William VIII (10 March 1682 – 1 February 1760) ruled 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 **Ge ...

Landgraviate

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 ...

from 1730 until his death, first as regent (1730–1751) and then as landgrave (1751–1760).

Life

Born in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

, he was the seventh son of

Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel Charles of Hesse-Kassel (german: Karl von Hessen-Kassel; 3 August 1654 – 23 March 1730), of the House of Hesse, was the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel from 1670 to 1730. Childhood Charles was the second son of William VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Kass ...

and

Maria Amalia of Courland Princess Maria Anna Amalia of Courland (12 June 1653 – 16 June 1711) was Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel through her marriage to Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel. She was the child of Jacob Kettler, Duke of Courland and Semigallia and Mar ...

. After his elder brother

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick ...

became

King of Sweden The monarchy of Sweden is the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parliamentary system: see the Instrument o ...

in 1720 and his father died in 1730, he became de facto ruler of Hesse-Kassel. He officially became landgrave after his brother's death on 25 March 1751. Five years later, the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

began and William joined with the

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

forces.

became an important battlefield and was occupied by

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

on several occasions. He had a deep, personal friendship with

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...

King of Prussia The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman C ...

, and

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

Charles VII. His second son and successor, Frederick, became a Catholic, which led to restrictions on

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in the

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 ...

landgraviate and the transfer of the

Principality of Hanau Hanau () is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main and is part of the Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region. Its station is a major railway junction and it has a port on the ri ...

to his

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

grandson

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

. During his reign, William started building Schloss Wilhelmsthal in

Calden Calden is a municipality in the district of Kassel in Hesse, Germany. It is located 12 km northwest of the city of Kassel, and the Kassel Airport is situated near Calden. Schloss Wilhelmsthal Schloss Wilhelmsthal is a Baroque château loca ...

and collected paintings, including works by

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

. File:Schloss Wilhelmsthal - Wilhelmsthal.JPG, Schloss Wilhelmsthal

Family

In 1717, William married Dorothea Wilhelmina (20 March 1691 – 17 March 1743), eldest daughter of

Maurice William, Duke of Saxe-Zeitz Moritz Wilhelm (English: Maurice William; 12 March 1664 – 15 November 1718), a member of the Saxon House of Wettin, was the second and last Duke of Saxe-Zeitz from 1681 until his death. Life He was born at Moritzburg Castle in the Wettin ...

.
They had three children: *Charles (21 August 1718 – 17 October 1719); *

(1720 – 1785), his successor; *Maria Amalia (7 July 1721 – 19 November 1744). He died at

Rinteln Rinteln () is a small town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located on the banks of the Weser river above the Porta Westfalica. The town of Rinteln is in the broad valley between the hills of the Weserbergland and the North Lippe Bergland. In rela ...

in 1760.

Ancestry

References

* * Reinhard Dietrich (1996) (in German). ''Die Landesverfassung in dem Hanauischen'' = Hanauer Geschichtsblätter 34. Hanau. * Bernhard Schnackenburg (2000) (in German). ''Landgraf Wilhelm VIII. von Hessen-Kassel, Gründer der Kasselerer Gemäldegalerie''. In: Heide Wunder (Ed.): ''Kassel im 18. Jahrhundert''. Kassel. S. 71–87. * Wolf von Both/Hans Vogt (Ed.) (1964) (in German). ''Landgraf Wilhelm VIII. von Hessen-Kassel. Ein Fürst der Rokokozeit'' = Veröffentlichungen der Historischen Kommission für Hessen und Waldeck, Bd. 27,1/ Schriften zur Hessischen Kulturgeschichte, Bd. 1. Munich. * Franz Carl Theodor Piderit (1844) (in German)
''Geschichte der Haupt- und Residenzstadt Kassel'' S. 304 ff.
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:William 08, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel Landgraves of Hesse-Kassel People from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel 1682 births 1760 deaths Landgraves of Hesse German Calvinist and Reformed Christians 18th-century German people Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)