George William was born in Ansbach in 1591 as the eldest son of Charles I, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld. He succeeded his father in 1600 as Count of Sponheim. He was joint ruler in the Sponheimish condominium together with Margrave Wilhelm of Baden, whose counter-Reformationist movements he laboriously repelled. George William finished the expansion of Castle Birkenfeld, which his father had begun, and set the ground stone for the castle chapel.[1] He is seen as an economical and prudent regent,[2] though he could not do much through the Thirty Years' War. His lands were invaded during the Thirty Years' War in 1635, and in the same year the plague broke out killing 416 people. In the year 1666 he appointed Günter Heyler as court preacher to Birkenfeld.[3] George William died in Birkenfeld in 1669. He was buried in the parish church of Birkenfeld; later his tomb was moved to the chapel of Birkenfeld castle and finally to Meisenheim.
Marriages and IssueEdit
George William married firstly on 30 November 1616 to Dorothea (1586–1625), daughter of Otto, Count of Solms-Sonnenwalde. They had the following children:
George William married secondly on 30 November 1641 Juliana (1616–1647), daughter of Johann, Wild- und Rheingraf in Grumbach und Rheingrafenstein. They divorced on 18 November 1642 because on 14 February of that year (and only four months after the wedding) Juliana gave birth a child, whose father was in fact Rheingraf Johann Ludwig of Salm-Dhaun.
George William married thirdly on 8 March 1649 to Anne Elizabeth (3 November 1603 – 3 June 1673), daughter of Louis Eberhard, Count of Öttingen-Öttingen. They had no children.
AncestorsEdit
Ancestors of George William, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld
(in German) Rodewald, Heinrich. Pfalzgraf Georg Wilhelm v. Birkenfeld und seine Kämpfe um das Luthertum in der hinteren Grafschaft Sponheim in den Jahren 1629-1630. Heuser, 1925
(in German) Dotzauer, Winfried. Geschichte des Nahe-Hunsrück-Raumes von den Anfängen bis zur Französischen Revolution. Franz Steiner Verlag, 2001, p. 351
(in German) Jahresbericht [afterw.] Trierer Jahresberichte, 1858, p. 50 (digitized)
ReferencesEdit
^ (in German). Archived from the original on 2010-07-23. Retrieved 2010-09-29.
^(in German) Svensson, Lars G.: Die Geschichte der Bibliotheca Bipontina, Institut für Pfälzische Geschichte und Volkskunde, 2002, p. 127
^(in German) Ersch, Johann Samuel: Allgemeine Encyklopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste, Teil 2, Band 4, Gleditsch, 1828, p. 126 (digitized)
george, william, count, palatine, zweibrücken, birkenfeld, george, william, august, 1591, december, 1669, titular, count, palatine, rhine, duke, bavaria, count, veldenz, sponheim, duke, zweibrücken, birkenfeld, from, 1600, until, 1669, count, palatine, george,. George William 6 August 1591 25 December 1669 titular Count Palatine of the Rhine Duke in Bavaria Count of Veldenz and Sponheim was the Duke of Zweibrucken Birkenfeld from 1600 until 1669 George William Count Palatine of Zweibrucken BirkenfeldCount Palatine George William of Zweibrucken BirkenfeldBornGeorg Wilhelm von Pfalz Zweibrucken Birkenfeld 1591 08 06 6 August 1591AnsbachDied25 December 1669 1669 12 25 aged 78 BirkenfeldNoble familyHouse of WittelsbachSpouse s Dorothea of Solms SonnenwaldeJuliana of Salm GrumbachIssueAnne SophieElizabeth JulianaMaria MagdalenaCharles OttoFatherCharles I Count Palatine of Zweibrucken BirkenfeldMotherDorothea of Brunswick Luneburg Contents 1 Life 2 Marriages and Issue 3 Ancestors 4 Literature 5 ReferencesLife Edit nbsp Arms of George William George William was born in Ansbach in 1591 as the eldest son of Charles I Count Palatine of Zweibrucken Birkenfeld He succeeded his father in 1600 as Count of Sponheim He was joint ruler in the Sponheimish condominium together with Margrave Wilhelm of Baden whose counter Reformationist movements he laboriously repelled George William finished the expansion of Castle Birkenfeld which his father had begun and set the ground stone for the castle chapel 1 He is seen as an economical and prudent regent 2 though he could not do much through the Thirty Years War His lands were invaded during the Thirty Years War in 1635 and in the same year the plague broke out killing 416 people In the year 1666 he appointed Gunter Heyler as court preacher to Birkenfeld 3 George William died in Birkenfeld in 1669 He was buried in the parish church of Birkenfeld later his tomb was moved to the chapel of Birkenfeld castle and finally to Meisenheim Marriages and Issue EditGeorge William married firstly on 30 November 1616 to Dorothea 1586 1625 daughter of Otto Count of Solms Sonnenwalde They had the following children Dorothea Amalie 30 March 1618 6 August 1635 Anne Sophie 12 April 1619 1 September 1680 Princess Abbess of Quedlinburg Elizabeth Juliana 28 October 1620 28 October 1651 Maria Magdalena 8 August 1622 27 October 1689 married in 1644 to Anton Gunther I Count of Schwarzburg Sondershausen Clara Sybille 14 January 1624 1 February 1628 Charles Otto 5 September 1625 30 March 1671 George William married secondly on 30 November 1641 Juliana 1616 1647 daughter of Johann Wild und Rheingraf in Grumbach und Rheingrafenstein They divorced on 18 November 1642 because on 14 February of that year and only four months after the wedding Juliana gave birth a child whose father was in fact Rheingraf Johann Ludwig of Salm Dhaun George William married thirdly on 8 March 1649 to Anne Elizabeth 3 November 1603 3 June 1673 daughter of Louis Eberhard Count of Ottingen Ottingen They had no children Ancestors EditAncestors of George William Count Palatine of Zweibrucken Birkenfeld8 Louis II Count Palatine of Zweibrucken4 Wolfgang Count Palatine of Zweibrucken9 Elisabeth of Hesse2 Charles I Count Palatine of Zweibrucken Birkenfeld10 Philip I Landgrave of Hesse5 Anna of Hesse11 Christine of Saxony1 George William Count Palatine of Zweibrucken Birkenfeld12 Ernest I Duke of Brunswick Luneburg6 William Duke of Brunswick Luneburg13 Sophia of Mecklenburg Schwerin3 Dorothea of Brunswick Luneburg14 Christian III of Denmark7 Dorothea of Denmark15 Dorothea of Saxe LauenburgLiterature Edit in German Rodewald Heinrich Pfalzgraf Georg Wilhelm v Birkenfeld und seine Kampfe um das Luthertum in der hinteren Grafschaft Sponheim in den Jahren 1629 1630 Heuser 1925 in German Dotzauer Winfried Geschichte des Nahe Hunsruck Raumes von den Anfangen bis zur Franzosischen Revolution Franz Steiner Verlag 2001 p 351 in German Jahresbericht afterw Trierer Jahresberichte 1858 p 50 digitized References Edit Burg Birkenfeld Hunsruck Nahereise in German Archived from the original on 2010 07 23 Retrieved 2010 09 29 in German Svensson Lars G Die Geschichte der Bibliotheca Bipontina Institut fur Pfalzische Geschichte und Volkskunde 2002 p 127 in German Ersch Johann Samuel Allgemeine Encyklopadie der Wissenschaften und Kunste Teil 2 Band 4 Gleditsch 1828 p 126 digitized Regnal titlesPreceded byCharles I Duke of Zweibrucken Birkenfeld1600 1669 Succeeded byCharles II Otto Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title George William Count Palatine of Zweibrucken Birkenfeld amp oldid 1162014300, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
