Wolrad IV, Count of Waldeck

He was the son of Josias I and his wife, Countess Marie of Barby-Mühlingen. He married in 1607 to Anna of Baden-Durlach; he had ten children with her. Among them were Philip Dietrich and George Frederick.

The territorial policies of his father, Count Josias I, had brought Waldeck increasingly into conflict with the adjacent Landgraviate of Hesse. Hesse had exercised considerable influence on Waldeck during the Reformation. The conflict came to a head in 1615, when the city Korbach deposed a magistrate appointed by Wolrad at asked Hesse to appoint a new magistrate. The counts of Waldeck tried to intervene. Hesse responded, claiming that the Landgrave of Hesse was not only the liege lord, but also the sovereign over Korbach. In 1621, Landgrave Maurice of Hesse-Kassel invaded Waldeck. Wolrad fled from the county and asked the Dutch States-General and Stadtholder Maurice for help. Wolrad's brother Christian turned to Emperor Ferdinand II for support.[1] Ferdinand II forced Hesse te leave Waldeck.

In 1625, Wolrad and Christian inherited the County of Pyrmont. Since then, they styled themselves Counts of Waldeck-Pyrmont. During the Thirty Years' War, they lost control of Pyrmont, however, the county was returned to them after the Peace of Westphalia. In 1639, he inherited the County of Culemborg (now part of the Netherlands) and some smaller estates via his wife.

Wolrad was a member of the Fruitbearing Society, under the nickname der Frühespate.

Wolrad died in 1640 and was buried in the St. Kilian Church in Korbach.

• L. Curtze: Geschichte und Beschreibung des Fürstentums Waldeck, Arolsen, 1850, p. 611 ff
• Kamill Behr: Genealogie der in Europa regierenden Fürstenhäuser, Leipzig, 1854, p. 135