Count Palatine Wolfgang of Zweibrücken (german: Pfalzgraf Wolfgang von Zweibrücken; 26 September 1526 – 11 June 1569) was member of the

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate ...

family of the Counts Palatine and Duke of

Zweibrücken Zweibrücken (; french: Deux-Ponts, ; Palatinate German: ''Zweebrigge'', ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach river. Name The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; old ...

from 1532. With the support of his

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

, his uncle

Rupert Rupert may refer to: People * Rupert (name), various people known by the given name or surname "Rupert" Places Canada * Rupert, Quebec, a village *Rupert Bay, a large bay located on the south-east shore of James Bay *Rupert River, Quebec *Rupert ...

(later made the Count of Veldenz), Wolfgang introduced the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

to Zweibrücken as early as 1537. Pfalzgraf Ludwig II

Biography

He was the only son of Louis II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken and his wife

Elisabeth of Hesse Elisabeth of Hesse (13 February 1539 – 14 March 1582) was a German noblewoman. She was a daughter of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse and Christine of Saxony, daughter of George, Duke of Saxony. On 8 July 1560 she married Louis VI, Elector Pal ...

, daughter of William I, Landgrave of Hesse. His father died in 1532, so the regency of Palatinate-Zweibrücken passed to Louis' younger brother

until 1543. In 1557 Wolfgang received the territory of

Palatinate-Neuburg Palatinate-Neuburg (german: Herzogtum Pfalz-Neuburg) was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire, founded in 1505 by a branch of the House of Wittelsbach. Its capital was Neuburg an der Donau. Its area was about 2,750 km², with a population of ...

in accordance with the Contract of

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German: ') is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914, of which roughly a quarter consisted of students ...

. In 1548 the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

Charles V occupied his

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

territories and reintroduced Catholic practices. This imposition ended in 1552. The Peace of Augsburg of 1555 ended the religious conflict, and in 1557 several ecclesiastical states in Germany were secularised, a few of which Wolfgang obtained. In 1566 he served as a cavalry officer in the

Turkish Wars A series of military conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and various European states took place from the Late Middle Ages up through the early 20th century. The earliest conflicts began during the Byzantine–Ottoman wars, waged in Anatolia ...

. In 1569 he came to the aid of French

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster B ...

with 14,000 mercenaries during the "Third War" of the

French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion is the term which is used in reference to a period of civil war between French Catholics and Protestants, commonly called Huguenots, which lasted from 1562 to 1598. According to estimates, between two and four mil ...

(his intervention was financed by Queen Elizabeth I of England). He invaded

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The ...

, but was killed in the conflict. He was buried in Meisenheim.

Succession

When the young Wolfgang's father died, his uncle

had served as the child's

. In 1543, when Wolfgang reached majority and took on the responsibility of office, he enacted the Marburg Contract, giving Rupert the

County of Veldenz The County of Veldenz was a principality in the contemporary Land Rhineland-Palatinate. The county was located partially between Kaiserslautern, Sponheim and Zweibrücken, partially on the Mosel in the Archbishopric of Trier. A municipality o ...

. After his death, Wolfgang's remaining land was split among his five sons who then created three branches: Philip Louis ( House of Palatinate-Neuburg), John ( House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken) and Charles (

House of Palatinate-Birkenfeld The House of Palatinate-Birkenfeld ( German: ''Pfalz-Birkenfeld''), later Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, was the name of a collateral line of the Palatine Wittelsbachs. The Counts Palatine from this line initially ruled over only a relativel ...

). Otto Henry and Frederick had no surviving sons. The House of Palatinate-Neuburg inherited the

Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate (german: Kurpfalz) or the Palatinate (), officially the Electorate of the Palatinate (), was a state that was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine o ...

in 1685 and by its cadet branch Palatinate-Sulzbach also

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

in 1777. The House of Palatinate-Birkenfeld then inherited the

and Bavaria in 1799. The House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken contributed to the monarchy in Sweden from 1654 onwards through its cadet branch Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Kleeburg.

Family and children

He was married in 1545 to

Anna of Hesse Anna of Hesse (26 October 1529, Kassel – 10 July 1591, Meisenheim) was a princess of Hesse by birth and marriage Countess Palatine of Zweibrücken. Early life Anna was a daughter of Landgrave Philip I of Hesse (1501–1567) from his mar ...

, daughter of

Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse (13 November 1504 – 31 March 1567), nicknamed (in English: "the Magnanimous"), was a German nobleman and champion of the Protestant Reformation, notable for being one of the most important of the early Protesta ...

. They had the following children: * Countess Palatine Christine (1546 – 1619). * Philipp Ludwig of Pfalz-Neuburg (1547–1614), married Anna of Cleves (1552–1632), daughter of William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg. Their grandson was Philip William, Elector Palatine. *

John I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken John I of Zweibrücken (known as the Lame; german: Pfalzgraf Johann I von Zweibrücken; 8 May 1550 – 12 August 1604) was Count Palatine and Duke of Zweibrücken during 1569–1604. He was born in Meisenheim as the second son of Wolfgang, ...

(1550–1604), married his sister-in-law Magdalene (1553–1633), daughter of William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg. Their grandson was

Charles X Gustav of Sweden Charles X Gustav, also Carl Gustav ( sv, Karl X Gustav; 8 November 1622 – 13 February 1660), was King of Sweden from 1654 until his death. He was the son of John Casimir, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg and Catherine of Sweden. Afte ...

. * Countess Palatine Dorothea Agnes (1551–1552). * Countess Palatine Elisabeth (1553–1554). * Countess Palatine Anna (1554–1576). * Countess Palatine Elisabeth (1555–1625). * Otto Henry, Count Palatine of Sulzbach (1556–1604), married Dorothea Maria of

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Württ ...

. * Frederick, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Vohenstrauss-Parkstein (1557–1597), married Katharina Sophie of

Legnica Legnica (Polish: ; german: Liegnitz, szl, Lignica, cz, Lehnice, la, Lignitium) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River (left tributary of the Oder) and the Czarna Woda. Between 1 June 197 ...

. * Countess Palatine Barbara (1559 – 1618), married on 7 November 1591 Gottfried, Count of Oettingen-Oettingen. *

Charles I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld Charles I of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld (4 September 1560 – 16 December 1600), Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke in Bavaria, Count to Veldenz and Sponheim was the Duke of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld from 1569 until 1600. Life Charles was born in Neu ...

(1560–1600), married Dorothea of Brunswick-Lüneburg and became ancestor to the line of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld and the Dukes in Bavaria and later

Kings of Bavaria Kings or King's may refer to: *Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'' ...

. * Countess Palatine Maria Elisabeth (1561–1629), married in 1585 Emich XII, Count of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Hardenburg. * Countess Palatine Susanna (1564–1565).

Ancestors

References

* Grosses vollständiges Universal-Lexicon

External links

Die Genealogie der Wittelsbacher
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfgang, Count Palatine of Zweibrucken Wolfgang of Zweibrücken Wolfgang of Zweibrücken Counts Palatine of Neuburg Counts Palatine of Sulzbach House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken House of Wittelsbach Military personnel killed in action Christians of the Crusades Counts Palatine of Zweibrücken People of the French Wars of Religion Burials in Rhineland-Palatinate