Generalfeldmarschall in German, was a rank in the armies of several German states and the Holy Roman Empire; in the Austrian Empire, the rank Feldmarschall was used...
.
When Prince Eugene of Savoy marched in 1703 to Bavaria against the French Marshal Villars, John Ernst stayed on the Rhine to defend Landau against Tallard. This led on November 15, 1703 to the Battle of Speyerbach
Battle of Speyerbach
The Battle of Speyerbach took place on 15 November 1703 in the War of the Spanish Succession. A French army besieging Landau surprised and defeated a German relief army near Speyer.- Prelude :...
. It was a terrible defeat. 8000 men were lost and John Ernst's eldest son, Colonel Frederick Ludwig of Nassau-Weilburg was killed. Hereafter, John Ernst never fought a major again and withdrew from active service all together in 1706. He was Großhofmeister of the Elector Palatinate until 1716 and returned to Weilburg, where he died in 1719.
External links
- http://worldroots.com/cgi-bin/gasteldb?@I27318@ Worldroots
- http://www.weilburg-lahn.info/literat/lit_sa_6.htm Weilburg