principality · Germany and Central Europe

Principality of Nassau-Hadamar

1607 CE – 1711 CE · capital Hadamar

Small Nassau principality in the Westerwald that became a Catholic outpost of the house and left a baroque residence town.

Origins

Hadamar was created in the 1607 division of the lands of John VI of Nassau-Dillenburg and went to his son John Louis. John Louis converted to Catholicism in 1629 and served the emperor as a diplomat at the Peace of Westphalia, for which he was made a prince of the Empire in 1650.

Rule and society

After its ruler's conversion Hadamar became a Catholic enclave among Protestant Nassau lands, with a Jesuit college and Franciscan friars. John Louis rebuilt Hadamar as a planned residence town with a new palace. The economy was agrarian, with small-scale iron and wool working in the Westerwald hills.

Decline and legacy

The line died out with Prince Francis Alexander in 1711, and the territory was divided among the other Nassau-Ottonian lines, Nassau-Diez, Nassau-Siegen and Nassau-Dillenburg. Its lands later passed to the Duchy of Nassau and, in 1866, to Prussia.

Lineage

County of Nassau-Dillenburg 1255 CE – 1739 CEPrincipality of Nassau-Hadamar

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Principality of Nassau-Hadamar. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-nassau-hadamar
MLA
“Principality of Nassau-Hadamar.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-nassau-hadamar. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Principality of Nassau-Hadamar.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-nassau-hadamar.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Principality of Nassau-Hadamar’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/principality-of-nassau-hadamar (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻