Juliana of Stolberg
Encyclopedia
Juliana, Countess of Stolberg-Wernigerode (15 February 1506, Stolberg, Saxony-Anhalt – 18 June 1580) was the mother of William the Silent
William the Silent
William I, Prince of Orange , also widely known as William the Silent , or simply William of Orange , was the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish that set off the Eighty Years' War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1648. He was born in the House of...

, the leader of the Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 revolt against the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 in the 16th century.

Juliana was born in Stolberg as the daughter of Bodo VIII, Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode
Bodo VIII, Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode
Count Bodo VIII of Stolberg-Wernigerode was Count of Stolberg and Hohnstein and Lord of Wernigerode from 1511 until his death.- Life :...

 and Anna of Eppstein-Königstein. She was raised a Roman Catholic but changed her religion twice, first to Lutheranism
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...

 and later to Calvinism
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...

. She, along with her second husband, was a convinced Protestant and raised their children in the Protestant ways. After the death of her second husband in 1559 she remained living at Dillenburg castle, now belonging to her second son John
John VI of Nassau-Dillenburg
Count John VI of Nassau-Dillenburg was a Count of Nassau in Dillenburg. Other names he had were Jan VI or Jan de Oude....

, where she died in 1580.

Her entire life, she kept close to her children, especially William
William the Silent
William I, Prince of Orange , also widely known as William the Silent , or simply William of Orange , was the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish that set off the Eighty Years' War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1648. He was born in the House of...

. When William began his rebellion against Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....

 she supported her son morally and financially. Because of this financial support, William was able to campaign against Spain in the Netherlands.

Marriages and children

In 1523 Juliana married Philip II of Hanau-Münzenberg (d. 1529). From this marriage five children were born:
  1. Reinhard (born: 10 April 1524; died 12 April 1524)
  2. Catherine (born: 26 March 1525; died 20 August 1581), married John IV, Count of Wied
  3. Philip III
    Philip III, Count of Hanau-Münzenberg
    Count Philip III of Hanau-Münzenberg ruled the County of Hanau-Münzenberg from 1529 until his death.- Life :...

     (1526-1561), Count of Hanau-Münzenberg
  4. Reinhard (born: 8 April 1528; died: 11 October 1554)
  5. Juliana (born: 30 March 1529; died: 8 July 1595), married Thomas, Wild- and Rhinegrave of Salm-Kyrburg (1529-1549)


On 20 September 1531 Juliana married William, Count of Nassau
William I, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg
William of Nassau was a count of Nassau-Dillenburg from the House of Nassau. He was called William the Rich....

. From this marriage twelve children were born:
  1. William I of Orange
    William the Silent
    William I, Prince of Orange , also widely known as William the Silent , or simply William of Orange , was the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish that set off the Eighty Years' War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1648. He was born in the House of...

     (1533–1584)
  2. Hermanna (1534 - † young)
  3. John VI "the Elder"
    John VI of Nassau-Dillenburg
    Count John VI of Nassau-Dillenburg was a Count of Nassau in Dillenburg. Other names he had were Jan VI or Jan de Oude....

     (1536–1606)
  4. Louis of Nassau
    Louis of Nassau
    Louis of Nassau was the third son of William, Count of Nassau and Juliana of Stolberg, and the younger brother of Prince William of Orange Nassau....

     (1538–1574)
  5. Maria
    Maria of Nassau (1539-1599)
    Maria , Countess of Nassau, Katzenelnbogen, Vianden and Dietz, was a Dutch noblewoman.-Life:...

     (1539–1599) She married William IV, Count of Berg
  6. Adolf (1540–1568)
  7. Anna (1541–1616). She married Albrecht, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken
  8. Elisabeth
    Elisabeth of Nassau-Dillenburg
    Countess Elisabeth of Nassau-Dillenburg was a daughter of William I, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg and Juliana of Stolberg and was one of the sisters of William the Silent....

     (1542–1603). She married Conrad, Count of Solms-Braunfels
  9. Katharine (1543–1624). She married Günther XLI, Count of Schwarzburg-Arnstadt
  10. Juliana (1546–1588). She married Albrecht VII, Count of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
    Albrecht VII of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
    Albrecht VII of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was Count of Schwarzburg and founder of the Line of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, which later received the title of Prince...

  11. Magdalene (1547–1633).She married Wolfgang, Count of Hohenlohe-Weickersheim
  12. Henry (1550–1574)


Juliana of Stolberg had in total 17 children and 123 grandchildren.
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