The Landgraviate of Hesse-Marburg (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Marburg) was a German
landgraviate
Landgrave (german: Landgraf, nl, landgraaf, sv, lantgreve, french: landgrave; la, comes magnus, ', ', ', ', ') was a noble title used in the Holy Roman Empire, and later on in its former territories. The German titles of ', ' ("margrave"), a ...
, and independent
principality
A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under ...
, within the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
, that existed between 1458 and 1500, and between 1567 and 1604/1650.
It consisted of the city of
Marburg
Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximate ...
and the surrounding towns of
Gießen
Giessen, spelled Gießen in German (), is a town in the German state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of both the district of Giessen and the administrative region of Giessen. The population is approximately 90,000, with roughly 37,000 univers ...
,
Nidda and
Eppstein
Eppstein is a town in the Main-Taunus-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. Eppstein lies west of Frankfurt am Main, around 12 km north east of the state capital Wiesbaden, and is at the edge of the Taunus mountains. The ruins of the Eppstein castle is ...
, approximately what is today called
Upper Hesse
The term Upper Hesse (german: Provinz Oberhessen) originally referred to the southern possessions of the Landgraviate of Hesse, which were initially geographically separated from the more northerly Lower Hesse by the .
Later, it became the name of ...
(').
The area had been a semi-independent county under the counts Giso or Gisonen since the 11th century, which at their extinction fell to the Landgraves of
Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and larg ...
in the 1130s.
When the daughter of
St. Elizabeth of Hungary
Elizabeth of Hungary (german: Heilige Elisabeth von Thüringen, hu, Árpád-házi Szent Erzsébet, sk, Svätá Alžbeta Uhorská; 7 July 1207 – 17 November 1231), also known as Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia, or Saint Elisabeth of Thuringia, ...
,
Sophie of Brabant
Sophie of Thuringia (20 March 1224 – 29 May 1275) was the second wife and only Duchess consort of Henry II, Duke of Brabant and Lothier. She was the heiress of Hesse which she passed on to her son, Henry upon her retention of the territory fol ...
, was able to secure the Western parts of Thuringia for her son
Henry the Child in 1265, therefore founding the state of
Landgraviate of Hesse
The Landgraviate of Hesse (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen) was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire. It existed as a single entity from 1264 to 1567, when it was divided among the sons of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse.
History
In the early Mid ...
, the Marburg area became its core territory.
However, Hesse-Marburg, by its name, refers only to the subdivision around Marburg. Basically the old county. This became an independent principality due to inheritance, i.e. by a landgrave splitting his possessions among two or more sons.
* This was first the case in 1485, but as the landgrave died without issue, and the landgraviate reverted to the greater Hesse.
* This was again the case in 1567,
Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse
Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse (13 November 1504 – 31 March 1567), nicknamed (in English: "the Magnanimous"), was a German nobleman and champion of the Protestant Reformation, notable for being one of the most important of the early Protestan ...
or ''Philip the Magnanimous'' split his large landgraviate into four parts, Hesse-Marburg being one of them.
When, in 1604
Louis IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Marburg
Landgrave Louis IV of Hesse-Marburg (27 May 1537 – 9 October 1604) was the son of Landgrave Philip I of Hesse and his wife Christine of Saxony. After the death of his father in 1567, Hesse was divided among his sons and Louis received Hesse-Mar ...
died without male issue, he bequeathed equal shares of his territory to the landgraviates 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 ...
(Marburg) and
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 ...
(), yet under the condition that both territories should remain Lutheran. Hesse-Kassel was Calvinist at that time.
As the two lines argued over the details of the division,
Maurice, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel
Maurice of Hesse-Kassel (german: Moritz; 25 May 1572 – 15 March 1632), also called Maurice the Learned or Moritz, was the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (or Hesse-Cassel) in the Holy Roman Empire from 1592 to 1627.
Life
Maurice was born in Kassel a ...
annexed the whole territory and introduced
Calvinism
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 Cal ...
. After a long dispute and armed conflict, Maurice — who had enemies at home as well — resigned in 1627 and left his part of the territory to the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt.
However, in the
Hessian War
The Hessian War (german: Hessenkrieg), in its wider sense sometimes also called the Hessian Wars (''Hessenkriege''), was a drawn out conflict that took place between 1567 and 1648, sometimes pursued through diplomatic means, sometimes by military ...
of 1645–48, which was a sub-conflict of the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...
, the two lines, which were on different sides, again fought over the territory. This war led to the loss of life of up to two-thirds of the civilian population, one of the highest death toll in any German region in history.
In the end, the territory was divided as stipulated in Louis IV's will. Hesse-Kassel taking the northern and Hesse-Darmstadt the southern part.
All areas of Hesse-Marburg are today located within the German state of
Hesse
Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...
.
External links
Landgraves of Hessen-Marburg
{{coord, 50, 48, 36, N, 8, 46, 15, W, display=title
States and territories disestablished in 1500
States and territories established in 1567
Marburg
Marburg ( or ) is a university town in the German federal state (''Bundesland'') of Hesse, capital of the Marburg-Biedenkopf district (''Landkreis''). The town area spreads along the valley of the river Lahn and has a population of approximate ...
House of Hesse-Marburg
The Landgraviate of Hesse-Marburg (german: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Marburg) was a German landgrave, landgraviate, and independent principality, within the Holy Roman Empire, that existed between 1458 and 1500, and between 1567 and 1604/1650.
It c ...
Early Modern history of Germany
Counties of the Holy Roman Empire
Former monarchies of Europe