William II, Landgrave of Hesse-Wanfried-Rheinfels (also known as ''William the Younger''; born: 25 August 1671 in

Langenschwalbach Bad Schwalbach (called Langenschwalbach until 1927) is the district seat of Rheingau-Taunus-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. Geography Geographic location Bad Schwalbach is a spa town some 20 km northwest of Wiesbaden. It lies at 289 to 465&nbs ...

; died: 1 April 1731 in

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, and also buried there) was a son of the Landgrave

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

Hesse-Wanfried The mini-state Hesse-Wanfried existed from about 1700 to 1731. It was a principality (Landgraviate) of the Holy Roman Empire in the area of the today's Land of Hesse. Governed by a cadet line of the House of Hesse under the sovereignty of the land ...

(1649–1711) and his first wife, Countess Sophie Magdalene of

Salm-Reifferscheid Salm is the name of several historic countships and principalities in present Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and France. History Origins The County of Salm arose in the tenth century in Vielsalm, in the Ardennes region of present Belgium. It was ...

(d. 1675). He succeeded his father as Landgrave of Hesse-Wanfried and Hesse-Rheinfels. After 1711, he styled himself "Landgrave of Hesse-Rheinfels".

Life

William the Younger began his career as

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in Cologne and Strasbourg. He was described as "stunted poor in mind and in bad environment". After his father's death in 1711 he travelled to Wanfried, where his younger half-brother

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had assumed power. They had a dispute, which was sellted by emperor Charles VI. Christian gave up his claim on Hesse-Wanfried-Rheinfels, in exchange for an annual pension of 7500 guilders, plus Eschwege Castle. The castle had been pledged to Brunswick-Bevern in 1667. It was, however, redeemed for Christian in 1713. William ruled Hesse-Wanfried-Rheinfels from 1711 to 1731. He travelled often, usually to the Imperial Court in Vienna. In 1718, the emperor put him in charge of

Rheinfels Castle Rheinfels Castle (german: Burg Rheinfels) is a castle ruin located above the left (west) bank of the Rhine in Sankt Goar, Germany. It was started in 1245 by Count Diether V of Katzenelnbogen. After expansions, it was the largest fortress in the M ...

, where troops of Landgrave

of Hesse-Kassel had withstood and repulsed three heavy sieges by the French. In 1719, William obtained permission from the Pope to revert to the

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state, to avert the impending extinction of the

line. After mediation by the Emperor, he married on 19 September 1719 with

Ernestine Ernestine is a feminine given name. Ernest is the male counterpart of this name. Notable people with the name include: * Ernestine Anderson (1928–2016), American jazz and blues singer * Ernestine Bayer (1909–2006), American athlete * Ernestine ...

, the daughter of Count Palatine Theodore Eustace of Sulzbach. The marriage remained childless. After William's death, Ernestine continued to live at Rheinfels Castle for a while, but then became prioress of the

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monastery at

Neuburg an der Donau Neuburg an der Donau (Central Bavarian: ''Neiburg an da Donau'') is a town which is the capital of the Neuburg-Schrobenhausen district in the state of Bavaria in Germany. Divisions The municipality has 16 divisions: * Altmannstetten * Bergen, Neu ...

, where she died on 5 April 1775. Hesse-Wanfried and Hesse-Rheinfels were inherited by his younger half-brother, who had styled himself ''Christian of Eschwege'' since 1711.

References

* Reinhold Strauß: ''Chronik von Wanfried'', 1908 * Anonymous: ''Chronik von Wanfried 2006'' (unpublished) *Eckhart G. Franz, ''Das Haus Hessen,'' Stuttgart, 2005, Landgraves of Hesse House of Hesse 1671 births 1731 deaths 17th-century German people 18th-century German people {{Germany-noble-stub