Countess Magdalene of Waldeck-Wildungen (1558 – 9 September 1599), , was a countess from the House of Waldeck and through marriage successively Countess of Hanau-Münzenberg and Countess of Nassau-Siegen.
Biography
Magdalene was born in 1558 as the youngest daughter of Count Philip IV of Waldeck-Wildungen and his third wife Countess Jutta of Isenburg-Grenzau. The exact date and place of Magdalene's birth are unknown.
Magdalene married at on 5 February 1576 to Count Philip Louis I of Hanau-Münzenberg (21 November 1553 – Hanau, 4 February 1580), the eldest son of Count Philip III of Hanau-Münzenberg and Countess Palatine Helena of Simmern. Philip Louis succeeded his father in 1561 and was first under the regency of his uncle Count John VI 'the Elder' of Nassau-Siegen (Philip III of Hanau-Münzenberg and John VI 'the Elder' of Nassau-Siegen were both sons of Countess Juliane of Stolberg-Wernigerode). Politically, the marriage could represent a conscious withdrawal on her groom's part from the politically dominant influence of his guardian, John VI 'the Elder' of Nassau-Siegen. Philip Louis died "Donnerstag nach Purificationis Mariæ, zwischen 4 und 5 Uhr Nachmittag durch eine Ohnmacht, welche ihre Gnaden ganz unversehentlich über Tisch und dem Spielen ankommen" ("Thursday after Purificationis Mariæ, between 4 and 5 o'clock in the afternoon by a fainting which His Grace completely unexpectedly suffered at the table and at the games").
Magdalena remarried at Dillenburg Castle on 9 December 1581 to Count John VII 'the Middle' of Nassau-Siegen (, 7 June 1561 – Siegen Castle, 27 September 1623), the second son of Count John VI 'the Elder' of Nassau-Siegen and his first wife Landgravine Elisabeth of Leuchtenberg. Through his marriage to Magdalene, John 'the Middle' strengthened relations within the Wetterauer Grafenverein and thus contributed to the strengthening of the House of Nassau. John 'the Middle' was a cousin of Magdalena's first husband. Magdalena's great-grandmother Countess Joanne of Nassau-Siegen, was an older sister of Count John V of Nassau-Siegen, the great-grandfather of John 'the Middle'. Magdalene's great-great-grandmother Countess Jutta of Eppstein-Münzenberg was a granddaughter of Count Adolf I of Nassau-Siegen, the elder brother of Count Engelbert I of Nassau-Siegen, the grandfather of Count John V.
Magdalene died at Idstein Castle on 9 September 1599, where she stayed for the funeral of her nephew Count John Philip of Nassau-Idstein. She was buried in the in the in Dillenburg on 13 September 1599. Bernhard Textor wrote a Leichenpredigt for Magdalene which was published in Herborn in 1600.
John 'the Middle' remarried at Rotenburg Castle on 27 August 1603 to Duchess Margaret of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (Haus Sandberg am Alsensund near Sonderburg, 24 February 1583 – , Siegen, 10/20 April 1658), the youngest daughter of Duke John 'the Younger' of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg and his first wife Duchess Elisabeth of Brunswick-Grubenhagen.
When his father died on 8 October 1606, John 'the Middle' succeeded his father together with his brothers William Louis, George, Ernest Casimir and John Louis. On 30 March 1607 the brothers divided their possessions. John acquired Siegen, Freudenberg, Netphen, Hilchenbach, and the Haingericht.
John 'the Middle' died aged 62 and was buried in the in Siegen on 5/15 November 1623. There he had planned the construction of a dignified burial vault for the dynasty he founded. For this, there are remarkable notes in Latin, partly in elegiac couplets, for a projected memorial and burial place of the sovereign family, from the time around 1620, with the names of all 25 children from his two marriages, also with details of birth, marriage and death of his relatives. Since the project was not carried out, the burials of the members of the sovereign family between 1607 and 1658 took place in the inadequate burial vault under the choir of the mentioned parish church. At a time hitherto unknown, Magdalene was interred there with her husband John 'the Middle'. On 29 April 1690 Magdalene and John were transferred to the in Siegen.