Juliana of Hesse-Darmstadt (14 April 1606 in

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 ...

– 15 January 1659 in

Osterode am Harz Osterode am Harz, often simply called Osterode (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Ostroe''), is a town in south-eastern Lower Saxony, Niedersachsen on the south-western edge of the Harz mountains. It was the seat of government of the Landkr ...

) was the wife of Count Ulrich II of

East Frisia East Frisia or East Friesland (german: Ostfriesland; ; stq, Aastfräislound) is a historic region in the northwest of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is primarily located on the western half of the East Frisian peninsula, to the east of West Frisia ...

and was

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

for her minor son Enno Louis from 1648 to 1651. Her parents were Landgrave

Louis V Louis V may refer to: * Louis V of France (967–987) * Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor and V of Germany (1282–1347) * Louis V, Duke of Bavaria (1315–1361) * Louis V, Elector Palatine (ruled 1508–1544) * Louis V, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (r ...

of Hesse-Darmstadt and

Magdalene of Brandenburg Magdalene of Brandenburg, also Magdalene and Magdalen, (7 January 1582 – 4 May 1616) was the daughter of John George, Elector of Brandenburg and his third wife Elisabeth of Anhalt-Zerbst. Issue She married Louis V, Landgrave of Hesse-Dar ...

, daughter of Elector John George von Brandenburg. Juliana arrived in East Frisia on 5 March 1631 and married count Ulrich II on the same day. She and her husband had three sons: Enno Louis, George Christian and Edzard Ferdinand. Even during the turmoil 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 ...

Ulrich managed to build a

Lustschloss In Renaissance and Early Modern German architecture, a ''Lustschloss'' (french: maison de plaisance, both equating in English to "pleasure castle/house") is a small country house or palace which served the private pleasure of its owner, usuall ...

for his wife at Sandhorst. It was completed in 1648 even though East Frisia had to endure great hardship during the war, due to various foreign occupiers. After her husband's death, she was appointed guardian of her minor sons, and

of the county. However, she sent her cumbersome sons abroad and lived a life of

decadence The word decadence, which at first meant simply "decline" in an abstract sense, is now most often used to refer to a perceived decay in standards, morals, dignity, religious faith, honor, discipline, or skill at governing among the members of ...

, leaving the management of the badly damaged county in the hands of her favourites, who managed the county poorly. This led to increasing problems with the East Frisian Estates. Most notable among these favourites were Secret Councillor Johann von Marenholz and his wife

Elisabeth von Ungnad Elisabeth von Ungnad (1614–1683), was a German court official.Hans Friedl: Ungnad, Elisabeth Freiin von. In: Hans Friedl u. a. (Hrsg.): Biographisches Handbuch zur Geschichte des Landes Oldenburg. Hrsg. im Auftrag der Oldenburgischen Landschaft. ...

zu Sonneck, who a been a

lady-in-waiting A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...

for Juliana. Juliana was alleged to have had an affair with Marenholz, which later proved his undoing. He was executed in

Wittmund Wittmund is a town and capital of the district of Wittmund, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Geography Wittmund is a town of 21,000 inhabitants located in Germany's historic coastal district of East Frisia, between the towns of Aurich and Jever. The ...

on 21 July 1651, after a show trial. In the meantime, Juliana had moved the court from

Aurich Aurich (; East Frisian Low Saxon: ''Auerk'', West Frisian: ''Auwerk'', stq, Aurk) is a town in the East Frisian region of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is the capital of the district of Aurich and is the second largest City in East Frisia, both i ...

to Sandhorst to be able to indulge in the sweet life undisturbedly. Many East Frisians held that under Marenholz and his wife, the problems of the county had gotten out of hand and urged the young Count Enno Louis to return to his County. Emperor Ferdinand III declared Enno Louis to be an adult in 1651 and in May that year Enno Louis removed his mother from government. She was sent to her

Wittum Wittum (), Widum or Witthum is a medieval Latin legal term, known in marital and ecclesiastical law. Provide for a widow at the wedding The term referred initially to steps taken by a husband to provide for his wife if she became a widow. The wi ...

Berum Castle Berum Castle is located in the Berum district the East Frisian town of Hage in Germany. It is one of the most important sites in East Frisian history. History The castle is first mentioned in a document of 1310, as the seat of a member of t ...

. In 1654 she bought the farm Westerhof in

, where she died on 15 January 1659.

Ancestors

References and sources

* Tielke, Martin (ed.): ''Biographisches Lexikon für Ostfriesland'', Ostfriesisches Landschaftliche Verlag- u. Vertriebsgeschäft, Aurich, vol. 1 (1993), vol. 2 (1997), vol. 3 (2001) *

Franz Kurowski Franz Kurowski (November 17, 1923 − May 28, 2011) was a German author of fiction and non-fiction who specialised in World War II topics. He is best known for producing apologist, revisionist and semi-fictional works on the history of the war, i ...

: ''Das Volk am Meer – Die dramatische Geschichte der Friesen'', Türmer-Verlag 1984, . * Mathilde Raven: ''Elisabeth von Ungnad – Biographischer Roman aus der Geschichte Oldenburg – Ostfrieslands '' Lohse-Eissing Verlag, . {{DEFAULTSORT:Juliana of Hesse-Darmstadt 1606 births 1659 deaths Nobility from Darmstadt Landgravines of Hesse-Darmstadt East Frisia Regents of East Frisia German people of the Thirty Years' War House of Hesse House of Cirksena 17th-century women rulers