Christian, Count of Waldeck-Wildungen

Christian was born at Eisenberg Castle on 24/25 December 1585, the eldest son of Count Josias I of Waldeck-Eisenberg and Countess Mary of Barby and Mühlingen. When Josias I died suddenly and unexpectedly at Eisenberg Castle on 6 August 1588, where the guests for the baptism of his fourth child Wolrad were still staying, Christian and Wolrad were still minors. The reforms started by their father were not continued, to the advantage of the estates of the realm, which had come under pressure. The two young counts were under the custody and regency of their mother and Count . The other cadet branches of the House of Waldeck became extinct shortly after each other. Count died young on 16 September 1598 of dysentery. With Count Francis III of Waldeck-Landau, who had opposed Hesse like no other before him, the cadet branch also became extinct on 12 March 1597. As he had no descendants, Francis III bequeathed his share of the County of Waldeck by will and testament to the children of Count Josias I. In that same year the County of Waldeck was divided up again. For although Christian and Wolrad clearly acted jointly in government, they are said to have quarrelled regularly. together with the corresponding territories. His brother Wolrad IV got the northern part, with the cities of Arolsen and . They jointly owned the city of Korbach. Both counts had their imperial immediacy confirmed shortly after Matthias' coronation as Emperor on 20 January 1612, at which Christian was present. But this did not secure the county's sovereignty. From 1610 onwards Christian and Wolrad had continued their father's efforts to control the largest and most influential city in the county. The controversial question of the highest jurisdiction in Waldeck, which the counts had answered in their favour, led initially to the Reichskammergericht. The judicial mills grinded slowly. the situation had become so intense that Landgrave Maurice occupied the county – with the exception of and Arolsen. The county was to be annexed by Hesse. Waldeck was in danger of losing its independence more than ever before. The two Counts of Waldeck did not give up. The Wetterauer Grafenverein had sent soldiers to Waldeck, who were trapped in the castle together with Count John VII 'the Middle'. While Wolrad IV won Prince Maurice of Orange, one of the most successful military commanders of the time, as an ally and thus dragged the Dutch Republic into the conflict, Christian tried to win over Emperor Ferdinand II, Christian was also chamberlain to the Emperor. The policy of Landgrave Maurice did not go unnoticed in the Holy Roman Empire, despite the fact that the Bohemian-Palatinate War was of greater importance. Under pressure from the Emperor and others and threats of disadvantages, the landgrave ended the occupation of Waldeck in the summer of 1621. After the acute threat to the county had been averted, Christian and Wolrad did not give up and tried, through the Reichskammergericht and the Reichshofrat, to get legally closer to their goal. Moreover, they demanded compensation for the damage that the soldiers of the Hessian landgrave had caused in Waldeck during the occupation. After lengthy negotiations, Emperor Ferdinand II obliged Landgrave Maurice in 1630 to pay. The negotiations ended in a settlement in Kassel in 1632. In contrast to the favourable developments for the counts, there were the devastating consequences of the Thirty Years' War. The acquisition of the County of Pyrmont, which lies almost 90 kilometres north of the County of Waldeck, proved to be difficult, because, as in previous years, the Prince-Bishopric of Paderborn laid claim to it. Prince-bishop Ferdinand I had the county occupied in 1629 and besieged Pyrmont Castle, forcing its surrender after ten months. However, in 1631 Christian met King Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden, changed sides during the war and secured the county's support from the great power. After Sweden's victory over the imperial forces in June 1633 at the Battle of Oldendorf, Pyrmont was also taken a short time later and returned to Sweden's ally Waldeck. ==Witch Trials==