| Ernestine Charlotte of Nassau-Schaumburg | |
| Fürstin of Nassau-Siegen | |
| More: | no |
| Succession: | Fürstin-Regent of Nassau-Siegen |
| Reign: | 1691–1701 |
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| Issue: | |
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| Full Name: | Ernestine Charlotte Princess of Nassau-Schaumburg |
| Native Name: | Ernestine Charlotte Prinzessin von Nassau-Schaumburg |
| Noble Family: | House of Nassau-Schaumburg |
| Father: | Adolf of Nassau-Schaumburg |
| Mother: | Elisabeth Charlotte Melander, Countess of Holzappel |
| Birth Name: | Ernestine Charlotte Prinzessin von Nassau, Gräfin zu Katzenelnbogen, Vianden, Diez und Holzappel, Frau zu Beilstein, Laurenburg und Schaumburg |
| Birth Date: | 20 May 1662Jul. |
| Birth Place: | Schaumburg Castle |
| Death Date: | 21 February 1732 |
| Death Place: | , Siegen |
| Burial Date: | 15 March 1732 |
| Burial Place: | , Siegen |
Princess Ernestine Charlotte of Nassau-Schaumburg (20 May 1662Jul. – 21 February 1732), German: Ernestine Charlotte Prinzessin von Nassau-Schaumburg, official titles: Prinzessin von Nassau, Gräfin zu Katzenelnbogen, Vianden, Diez und Holzappel, Frau zu Beilstein, Laurenburg und Schaumburg, was a princess from the House of Nassau-Schaumburg, a cadet branch of the Ottonian Line of the House of Nassau and through marriage Fürstin of Nassau-Siegen. She was regent of the Principality of Nassau-Siegen (part of the County of Nassau) for her son Frederick William Adolf in the period 1691–1701.
Ernestine Charlotte was born at Schaumburg Castle[1] on 20 May 1662Jul.[2] as the second daughter of Prince Adolf of Nassau-Schaumburg and his wife Elisabeth Charlotte Melander, Countess of Holzappel.[3]
Ernestine Charlotte married at Schaumburg Castle[4] on 6 February 1678Jul.[5] to Fürst William Maurice of Nassau-Siegen (Terborg,[6] 18/28 January 1649 –, Siegen, 23 January 1691Jul.), the eldest son of Count Henry of Nassau-Siegen and Countess Mary Magdalene of Limburg-Stirum. Ernestine Charlotte's great-grandfather Count George 'the Elder' of Nassau-Dillenburg was a younger brother of William Maurice's grandfather Count John VII 'the Middle' of Nassau-Siegen.[7] [8] [9]
William Maurice succeeded his maternal grandfather in September 1661 as count of Bronkhorst, lord of,, and, and hereditary knight banneret of the Duchy of Guelders and the County of Zutphen.[10] [11] [12] And on 20 December 1679 he succeeded his uncle and adoptive father Fürst John Maurice of Nassau-Siegen as Fürst of Nassau-Siegen. William Maurice died in 1691 and was buried in the in Siegen on 12 March. He was succeeded by his son Frederick William Adolf[13] [14] who was under the custody and regency of his mother Ernestine Charlotte until 1701.
During her regency, in 1695, a major city fire destroyed a large part of the city of Siegen, including the Nassauischer Hof, the princely Residenz, and the nearby church.[15] Both buildings were built in 1488 by Count John V of Nassau-Siegen as a Franciscan monastery.[16] The Nassauischer Hof housed, among others, the collection of paintings of the Fürsten of Nassau-Siegen. Numerous valuable paintings by famous artists, including Rembrandt, Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck, fell victim to the flames. The nearby Fürstengruft was spared in the fire. The burnt down residence building was not rebuilt. Under the old name, a new three-winged palace was built on the site, and the Fürstengruft was completely incorporated into the corps de logis. The construction of the new palace, which has been called Untere Schloss since the middle of the 18th century, took place between 1695 and 1720.[17]
Ernestine Charlotte remarried[18] [19] (secretly) in 1696 (in The Hague?) to Friedrich Philipp Reichsfreiherr von Geuder genannt Rabensteiner (1650–1727), lord of Heroldsberg and Stein, since 1691 Geheimrat and Hofmeister of the Principality of Nassau-Siegen, later also imperial Geheimrat.
Ernestine Charlotte died at the Nassauischer Hof in Siegen on 21 February 1732[20] and was buried on 15 March in the Fürstengruft there.
From the marriage of Ernestine Charlotte and William Maurice the following children were born:[21]
| Ancestors of Ernestine Charlotte of Nassau-Schaumburg[22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great-great-grandparents | John VI 'the Elder' of Nassau-Siegen (1536–1606) ⚭ 1559 Elisabeth of Leuchtenberg (1537–1579) | Philip IV of Nassau-Saarbrücken (1542–1602) ⚭ 1563 Erica of Manderscheid (1545–1581) | William I of Sayn-Wittgenstein (1488–1570) ⚭ 1522 Johannetta of Isenburg-Grenzau (1500–1563) | Frederick Magnus I of Solms-Laubach (1521–1561) ⚭ 1545 Agnes of Wied (1524–1588) | ? (?–?) ⚭ ? (?–?) | ? (?–?) ⚭ ? (?–?) | ? (?–?) ⚭ ? (?–?) | ? (?–?) ⚭ ? (?–?) | |
| Great-grandparents | George 'the Elder' of Nassau-Dillenburg (1562–1623) ⚭ 1584 Anne Amelie of Nassau-Saarbrücken (1565–1605) | Louis I of Sayn-Wittgenstein (1532–1605) ⚭ 1567 (1549–1599) | Wilhelm Eppelmann (ca. 1564–1592) ⚭ 1576 Anna Lange (?–1636) | Johann Wilhelm von Efferen genannt Hall (?–?) ⚭ Margarethe von der Baalen genannt Bleck (?–?) | |||||
| Grandparents | Louis Henry of Nassau-Dillenburg (1594–1662) ⚭ 1615 Catharine of Sayn-Wittgenstein (1588–1651) | Peter Melander (1589–1648) ⚭ 1638 Agnes von Efferen genannt Hall (?–1656) | |||||||
| Parents | Adolf of Nassau-Schaumburg (1629–1676) ⚭ 1653 Elisabeth Charlotte Melander (1640–1707) | ||||||||
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