Nikolaus (also Nikolas) Wilhelm, Prince of Nassau

Officer, politician

Born: 20.09.1832 in Biebrich on the Rhine

died: 18.09.1905 in Wiesbaden

As the son of Duke Wilhelm and his second wife Pauline zu Nassau, Prince Nikolaus initially grew up in Biebrich Palace and from 1843 together with his mother and siblings in the Paulinenschlösschen, which had been built above the Wiesbaden Kurpark as a widow's residence after the death of his father. His career as an officer took him from Nassau to Prussian military service after 1866. Joining as a lieutenant in 1845, he rose to the rank of first lieutenant in 1849, captain in 1855, major in 1856, colonel in 1862, major general in 1865, lieutenant general in 1879 and infantry general in 1897.

In 1856 he was appointed to the State Council. From 1859 onwards, he was a member of the first chamber of the Nassau state parliament, where he assumed the office of president and the chairmanship of the assembly of estates, which was made up of both chambers. After Duke Adolph's depossession, he conducted the property negotiations with Prussia. He was also President of the Wiesbaden Red Cross for many years.

His marriage in London in 1868 to Natalya Alexandrovna, the divorced daughter of the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, who was not of the same rank, caused a sensation. In order to alleviate the lack of equality, the Prince of Waldeck, who was married to a daughter of Duke Wilhelm, bestowed the title of Countess of Merenberg on her in the same year. The question of succession in Luxembourg after the death of Grand Duke Adolph's only son Wilhelm in 1912 caused irritation. According to the laws of the house, since Wilhelm had no male heirs, Adolph's half-brother Nikolaus would have been the legitimate heir to the throne. However, as Nicholas died two months before Adolph and almost seven years before William, this claim expired. Nevertheless, Nicholas' son Count Georg von Merenberg held on to his claim to the Luxembourg throne and in particular to the family fortune, which led to lengthy legal disputes and ultimately to a financial settlement.

Prinz-Nikolas-Straße in the Sonnenberg settlement of Eigenheim commemorates him.