Schloss Wolfsgarten is a former hunting seat of the ruling family of

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 ...

, located in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

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 ...

n, approximately 15 kilometers south of

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

. The hunting lodge was established between 1722 and 1724 by Landgrave Ernst Ludwig of Hesse-Darmstadt. Ernst Ludwig's purpose in establishing Wolfsgarten was to pursue his passion for hunting with dogs which he introduced into Hesse in 1709. The original building corresponded to the usual pattern for hunting seats of that era with a rectangular yard around which was grouped housing for gentlemen, the stables for the horses, and kennels for the dogs. After Ernst Ludwig's successors abandoned hunting with dogs in 1768, Wolfsgarten was abandoned until the 1830s when the grand ducal family began to restore and expand the property. From 1879, Wolfsgarten became a favorite country retreat for Grand Dukes Ludwig IV and his son

Ernst Ludwig , spouses = , issue = , house = Hesse-Darmstadt , father = Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine , mother =Princess Alice of the United Kingdom , birth_date = , birth_place = New Palace, Darmstadt, Gran ...

. In the twentieth century, Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig extensively modernized Schloss Wolfsgarten and rearranged its park. After the abolition of the monarchy in 1918, Wolfsgarten became the principal residence of the former grand ducal family. It served as home to

Louis, Prince of Hesse and by Rhine Louis, Prince of Hesse and by Rhine (''Ludwig Hermann Alexander Chlodwig'', 20 November 1908 – 30 May 1968) was the youngest son of Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse by his second wife, Princess Eleonore of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich. He was a great ...

until his death in 1968 and then to his widow,

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...

, née Geddes (1913–1997), a close friend of Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

. Following her death it was occupied by

Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse Moritz, Landgrave of Hesse (legally ''Moritz Friedrich Karl Emanuel Humbert Prinz und Landgraf von Hessen'' 6 August 1926 – 23 May 2013) was the son of Prince Philip, Landgrave of Hesse, and the head of the House of Brabant and the German H ...

and since 2013 by his eldest son,

Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse Donatus, Prince and Landgrave of Hesse (legally ''Heinrich Donatus Philipp Umberto Prinz und Landgraf von Hessen''; born 17 October 1966) is the head of the House of Brabant and the German House of Hesse. He is the eldest son and successor of Ge ...

. Schloss Wolfsgarten is the property of the Hessian House Foundation (Hessische Hausstiftung), the family trust that holds ownership to the property belonging to all branches of the

House of Hesse The House of Hesse is a European dynasty, directly descended from the House of Brabant. They ruled the region of Hesse, one branch as prince-electors until 1866, and another branch as grand dukes until 1918. Burke's Royal Families of the World, ...

. The property is open to the public only on two weekends in May during the annual Rhododendrenblüte (

Rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

festival) and again for a weekend in September for the Schloss Wolfsgarten Garden Festival.

References

Wolfsgarten Hunting lodges in Germany {{royalty-stub