Henry II of Nassau

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Henry II of Nassau (Dutch: Hendrik II "de Rijke") (1180–25 January 1251), Count of Nassau. He was elder son of Count Walram I of Nassau and Kunigunde of Ziegenhain.

Henry II succeeded in 1198 as a count of Nassau and argued starting from 1240 with the Teutonic Knights about the fraternal inheritance, got the Reichsvogtei Wiesbaden and the Emperial special district (Königssondergau} as Reichslehen and builds the castle Sonnenberg for the protection against the archbishops of Mainz. He had to recognize later the sovereignty of the archbishops of Mainz for Sonnenberg. He was a faithful follower of Hohenstaufen dynasty. However in 1209-1211 he supported Emperor Otto IV, has come over to the party of Frederick II and kept in 1212-1214 imprisoned Otto IV and his opponent archbishop Diether of Trier, who late Montabaur established, in order to protect the possession of archbishop on the right side of Rhine from Nassau.

He became marshal and Schenk of archbishop Engelbert of Cologne, found thereby protection against the archbishops of Mainz and Trier, had him 1224 half of victories transfers and builded the cathedral in Limburg. He supported 1247 Anti-King William II of Holland, kept confirmed for his all imperial possessions and a right of coining money. 1248 began the Dernbach's feud in the context of the Thuringia hereditary war against the aristocracy families of the Herborner Marks, which he wanted to subject completely and justified thereby a century-long contrast to Hessen. He built the castle Dillenburg.