Countess Juliane of Nassau-Siegen

Countess Juliane of Nassau-Siegen (3 September 1587 – 15 February 1643), , official titles: Gräfin zu Nassau, Katzenelnbogen, Vianden und Diez, Frau zu Beilstein, was a countess from the House of Nassau-Siegen, a cadet branch of the Ottonian Line of the House of Nassau, and through marriage a landgravine of Hesse-Kassel.

Biography Juliane was born at Dillenburg Castle on 3 September 1587 as the fifth child and second daughter of Count John VII the Middle of Nassau-Siegen and his first wife, Countess Magdalene of Waldeck-Wildungen.

Juliane was brought up in the strict Calvinist tradition, but was also taught old and new languages. In addition to her siblings, the half-brothers and -sisters from her mother's first marriage also lived in the child-rich household at Dillenburg Castle. The marriage of her eldest half-brother, Count Philip Louis II of Hanau-Münzenberg, to Countess Catherine Belgica of Nassau, a daughter of Prince William I the Silent of Orange, was also celebrated here in 1596, a festive highlight of Juliane's childhood.

In February 1603, only three months after the death of his first wife Agnes of Solms-Laubach, the thirty-year-old Landgrave Maurice of Hesse-Kassel made a marriage proposal to the fifteen-year-old Juliane. The marriage took place three months later at Dillenburg Castle.

Despite her Calvinist upbringing, Juliane led a fairly representative court life with Maurice, but she always valued her financial independence and kept careful track of her expenses. As Maurice had three sons from his first marriage, Juliane soon sought to pass on income and property rights to her children.

Marriage and children Juliane and Maurice with all their 14 children, some of whom, however, never met, as they had already died before the birth of the youngest. Painting by August Erich, 1618–1628. Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel. Juliane married Landgrave Maurice of Hesse-Kassel (Kassel, 25 May 1572 – Eschwege, 15 March 1632

Juliane was frequently pregnant during her marriage; she gave birth to fourteen children in twenty-five years, but only seven of them lived to mature adulthood: Philip (Kassel, 26 November 1604 – killed at the Battle of Lutter, 17 August 1626), was an officer in the Danish Army. Agnes (Kassel, 13/14 May 1606 – Dessau, 28 May 1650), married in Dessau on 18 May 1623 to Fürst John Casimir of Anhalt-Dessau (Dessau, 7 December 1596 – Dessau, 15 September 1660). Herman (Kassel, 15 August 1607 – Rotenburg an der Fulda, 25 March 1658), Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg. Married: in Waldeck on 31 December 1633 to his first cousin Countess Sofia Juliana of Waldeck-Wildungen (Wildungen, 1 April 1607 – Ziegenhain, 15 September 1637). in Weimar on 2 January 1642 to Princess Cunegonda Juliane of Anhalt-Dessau (Dessau, 17 February 1608 – Rotenburg an der Fulda, 26 September 1683). Juliane (Marburg, 7 October 1608 – Kassel, 11 December 1628), died in adolescence. Sabine (Kassel, 5 July 1610 – Kassel, 21 May 1620), died in childhood. (Kassel, 25 August 1611 – Bedburg, 12 February 1671), married in Rotenburg an der Fulda on 27 April 1646 to Count Erik Adolf of Salm-Reifferscheid (1 February 1619 – 18 April 1678). Maurice (Kassel, 13 June 1614 – Kassel, 16 February 1633), was a Rittmeister in the Swedish Army and died in adolescence. Sophie (Kassel, 12 September 1615 – Bückeburg, 22 November 1670), married in Stadthagen on 12 October 1644 to Count Philip I of Schaumburg-Lippe ( near Lemgo, 18 July 1601 – 10 April 1681). Frederick (Kassel, 9 May 1617 – killed in battle, Kosten, 24 September 1655), Landgrave of Hesse-Eschwege. Married in Stockholm on 6 September 1646 to Countess Palatine Eleonore Catherine of Zweibrücken-Kleeburg (Stegeborg Castle, 17 May 1626 - Osterholz near Bremen, 3 March 1692). Christian (Kassel, 5 February 1622 – Bückeburg, 14 November 1640), was commander of a company in the Swedish Army. He died in adolescence after an altercation with General Johan Banér and some other officers; he was probably poisoned. Ernest (Kassel, 17 December 1623 – Cologne, 12 May 1693), Landgrave of Hesse-Rheinfels. Married: in Frankfurt on 10 June 1647 to Countess Mary Eleonore of Solms-Hohensolms (16 December 1632 – Cologne, 12 August 1689). (morganatically) in Rheinfels Castle on 3 February 1690 to Alexandrina Ernestina Maria Juliana von Dürnizl (Straubing, c. 1673 – Cologne, 22 December 1754). Christine (Kassel, 9 July 1625 – Kassel, 25 July 1626), died in early childhood. Philip (Kassel, 28 September 1626 – Rotenburg an der Fulda, 8 July 1629), died in early childhood. Elisabeth (Kassel, 23 October 1628 – Kassel, 10 February 1633), died in early childhood.

Only six of Juliane's children were still alive at the time of her death.

Known descendants Juliane has many known descendants. All reigning European monarchs, with the exception of the Fürst of Liechtenstein, are descendants of her. Other known descendants are: the head of the no longer reigning royal house of Baden, the head of the no longer reigning royal house of Greece, the Prussian Field Marshal Fürst Leopold I of Anhalt-Dessau (der Alte Dessauer), the French Field Marshal Maurice of Saxony, the German chancellor Max von Baden, and the German fighter pilot from World War I Manfred von Richthofen (The Red Baron).

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Literature