Christian III, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken

Another portrait of Christian III

Christian III, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld (Strassburg, 7 November 1674 – Zweibrücken, 3 February 1735) was a German nobleman. He was a member of the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, a cadet branch of the House of Wittelsbach. He was the son of Christian II of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld and Katharina Agathe, Countess of Rappoltstein. He was Duke and Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld from 1717 to 1731. In 1731, he inherited the sovereign duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken and thus became Count Palatine and Duke of Zweibrücken. He was also Count of Rappoltstein from 1699 until his death.

Life

Christian was born in Strasbourg in 1674. He was the only son of Christian II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld to survive into adulthood.

He began his career in the French military in 1697 and took over the Alsatian regiment. In 1699, he inherited the County of Rappoltstein from his mother. In 1702 he became Field marshal and in 1704 he was promoted to Lieutenant General. He excelled militarily at the Battle of Oudenaarde in 1708.

In 1717, his father died. He left the army and took up administration of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, which was a small part of the County of Sponheim. In 1731, Count Palatine Gustavus Samuel Leopold of Zweibrücken died childless and Christian III inherited his territory. His relatives objected, but in a treaty with Elector Palatine Charles III Philip concluded in Mannheim on 24 December 1733, it was agreed that Christian would receive Palatinate-Zweibrücken.

He died in Zweibrücken in1735 and was buried in the Alexander Church in Zweibrücken.

Marriage and issue

In 1719, at Schloss Lorentzen, he married Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken (1704–1774) and had four children.

Name	Portrait	Birth	Death	Notes
Caroline Henriette Christine Landgravine of Hesse-Darmstadt		9 March 1721	30 March 1774	Married in 1741 Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, had issue
Christian IV Count Palatine of Zweibrücken		6 September 1722	5 November 1775	Married morganatically in 1751 Maria Johanna Camasse, had issue
Frederick Michael Count Palatine of Zweibrücken		27 February 1724	15 August 1767	Married in 1746 Countess Palatine Maria Franziska of Sulzbach, had issue
Christiane Henriette Princess of Waldeck and Pyrmont		16 November 1725	11 February 1816	Married in 1741 Karl August, Prince of Waldeck and Pyrmont, had issue

Ancestry

References

• Maximilian V. Sattler: Lehrbuch der bayerischen Geschichte, Lindauer, 1868, p. 411
• Johann Georg Lehmann: Vollständige Geschichte des Herzogtums Zweibrücken und seiner Fürsten, Kaiser, 1867, p. 485 ff.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Christian III of Palatinate-Zweibrücken.

• freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/