House of Palatinate-Simmern | |
---|---|
Parent house | House of Wittelsbach |
Country | Germany |
Founded | 1410 |
Final head | Charles II |
Connected families | |
Dissolution | 1685 |
The House of Palatinate-Simmern (German : Pfalz-Simmern) was a German-Bavarian cadet branch of the House of Wittelsbach. The house was one of the collateral lineages of the Palatinate. It became the main branch in 1559.
The Palatinate line of the House of Wittelsbach was divided into four lines after the death of Rupert III in 1410, including the line of Palatinate-Simmern with its capital in Simmern. This line became extinct in 1685 with the death of Charles II. The House of Palatinate-Neuburg line inherited the Electorate.
The founder of the Simmern line, Stephen, Count Palatine of Simmern-Zweibrücken is also the founder of the cadet branch House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken and its cadet branches. The rights over the County of Veldenz and a share of the County of Sponheim, transmitted by Stephen's wife Anna of Veldenz, were held by these lineages.
The house of Palatine-Simmern, in the person of the 1st elector, Frederick III, were staunch Calvinists. Frederick III was a devout convert to Calvinism, and made the Reformed confession the official religion of his domain by overseeing the composition and promulgation of the Heidelberg Catechism. His support of Calvinism gave the German Reformed movement a foothold and base within the Holy Roman Empire. It was also part of the appeal of Frederick V to the Bohemians in electing him King.
As of 2022 [update] , those in the line of succession to the British throne are Protestant descendants of Sophia, who was born into the house (daughter of Frederick V and Elizabeth Stuart) as Princess palatine of the Rhine, later becoming Electress consort of Hanover [1] [2]
Rupert of the Palatinate, sometimes known as Robert of the Palatinate, a member of the House of Wittelsbach, was Elector Palatine from 1398 and King of Germany from 1400 until his death.
The Electoral Palatinate or the Palatinate, officially the Electorate of the Palatinate, was a constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire. The electorate had its origins under the rulership of the Counts Palatine of Lotharingia in 915; it was then restructured under the Counts Palatine of the Rhine in 1085. From 1214 until the Electoral Palatinate was merged into the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1805, the House of Wittelsbach provided the Counts Palatine or Electors. These counts palatine of the Rhine would serve as prince-electors from "time immemorial", and were noted as such in a papal letter of 1261; they were confirmed as electors by the Golden Bull of 1356.
The House of Wittelsbach is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, Holland, Zeeland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Hungary, Bohemia, and Greece. Their ancestral lands of Bavaria and the Palatinate were prince-electorates, and the family had three of its members elected emperors and kings of the Holy Roman Empire. They ruled over the Kingdom of Bavaria which was created in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918.
Simmern is a town of roughly 7,600 inhabitants (2013) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, the district seat of the Rhein-Hunsrück-Kreis, and the seat of the Verbandsgemeinde Simmern-Rheinböllen. In the Rhineland-Palatinate state development plan, it is set out as a middle centre.
John Casimir, Count Palatine of Simmern was a German prince and a younger son of Frederick III, Elector Palatine. A firm Calvinist, he was a leader of mercenary troops in the religious wars of the time, including the Dutch Revolt. From 1583–1592 he acted as regent for his nephew, Elector Palatine Frederick IV.
The House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch of the Wittelsbach dynasty, was the ruling dynasty of Sweden from 1654 to 1720.
Frederick IV, Elector Palatine of the Rhine, only surviving son of Louis VI, Elector Palatine and Elisabeth of Hesse, called "Frederick the Righteous".
Frederick III of Simmern, the Pious, Elector Palatine of the Rhine was a ruler from the house of Wittelsbach, specifically the cadet branch of Palatinate-Simmern-Sponheim. He was a son of John II of Simmern and inherited the Palatinate from the childless Elector Otto-Henry, Elector Palatine (Ottheinrich) in 1559. He was a devout convert to Calvinism, and made the Reformed confession the official religion of his domain by overseeing the composition and promulgation of the Heidelberg Catechism. His support of Calvinism gave the German Reformed movement a foothold within the Holy Roman Empire.
Stephen of Simmern-Zweibrücken was Count Palatine of Simmern and Zweibrücken from 1410 until his death in 1459.
The Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken was a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire with full voting rights to the Reichstag. Its capital was Zweibrücken. The reigning house, a branch of the Wittelsbach dynasty, was also the Royal House of Sweden from 1654 to 1720.
The County Palatine of Veldenz was a principality in the contemporary Land Rhineland-Palatinate with full voting rights to the Reichstag. The county was located partially between Kaiserslautern, Sponheim and Zweibrücken, partially on the Mosel in the Archbishopric of Trier. A municipality of the same name, Veldenz, and a castle, Schloss Veldenz, are located in the district of Bernkastel-Wittlich.
Count Palatine Wolfgang of Zweibrücken was member of the Wittelsbach family of the Counts Palatine and Duke of Zweibrücken from 1532. With the support of his regent, his uncle Rupert, Wolfgang introduced the Reformation to Zweibrücken in 1537.
Louis VI, Elector Palatine, was an Elector from the Palatinate-Simmern branch of the house of Wittelsbach. He was the first-born son of Frederick III, Elector Palatine and Marie of Brandenburg-Kulmbach.
Elisabeth of Nuremberg was Queen of Germany and Electress Palatine as the wife of Rupert, King of the Romans.
Frederick I, the Hunsrücker was the Count Palatine of Simmern from 1459 until 1480.
Palatinate-Simmern and Zweibrücken was a state of the Holy Roman Empire based in the Simmern and Zweibrücken in modern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Marie of Brandenburg-Kulmbach was a Princess of Brandenburg-Kulmbach and by marriage Electress Palatine.