Solms-Braunfels was a County and later Principality with

Imperial immediacy In the Holy Roman Empire, imperial immediacy ( or ) was the status of an individual or a territory which was defined as 'immediate' () to Emperor and Empire () and not to any other intermediate authorities, while one that did not possess that stat ...

in what is today the federal Land of

Hesse Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major hist ...

in Germany.

History

Solms-Braunfels was a partition of Solms, ruled by the House of Solms, and was raised to a Principality of the Holy Roman Empire in 1742. The county of Solms-Braunfels was partitioned between: itself and Solms-Ottenstein in 1325; itself and Solms-Lich in 1409; and itself, Solms-Greifenstein and Solms-Hungen in 1592. Frederick William (1696–1761) was created a ''

Prince of the Holy Roman Empire Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (, , cf. ''Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised by the Holy Roman Emperor. Definition Originally, possessors of the princely title bore it as immediate vassal ...

'' in 1742, with his younger offspring also bearing the title prince and princess, styled ''

Serene Highness His/Her Serene Highness (abbreviation: HSH, second person address: Your Serene Highness) is a style (manner of address), style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein, Monaco and Thailand. Until 1918, it was also associated with the p ...

''. The Principality of Solms-Braunfels was mediatised to

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, Hesse-Darmstadt,

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, ...

and

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 Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

in 1806.

Rulers

Counts of Solms-Braunfels (1258–1742)

* Henry III, Count 1258–1312 (died 1312), ''elder son of Henry II, Count of Solms'' ** Bernhard I, Count 1312–49 (died 1349), ''second son of Henry III'' *** Otto I, Count 1349–1410 (died 1410) **** Bernhard II, Count 1409–59 (died 1459) ***** Otto II, Count 1459–1504 (1426–1504) ****** Bernhard III, Count 1504–47 (1468–1547) ******* Philipp, Count 1547–81 (1494–1581) ******** Konrad, Count 1581–92 (1540–1592) ********* Johann Albrecht I, Count 1592–1623 (1563–1623); his third daughter was Amalia, wife of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange ********** Konrad Ludwig, Count 1623–35 (1595–1635) ********** Johann Albrecht II, Count 1635–48 (1599–1647) *********** Heinrich Trajectinus, Count 1648–93 (1639–1693) ********* '' Wilhelm I, Count of Solms-Greifenstein (1570–1635)'' ********** ''Wilhelm II, Count of Solms-Greifenstein (1609–1676)'' *********** Wilhelm Moritz, Count of Solms-Greifenstein 1676–1720, and of Solms-Braunfels 1693–1720 (1651–1720) ************ Friedrich Wilhelm, Count 1720–42 (1696–1761), created Reichsfürst 1742

Princes of Solms-Braunfels (1742–1806)

* Friedrich Wilhelm, 1st Prince 1742–61 (1696–1761) ** Ferdinand Wilhelm Ernst, 2nd Prince 1761–83 (1721–1783) *** Wilhelm Christian Karl, 3rd Prince 1783–1837, ''mediatized 1806'' (1759–1837)

Mediatized Princes of Solms-Braunfels

* ''Ferdinand Wilhelm Ernst, 2nd Prince of Solms-Braunfels 1761–83 (1721–1783)'' ** Wilhelm Christian Karl, 3rd Prince 1783–1837, ''mediatized 1806'' (1759–1837) *** Friedrich Wilhelm Ferdinand, 4th Prince 1837–73 (1797–1873) ** '' Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Solms-Braunfels (1770–1814)'' *** ''Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich of Solms-Braunfels (1801–1868)'' **** Ernst Friedrich Wilhelm, 5th Prince 1873–80 (1835–1880) **** Georg Friedrich Bernhard, 6th Prince 1880–91 (1836–1891) ***** Georg Friedrich Victor, 7th Prince 1891–1970 (1890–1970) The main branch of the princely House of Solms-Braunfels became extinct with Georg Friedrich Victor in 1970. Braunfels and Hungen Castles including their agricultural and forest estates were inherited by the last Prince's daughter Maria Gabrielle Princess of Solms-Braunfels (1918−2003) and her husband Hans Georg Count von Oppersdorff (1920−2003). Since 1969, they and their offspring bear the name ''Count/Countess von Oppersdorff-Solms-Braunfels'', with consent of the Hessian Ministry of the Interior. An Austrian side branch (which had owned estates in Bohemia and Hungary until 1945) became extinct in 1989. Schloss Braunfels 2.jpg, Braunfels Castle (owned by the family since 1260) Burg Greifenstein 2 Juli 2011.jpg, Greifenstein Castle (owned 1382−1969 by the House of Solms) Schloss Hungen 09.JPG, Hungen Castle (owned 1418−1974 by Solms-Braunfels) Amalia van Solms.jpg,

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 ...

(1602–75), wife of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange (portrait by Rembrandt van Rijn, 1632) Wappen-Solms-Braunfels.jpg, Solms-Braunfels coat of arms

References

{{coord missing, Hesse Former states and territories of Hesse