Louise Henriette of Nassau (, ; 7 December 1627 – 18 June 1667) was a Countess of Nassau, granddaughter of

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

, "William the Silent", and an Electress of Brandenburg.

Biography

Louise Henriëtte was born in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, the eldest daughter of

Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange Frederick Henry (; 29 January 1584 – 14 March 1647) was the sovereign prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from his older half-brother's death on 23 April 1625 until his ...

, and

Amalia of Solms-Braunfels Amalia of Solms-Braunfels (31 August 1602 – 8 September 1675) was Princess of Orange by marriage to Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange. She acted as the political adviser of her spouse during his reign, and acted as his de facto deputy and regent ...

. She grew up at the court of her father, the ''

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 ...

'' of

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

Zeeland Zeeland (; ), historically known in English by the Endonym and exonym, exonym Zealand, is the westernmost and least populous province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the southwest of the country, borders North Brabant to the east ...

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

Guelders The Duchy of Guelders (; ; ) is a historical duchy, previously county, of the Holy Roman Empire, located in the Low Countries. Geography The duchy was named after the town of Geldern (''Gelder'') in present-day Germany. Though the present pr ...

and

Overijssel Overijssel (; ; ; ) is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the eastern part of the country. The province's name comes from the perspective of the Prince-Bishopric of Utrecht, Episcopal principality of Utrecht ...

Marriage

Louise Henriëtte had to abandon her love for

Henri Charles de La Trémoille Henri is the French form of the masculine given name Henry, also in Estonian, Finnish, German and Luxembourgish. Bearers of the given name include: People French nobles * Henri I de Montmorency (1534–1614), Marshal and Constable of France * ...

, Prince of Talmant, son of

Henry de La Trémoille Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainment ...

, as her mother had royal ambitions for her. However, attempts to conclude an engagement with King

Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest su ...

came to nothing. Finally she was forced to marry

Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg Frederick William (; 16 February 1620 – 29 April 1688) was Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, thus ruler of Brandenburg-Prussia, from 1640 until his death in 1688. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he is popularly known as "th ...

(1620-1688), "the Great Elector," at The Hague on 7 December 1646, her nineteenth birthday, on the proposal of the Brandenburg diplomat

Joachim Friedrich von Blumenthal Joachim Friedrich von Blumenthal (1606 in Berlin – 1657 in Halberstadt) was a German nobleman. He was a diplomat and the founder of the Brandenburg-Prussian Army. The son of Christoph von Blumenthal and his wife Dorothea von Hacke, and the fi ...

. The

Electorate of Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the fifth-largest German state b ...

regarded this marriage as beneficial by reason of the connections with the Orange family it created in the hope of obtaining assistance for Brandenburg's struggle for influence in

Pomerania Pomerania ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The central and eastern part belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian Voivod ...

Electress

The couple lived in

Cleves Kleve (; traditional ; ; ; ; ; Low Rhenish: ''Kleff'') is a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Dutch border and the River Rhine. From the 11th century onwards, Cleves was capital of a county and later a duchy ...

for the first years of their marriage, but they moved to Brandenburg, Frederick William's seat, in 1648. During her marriage, Louise Henriëtte followed her spouse and traveled between The Hague,

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and Cleves on campaigns, inspections, war and battle fields in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. She acted as her husband's political adviser and was described as a pragmatist. She managed, through correspondence with the Queen of Poland,

Marie Louise Gonzaga Marie Louise Gonzaga (Italian: ''Maria Luisa'', , ; 18 August 1611 – 10 May 1667) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania by marriage to two kings of Poland and grand dukes of Lithuania, brothers Władysław IV and John II Casi ...

, to make an alliance with Poland in exchange for the Polish recognition of

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

as a province of Brandenburg. It was said of her : "Few Electresses had been allowed so much influence". In 1650 her husband gave her the ''Amt Bötzow'', an electoral domain with large estates and numerous places and farmers that were subject to taxes. Louise Henriëtte had a new castle in Dutch style built in Bötzow in 1650-52 and called it

Oranienburg Palace Oranienburg Palace () is a ''Schloss'' located in the town of Oranienburg in Germany. It is the oldest Baroque ''Schloss'' in the Margraviate of Brandenburg and was built from 1651 to 1655 by Louise Henriette of Orange-Nassau, the first wife ...

, after her family, 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 ...

. It became the name for the entire town in 1653. She was also involved in the design and development of the

Lustgarten The Lustgarten (, ''Pleasure Garden'') is a park in Museum Island in central Berlin at the foreground of the ''Altes Museum''. It is next to the (Berlin Cathedral) and near the reconstructed (''Berlin City Palace'') of which it was originally ...

in Berlin. In 1663, she installed the first porcelain cabinet in Europe. In 1665, she founded an orphanage with places for 24 children. She was described as truly kind and gentle with a sharp intellect: her advice was vital for her spouse, and their marriage was considered a role model. During time of war, she made great efforts to soften the damages upon society. A Protestant religious community known as the ''Luise-Henrietten-Stift'' in nearby

Lehnin Abbey Lehnin Abbey () is a former Cistercian monastery in Lehnin in Brandenburg, Germany. Founded in 1180 and secularization, secularized during the Protestant Reformation in 1542, it has accommodated the ''Luise-Henrietten-Stift'', a Protestant deacone ...

was named after her.

Children

With Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, she had six children, only three of whom lived to adulthood: * William Henry (1648-1649), died in infancy *

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

(1655-1674) *

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Given name Nobility = Anhalt-Harzgerode = * Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) = Austria = * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria fro ...

(1657-1713), the first

King in Prussia King ''in'' Prussia (German language, German: ''König in Preußen'') was a title used by the Prussian kings (also in personal union Elector of Brandenburg, Electors of Brandenburg) from 1701 to 1772. Subsequently, they used the title King ''of' ...

* Amalie (1664-1665), died in infancy * Henry (1664-1664), died in infancy * Louis (1666-1687), married

Ludwika Karolina Radziwiłł Princess Ludwika Karolina Radziwiłł (; 27 February 1667 – 25 March 1695) was a magnate Princess of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and an active reformer. Life Ludwika Karolina Radziwiłł was born in K ...

Luise Henriette also suffered many miscarriages: * A miscarried daughter (1649) * A miscarried daughter (1650) * A miscarried son (1651) * A miscarried son (1652) * A miscarried daughter (1653) * A miscarried son (1654) * A miscarried daughter (1656) * A miscarried daughter (1659) * A miscarried son (1660) * A miscarried daughter (1661) * A miscarried daughter (1663) * A miscarried son (1665) Luise Henriette died in

and was buried in the

Berliner Dom Berlin Cathedral (), also known as the Evangelical Supreme Parish and Collegiate Church, is a monumental German Protestant church and dynastic tomb (House of Hohenzollern) at the Lustgarten on the Museum Island in central Berlin. Having it ...

Ancestry

References

External links

* http://www.spsg.de/index.php?id=129 * coloured painting of Prinzessin Luise Henriette von Oranien-Nassau, later Kurfürstin von Brandenburg , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Luise Henriette, Countess of Nassau 1627 births 1667 deaths 17th-century Dutch women Nobility from The Hague House of Orange-Nassau Consorts of Brandenburg Electresses of Brandenburg Countesses of Nassau Duchesses of Prussia House of Hohenzollern Burials at Berlin Cathedral Daughters of princes regnant Mothers of Prussian monarchs