William Wirich, Count of Daun-Falkenstein

Count William Wirich of Daun-Falkenstein (1 June 1613 – 26 August 1682) was a German nobleman. By descent, he was a Count of Falkenstein; by inheritance, he was Lord of Broich and Bürgel.

Life

William Wirich was a son of Count John Adolph (1582–1623) and his wife, Countess Anna Maria (1589–1620), a daughter of Count John VII of Nassau-Siegen and Countess Magdalena of Waldeck.

On 28 October 1634, he married at Waldeck Castle to his cousin Elisabeth of Waldeck. In 1636, he inherited the County of Falkenstein from his third cousin once removed Count Francis Christopher of Daun-Oberstein.

Charles Alexander was his only son who survived into adulthood. However, he was shot by Count Moritz of Limburg during a fight on 7 October 1659. William Wirich remarried to Countess Agnes Catherine of Limburg-Styrum. However, this marriage remained childless, so when he died, the Daun-Falkenstein branch died out in the male line.

The impoverished count sold the county of Falkenstein to Duke Charles IV of Lorraine in 1667. The Lordships of Broich and Bürgel were inherited by his third cousin once remove, Emich Christian of Leiningen-Dagsburg.

Marriage and issue

On 28 November 1634 at Waldeck Castle, he married his cousin Elizabeth (1610–1647), the daughter of Count Christian of Waldeck-Wildungen. They had the following children:

• Anna Elizabeth (9 January 1636 – 1685), married:

• Ferdinand Christian (25 December 1636 – 29 March 1642)
• Charlotte Auguste (30 December 1637 – 1713)

• Amalie Sibylle (b. 27 January 1639)

• Christine Louise (18 July 1640 – December 1717)

• Charles Alexander (23 February 1643 – 7 October 1659)
• William (23 July 1644 – 4 October 1653)

In 1663, he remarried, to Agnes Catherine (1629–1686), the daughter of Count Bernard Albert of Limburg-Styrum (1597–1637) and Countess Maria Anna of Berg (1600–1653). This marriage remained childless.

Ancestors