The County of Nassau was a German state within the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

from the period of the formal recognition of the countly title in 1159 (though "de facto" sovereignty began in 1125) until the declaration of the

Duchy of Nassau The Duchy of Nassau (German language, German: ''Herzogtum Nassau'') was an independent state between 1806 and 1866, located in what became the Germany, German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse. It was a States of the Confederation of th ...

in 1806 with the creation of the

Confederation of the Rhine The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine or Rhine Confederation, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austrian Empire, Austria ...

. Through sucession, it had many counts ruling parts of it, mostly or completely independent of one another. After many of these counts were promoted to princely status, the County was promoted and thus was known as a Princely County or as the Principality of Nassau.

Origins

Nassau, originally a county, developed on the lower

Lahn The Lahn () is a , right (or eastern) tributary of the Rhine in Germany. Its course passes through the States of Germany, federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia (23.0 km), Hesse (165.6 km), and Rhineland-Palatinate (57.0 km). ...

river in what is known today as

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

. The town of Nassau was founded in 915.

Dudo of Laurenburg Dudo of Laurenburg, , († before 1124),Hesselfelt (1965).Van de Venne & Stols (1937). was probably Count of Laurenburg and is considered the founder of the House of Nassau. The House of Nassau would become one of the reigning families in Germ ...

held Nassau as a

fiefdom A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

as granted by the

Bishopric of Worms The Prince-Bishopric of Worms was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire. Located on both banks of the Rhine around Worms just north of the union of that river with the Neckar, it was largely surrounded by the Electorate of the ...

. His son, Rupert, built the

Nassau Castle Nassau Castle, located in Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany and named after it, was a castle the ancestrial seat of the House of Nassau and also its namesake, also it is the namesake of the historical Nassau realms of the County and Duchy of ...

there around 1125, declaring himself "Count of Nassau". This title was not officially acknowledged by the Bishop of Worms until 1159 under the rule of Rupert's son, Walram. By 1159, the County of Nassau effectively claimed rights of taxation, toll collection, and justice, at which point it can be considered to become a state. The Nassauers held the territory between the

Taunus The Taunus () is a mountain range in Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, located north west of Frankfurt and north of Wiesbaden. The tallest peak in the range is '' Großer Feldberg'' at 878 m; other notable peaks are '' Kleiner Feldberg' ...

and the

Westerwald The Westerwald (; literally 'Western forest') is a low mountain range on the right bank of the river Rhine in the States of Germany, German federal states of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and North Rhine-Westphalia. It is a part of the Rhenish Ma ...

at the lower and middle Lahn. By 1128, they acquired the

bailiwick A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. In English, the original French combi ...

of the

, which had numerous rights in the area, and thus created a link between their heritage at the lower Lahn and their possessions near

Siegen Siegen () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is located in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in the Arnsberg (region), Arnsberg region. The university town (n ...

. In the middle of the 12th century, this relationship was strengthened by the acquisition of parts of the Hesse-Thüringen feudal kingdom, namely the '' Herborner Mark'', the ''Kalenberger Zent'' and the Court of Heimau (

Löhnberg Löhnberg is a municipality north of Weilburg in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Löhnberg lies between Wetzlar and the district seat of Limburg an der Lahn. Neighbouring communities Löhnberg borders in the ...

). Closely linked to this was the "Lordship of Westerwald", also in Nassau's possession at the time. At the end of the 12th century, the House acquired the ''Reichshof''

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden (; ) is the capital of the German state of Hesse, and the second-largest Hessian city after Frankfurt am Main. With around 283,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 24th-largest city. Wiesbaden form ...

, an important base in the southwest. In 1255, after the Counts of Nassau acquired the estates of

Weilburg Weilburg () is, with just under 13,000 inhabitants, the third biggest town in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany, after Limburg an der Lahn and Bad Camberg. Geography Location The community lies in the Lahn valley between the Wes ...

, the sons of Count

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

divided Nassau for the first time. Walram II received the county of

Nassau-Weilburg The House of Nassau-Weilburg, a branch of the House of Nassau, ruled a division of the County of Nassau, which was a state in what is now Germany, then part of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1344 to 1806. On 17 July 1806, upon the dissolution of t ...

. From 1328 on, his younger brother,

Otto I Otto I (23 November 912 – 7 May 973), known as Otto the Great ( ) or Otto of Saxony ( ), was East Francia, East Frankish (Kingdom of Germany, German) king from 936 and Holy Roman Emperor from 962 until his death in 973. He was the eldest son o ...

, held the estates north of the

river, namely the County of Nassau-Siegen and

Nassau-Dillenburg The County of Nassau was a German state within the Holy Roman Empire from the period of the formal recognition of the countly title in 1159 (though "de facto" sovereignty began in 1125) until the declaration of the Duchy of Nassau in 1806 with ...

. The boundary line was essentially the Lahn, with Otto receiving the northern part of the county with the cities of

Dillenburg Dillenburg, officially Oranienstadt Dillenburg, is a town in Hesse's Gießen region in Germany. The town was formerly the seat of the old Dillkreis district, which is now part of the Lahn-Dill-Kreis. The town lies on the German- Dutch holiday roa ...

, Herborn and

Haiger Haiger is a country town in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. The nearest city is Siegen, about 25 km north of Haiger. Geography Location Haiger lies about 5 km west of Dillenburg, and 20 km southeast of Siegen on the eastern ...

and Walram retaining the section south of the river, including the cities of

and

Idstein Idstein () is a town of about 25,000 inhabitants in the Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt (region), Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Because of its well preserved historical Altstadt (Old Town) it is part of the ''Deutsch ...

County of Nassau-Weilburg

Walram's son

Adolf Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo, and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name with German origins. The name is a compound derived from the Old High German ''Athalwolf'' (or ''Hadulf''), a composition of ''athal'', or ''adal'', mean ...

became

King of Germany This is a list of monarchs who ruled over East Francia, and the Kingdom of Germany (), from Treaty of Verdun, the division of the Francia, Frankish Empire in 843 and Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire in ...

in 1292. His son Count

Gerlach Gerlach is a male forename of Germanic origin, variations of which exist in many Germanic and Romance languages. Like many other early Germanic names, it is dithematic, consisting of two meaningful constituents put together. In this case, those ...

abdicated in 1344 and the county was divided under his sons in 1355 *County of

, again divided from 1442 to 1574 **County of Nassau-Saarbrücken (Elder) **County of Nassau-Weilburg *County of Nassau-Wiesbaden, again divided from 1480 to 1509 **County of Nassau-Idstein **County of Nassau-Wiesbaden fell back to Nassau-Weilburg in 1605 *County of Nassau-Sonnenberg, partitioned among Nassau-Wiesbaden and Nassau-Weilburg in 1405 In 1605, all parts of Nassau-Weilburg were again unified under Count Louis II; however, after his death in 1627, his sons divided the county again *County of Nassau-Idstein, fell to Nassau-Ottweiler in 1721 *County of Nassau-Saarbrücken (Younger), divided again in 1640 **County of Nassau-Saarbrücken, fell to Nassau-Ottweiler in 1723 **County of Nassau-Ottweiler, fell to

Nassau-Usingen Nassau-Usingen was a county of the Holy Roman Empire in the Upper Rhenish Circle that became a principality in 1688. The origin of the county lies in the medieval county of Weilnau that was acquired by the counts of Nassau-Weilburg in 1602. Tha ...

in 1728 **County of Nassau-Usingen, Principality in 1688 *County of Nassau-Weilburg (Younger) After Nassau-Usingen had inherited Nassau-Ottweiler with former Nassau-Idstein and Nassau-Saarbrücken, it was reunified with Nassau-Weilburg and raised to the

in 1806.

County of Nassau-Dillenburg

After the death of Count Otto I, his county was divided between his sons in 1303: *County of Nassau-Dillenburg, fell to Nassau-Siegen in 1328 *County of Nassau-Hadamar (Elder), fell to Nassau-Dillenburg in 1394 *County of Nassau-Siegen, called Nassau-Dillenburg from 1328 on, again got divided from 1341 to 1561: **County of Nassau-Beilstein (Elder) **County of Nassau-Dillenburg (Elder)–1606) In 1504, Henry III of Nassau-Dillenburg inherited the county's estates at

Breda Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...

in the

Duchy of Brabant The Duchy of Brabant, a Imperial State, state of the Holy Roman Empire, was established in 1183. It developed from the Landgraviate of Brabant of 1085–1183, and formed the heart of the historic Low Countries. The Duchy comprised part of the Bu ...

, while his younger brother

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

became Count of Nassau-Dillenburg in 1516. After the son of Henry III,

René of Châlon René (''born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) is a common first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus. René is the masculine form of the name (Renée being the feminine ...

died in 1544, Count William's eldest son

William the Silent William the Silent or William the Taciturn (; 24 April 153310 July 1584), more commonly known in the Netherlands as William of Orange (), was the leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish Habsburg Netherlands, Habsburgs that set off the ...

became

Prince of Orange Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by the stadtholders of, and then the heirs apparent of ...

and Lord of Breda,

Stadtholder In the Low Countries, a stadtholder ( ) was a steward, first appointed as a medieval official and ultimately functioning as a national leader. The ''stadtholder'' was the replacement of the duke or count of a province during the Burgundian and ...

in the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

from 1559 on. His younger brother, John VI, again reunited all Nassau-Dillenburg possessions in 1561, though the county was again divided after his death in 1606. *County of Nassau-Hadamar (Younger), Principality in 1650, fell to Nassau-Diez in 1743 *County of Nassau-Siegen, (1607–23), again got divided from 1623 to 1734: ** County of Nassau-Siegen (Protestant), Principality in 1664, became extinct in 1734 ** County of Nassau-Siegen (Catholic), Principality, fell to Nassau-Diez in 1743 *County of Nassau-Dillenburg, fell to Nassau-Beilstein in 1620 *County of Nassau-Beilstein (Younger), called Nassau-Dillenburg (Younger) from 1620 on, Principality in 1652, fell to Nassau-Dietz in 1739 *County of Nassau-Dietz, fell to

Joachim Murat Joachim Murat ( , also ; ; ; 25 March 1767 – 13 October 1815) was a French Army officer and statesman who served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Under the French Empire he received the military titles of Marshal of the ...

Grand Duchy of Berg The Grand Duchy of Berg (), also known as the Grand Duchy of Berg and Cleves, was a territorial grand duchy established in 1806 by Napoleon after his victory at the Battle of Austerlitz (1805) on territories between the French Empire at the Rhi ...

after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 The Counts of Nassau-Dietz, descendants of William Frederick were stadtholders of

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

and

Drenthe Drenthe () is a province of the Netherlands located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Overijssel to the south, Friesland to the west, Groningen to the north, and the German state of Lower Saxony to the east. As of Jan ...

and

Princes of Orange Prince of Orange (or Princess of Orange if the holder is female) is a title associated with the sovereign Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France and subsequently held by the Stadtholder, stadtholders of, and then the Heir a ...

from 1702 on. When they lost their Dutch possessions during the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, they were compensated with the

Principality of Nassau-Orange-Fulda Nassau-Orange-Fulda (sometimes also named ''Fulda and Corvey'') was a short-lived principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1803 to 1806. It was created for William Frederick, the son and heir of William V, Prince of Orange, the ousted stadthol ...

. Though they lost their German possessions in 1806, the

House of Orange-Nassau The House of Orange-Nassau (, ), also known as the House of Orange because of the prestige of the princely title of Orange, also referred to as the Fourth House of Orange in comparison with the other noble houses that held the Principality of Or ...

, through female succession, was the reigning house of the Grand Duchy of

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

until 1890 and is still the royal house of the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Rulers

House of Nassau The House of Nassau is the name of a European aristocratic dynasty. The name originated with a lordship associated with Nassau Castle, which is located in what is now Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Nassau in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. With t ...

Partitions of Nassau under House of Nassau rule

Table of rulers

Nassau's successor states

Kings and Queens of the Netherlands (from the House of Orange-Nassau-Dietz)

*1815–1840:

William I William I may refer to: Kings * William the Conqueror (–1087), also known as William I, King of England * William I of Sicily (died 1166) * William I of Scotland (died 1214), known as William the Lion * William I of the Netherlands and Luxembour ...

, also Duke and Grand Duke of Luxemburg and Duke of Limburg *1840–1849: William II, also Grand Duke of Luxemburg and Duke of Limburg *1849–1890: William III, also Grand Duke of Luxemburg and Duke of Limburg *1890–1948: Wilhelmina Following defunct German laws that no longer have relevance due to the end of German nobility, the House of Orange-Nassau(-Dietz) has been extinct since the death of Wilhelmina (1962). Dutch laws and the Dutch nation do not consider it extinct. *1948–1980:

Juliana Juliana (variants Julianna, Giuliana, Iuliana, Yuliana, etc) is a feminine given name which is the feminine version of the Roman name Julianus. Juliana or Giuliana was the name of a number of early saints, notably Saint Julian the Hospitaller, whi ...

*1980–2013:

Beatrix Beatrix is a Latin feminine given name, most likely derived from ''Viatrix'', a feminine form of the Late Latin name ''Viator'' which meant "voyager, traveller" and later influenced in spelling by association with the Latin word ''beatus'' or "ble ...

*2013-''present'':

Willem-Alexander Willem-Alexander (; Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand; born 27 April 1967) is King of the Netherlands since 30 April 2013. Willem-Alexander was born in Utrecht during the reign of his maternal grandmother, Queen Juliana, as the eldest ch ...

Grand Dukes of Luxembourg (from the House of Nassau-Weilburg)

*1890–1905:

Adolphe ''Adolphe'' is a classic French novel by Benjamin Constant, first published in 1816. It tells the story of an alienated young man, Adolphe, who falls in love with an older woman, Ellénore, the Polish mistress of the Comte de P***. Their illici ...

*1905–1912:

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

*1912–1919: Marie-Adélaïde, succession through a female onwards *1919–1964: Charlotte *1964–2000:

Jean Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * J ...

*2000–present: Henri

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nassau (State) States of the Confederation of the Rhine States of the German Confederation Nassau (state) Former states and territories of Rhineland-Palatinate Counties of the Holy Roman Empire