William II, Prince of Nassau-Dillenburg (28 August 1670 – 21 September 1724 in

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 ...

) was the ruler (i.e.

Fürst ' (, female form ', plural '; from Old High German ', "the first", a translation of the Latin ') is a German language, German word for a ruler as well as a princely title. ' were, starting in the Middle Ages, members of the highest nobility who ...

) of

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 ...

from 1701 until his death. His parents were Henry, Prince of Nassau-Dillenburg (1641–1701) and his wife Princess Dorothea Elisabeth of Legnica-Brzeg (1646–1691).

Life

Around 1694 he made his grand tour which took him through Germany, the Netherlands, England, Denmark, Sweden and Italy. After his father's death in 1701 he inherited

. In 1711, Francis Alexander died, and William II inherited a share of Nassau-Hadamar. Negotiations dragged on until 1717; William II received

Mengerskirchen Mengerskirchen is a municipality in Limburg-Weilburg district in Hesse, Germany. Geography Neighbouring communities Mengerskirchen borders in the north on the community of Greifenstein (Lahn-Dill-Kreis), in the east on the community of Löhnber ...

, Lahr in 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 ...

, and Frickhofen. In 1709, he was appointed Knight of the Order of Saint Hubert, which had been revived by Elector Palatine John William in September 1708. Leopold Zedlitz-Neukirch, ''Neues preussisches Adels-Lexicon'', p.8
Online
William II died in 1724 and was interred in the Evangelical City Church in Dillenburg. As he had no male heir, his principality was inherited by his brother

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

Marriage and issue

He married on 13 January 1699 in Harzgerode to Johanna Dorothea (24 December 1676 – 29 November 1727), the daughter of Duke

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön-Norburg. They had two children: * Henry Augustus William (15 November 1700 – 22 August 1718) * Elisabeth Charlotte (14 July 1703 – 22 June 1720) The family was interred in the Evangelical City Church in Dillenburg.

Ancestors

External links

Footnotes

Princes of the Holy Roman Empire Princes of Nassau House of Nassau 1670 births 1724 deaths 17th-century German people 18th-century German people {{Germany-noble-stub