Countess Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg, full name: ''Countess Charlotte Christine Magdalene Johanna of Hanau-Lichtenberg'' (2 May 1700, Bouxwiller – 1 July 1726,

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

) was the wife of landgrave

Louis VIII Louis VIII (5 September 1187 – 8 November 1226), nicknamed The Lion (french: Le Lion), was King of France from 1223 to 1226. As prince, he invaded England on 21 May 1216 and was excommunicated by a papal legate on 29 May 1216. On 2 June 1216 ...

Hesse-Darmstadt The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Darmstadt) was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse betwee ...

Biography

The Heiress

Charlotte was the only surviving child of the last Count of Hanau, Johann Reinhard III, and the Countess

Dorothea Friederike of Brandenburg-Ansbach Dorothea Friederike of Brandenburg-Ansbach (12 August 1676 – 13 March 1731) was the daughter of Margrave John Frederick of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1654–1686) and his first wife, Margravine Johanna Elisabeth of Baden-Durlach (1651–16 ...

. Thus, she was the sole heir of the County of Hanau.

Marriage

The first man to ask her hand in marriage, was the crown prince and later Landgrave William VIII of

Hesse-Kassel The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Kassel), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, was a state in the Holy Roman Empire that was directly subject to the Emperor. The state was created in 1567 when the Lan ...

. Had this marriage taken place, the county of Hanau would have remained united. However, it failed because of religious differences between William, who was a

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

and Charlotte, who was

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

. The second candidate was the crown prince and later Landgrave Louis VIII of Hesse-Darmstadt, who was Lutheran. They were married on 5 April 1717. From this marriage the following children were born: * Landgrave Louis IX, married in 1741

Countess Palatine Caroline of Zweibrücken Caroline of the Palatinate-Zweibrücken (Caroline Henriette Christiane Philippine Louise; 9 March 1721 – 30 March 1774) was Landgravine of Hesse-Darmstadt by marriage to Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt. She was famed as one of the mos ...

, had issue * Prince George William, married in 1748

Countess Maria Louise Albertine of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Falkenburg Countess Maria Louise Albertine of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Falkenburg (16 March 1729 – 11 March 1818); also known as ''Princess George'', was heiress to the barony of Broich and by marriage Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt. She was the grandmother and ...

, had issue * Princess Caroline Louise; married in 1751 Charles Frederick, Margrave of Baden, later first Grand Duke of Baden, had issue

Death

Charlotte Christine died on 1 July 1726 in Darmstadt. A number of funeral sermons were published in July 1726 in Darmstadt.John Rhenius and Johann Reinhard Vulpius: ''Funeral sermon'', Gießen, undated, printed by Johann Reinhard Vulpius. Reference: Lenz, Catalogue No. 350; Christoph Friedrich Ayrmannus: uneral sermon Gießen, undated, printed by Müller. Reference: Lenz, Catalogue No. 441, Johann Heinrich Stephani and Wilhelm Krebs: ''Darmstad's most guilty tears and Love sacrifice, as Hereditary Princess Charlotta Christina Magdalena née Countess Johanna of Hanau died 07/01/1726'', Darmstadt, 1726. Reference: Public Library Hanau, Dept. Hesse-Hanau, Signature: I h 2 B, Lenz, Catalog No. 442, and further in the Hessian State Archives, Marburg, files: ECR 15, 242; 81 Hanau government A 46.6. Reference: ''Marburg Catalogue'', and further in the Hessian State Archives, Darmstadt, inventory: D 4 No. 412/3. Reference: ''Catalog State Archives Darmstadt''

The inheritance

As Charlotte Christine died before her father, her son, the future Landgrave Louis IX, became heir apparent of the County of Hanau. This was, however, restricted to the Lichtenberg part of the county, because the Münzenberg part of the county had been awarded to the county of

in an earlier inheritance contract between Hanau and Hesse-Kassel. A dispute arose, because it wasn't clear to which part the district of Babenhausen would belong. It escalated into a military conflict.

occupied

Dietzenbach Dietzenbach is the seat of Offenbach district in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany and lies roughly 12 km southeast of Frankfurt am Main on the waterstream Bieber. Before the Second World War, the current town was ...

Schaafheim Schaafheim is a municipality in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district, in Hesse, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, a ...

and ; Hesse-Kassel occupied the rest of the district of Babenhausen, deploying troops that had already been stationed in Hanau. The dispute could be settled only after protracted litigation before the highest courts of the Empire, which in 1771 issued the so-called ''Partifikationsrezess''. The towns of , Dietzenbach, , Schaafheim and Schlierbach were awarded to Hesse-Darmstadt and were incorporated into the district

Ancestors

References

* Alfred Börckel: ''Wives of the princes of Hesse from St. Elizabeth to the present day, represented in their life and work'', 2nd ed. Gießen, 1908, p. 74 ff. * Reinhard Dietrich: ''The state constitution in the Land of Hanau'' = ''Hanauer history publications'', vol. 34, Hanau 1996, * Louis William Holland: ''Letters of the Duchess Elisabeth Charlotte of Orleans from the years 1716 to 1718'' = Library of the Literary Association, vol. 122, Tübingen 1874. * ''Catalog of funeral sermons and other writings of mourning in the Hessian State Archives, Marburg'' = ''Marburg staff research journal'', vol 14, Sigmaringen 1992. * ''Catalog of funeral sermons and other writings of mourning in the Hessian State Archive Darmstadt'' = ''Marburger staff research journal'', vol 13, Sigmaringen 1991. * Manfred Knodt: ''The Regents of Hesse-Darmstadt.'' 2nd ed, Darmstadt 1977. * Rudolf Lenz: ''Catalogue of funeral sermons and other writings of sadness in the Hesse University and State Library = Marburger staff research journal'', vol 11, Sigmaringen 1990. * Reinhard Suchier: ''Genealogy of Countly House of Hanau'', in: Festschrift of the Hanau Historical Association for its fifty-year jubilee celebration on 27 August 1894, Hanau 1894. * Ernst J. Zimmermann: ''Hanau city and country'', 3rd Edition, Hanau 1919, reprinted 1978.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg House of Hanau 1700 births 1726 deaths