House of Nassau
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The House of Nassau is a diversified dynasty in Europe. It is named after the German lordship associated with the castle of Nassau, which is today located in the Rhineland-Palatinate. They were originally titled Count of Nassau, then elevated to the princely class as princely counts. At the end of the Holy Roman Empire, they proclaimed themselves Duke of Nassau.
The first person to be called Count of Nassau was Walram I of Nassau, who lived in the second half of the 12th century. His grandsons Walram II and Otto I split the Nassau possessions. The descendants of Walram became known as the Walram Line, which became important in the Nassau county. The descendants of Otto became known as the Otton Line, which inherited parts of the Nassau county, France and the Netherlands.
In 1783, the chiefs of various branches of the House of Nassau sealed the Nassau Family Pact (Erbverein) to regulate future succession in their states.
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[edit] Orange-Nassau
The House of Orange-Nassau stems from the Ottonian Line. The second person was Engelbert I, who offered his services to the Duke of Burgundy, married a Dutch noblewoman and inherited lands in the Netherlands, with the barony of Breda as the core of the Dutch possessions.
The importance of the Nassaus grew throughout the 15th and 16th century. Hendrik III of Nassau-Breda was appointed stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht by Charles of Ghent in the beginning of the 16th century. Henry was succeeded by René of Châlon-Orange in 1538, who was, as his full name stated, Prince of Orange. When René died prematurely on the battlefield in 1544 his possessions passed to his nephew, William I of Orange. From then on the family members called themselves "Orange-Nassau."
[edit] Nassau-Siegen
The branch of Nassau-Siegen was a collateral line of the House of Nassau, and ruled in Siegen. The first Count of Nassau in Siegen was Count Henry of Nassau-Siegen (d. 1343), the elder son of Count Otto I of Nassau. His son Count Otto II of Nassau ruled also in Dillenburg.
In 1606 the House was separated from the House of Nassau-Dillenburg. After the main line of the House became extinct in 1734, Emperor Charles VI transferred the county to the House of Orange-Nassau.
[edit] Counts and Princes of Nassau-Siegen
- 1606-1611 John I
- 1611-1623 Henry
- 1623-1638 John II
- 1638-1674 George Frederick
- 1674-1679 John Maurice
- 1679-1691 William Maurice
- 1691-1699 John Francis Desideratus
- 1699-1707 William Hyacinth
- 1707-1722 Frederick William Adolf
- 1722-1734 Frederick William
[edit] Nassau-Weilburg
Nassau-Weilburg was a state in what currently is Germany, a state that existed from 1344 to 1816. The sovereigns of this house afterwards governed Nassau until 1866 and from 1890 the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The branch of Nassau-Weilburg ultimately became rulers of Luxembourg.
[edit] Counts of Nassau-Weilburg
- 1344-1371: John I
- 1371-1429: Philipp I
- 1429-1442: Philipp II and John II
- 1442-1492: Philipp II
- 1492-1523: Louis I
- 1523-1559: Philipp III
- 1559-1593: Albrecht
- 1559-1602: Philipp IV
- 1593-1625: Louis II
- 1625-1629: William Louis, John IV and Ernst Casimir
- 1629-1655: Ernst Casimir
- 1655-1675: Frederick
- 1675-1688: John Ernst
[edit] Princely counts of Nassau-Weilburg
- 1688-1719: John Ernst
- 1719-1753: Charles August
- 1753-1788: Charles Christian
- 1788-1816: Frederick William
- 1816: Wilhelm
[edit] Dukes of Nassau
1866 Prusia annexed the Duchy of Nassau as the duke had been an ally of Austria in the Second Austro-Prussian War.
From a morganatic marriage, contracted in 1868, descends a family, see Count of Merenberg, which in 1907 was declared non-dynastic. Had they not been excluded from the succession, they would have inherited the headship of the house in 1912.
