Background
Louis was the eldest son of Count Albert of Nassau-Weilburg-Ottweiler and Countess Anna of Nassau-Dillenburg.
Louis was the eldest son of Count Albert of Nassau-Weilburg-Ottweiler and Countess Anna of Nassau-Dillenburg.
His brothers William (died: 25 November 1597) and John Casimir (died: 29 March 1602) chose the Weilburg part, which also fell to Louis after they died.
His family moved in 1575 from Weilburg to Ottweiler. After his education, he traveled through Europe, in particular the French-speaking part of Switzerland. He also visited France and princely courts in Germany.
During his visit to William IV of Hesse-Kassel, he met William"s daughter Anna Maria and fell in love with her.
Louis received the areas Ottweiler, Homburg, Kirchheim and Lahr in the left bank of the Rhine. So he ended up combining the entire property of the Walram line in one hand.
Louis moved his seat of government to Saarbrücken Castle. He issued a series of regulations, and provided a better education for his population (e.g. through the establishment of the Louis Gymnasium Saarland in Saarbrücken and the promotion of elementary schools.
He committed himself to make the Saar navigable and supported many construction projects.
Prosperity increased during his reign. However, the Thirty Years" War also began during his reign. He instructed his registrar Johann Andreae to reorganize the Saarbrücken Archives and the painter Henrich Dors from Altweilnau to design tomb for the Nassau family, resulting in a major "epitaph book" being published in 1632.
Louis had fourteen children, including four sons who survived him and they divided his inheritance: William Louis, John, Ernest Casimir and Otto.
