George II of Hesse-Darmstadt, (17 March 1605, 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 the ...

– 11 June 1661) was the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt from 1626 to 1661.

Early life and ancestry

Born into the

House of Hesse The House of Hesse is a European dynasty, directly descended from the House of Reginar, 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 Peerage, Bur ...

, George was the eldest son of Ludwig V and his wife, Magdalene of Brandenburg.

Biography

On 1 April 1627 in Torgau, he married Sophia Eleonore of Saxony. Together, they had 15 children, three sons and twelve daughters. From 1645 to 1648 he led the so-called ''Hessenkrieg'' against the Landgravine Amalie Elizabeth of Hesse-Kassel over the inheritance of the extinct line of Hesse-Marburg. This conflict resulted in the loss of Hesse-Marburg to Hesse-Kassel.

Children

* Louis VI (1630–1678), married Maria Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp *Magdalena Sybilla (3 September 1631 – 5 August 1651), never married * George (1632–1676), married Duchess Dorothea Augusta of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg * Sophia Eleonore (1634–1663), married Landgrave William Christoph of Hesse-Homburg * Elisabeth Amalie (1635–1709), married Philip William, Elector Palatine *Louise Christine (15 January 1636 – 11 November 1697), married Christoph Ludwig I, Count of Stolberg-Stolberg and had issue. *Anna Maria (9 February 1637 – 21 April 1637), died young * Anna Sophia II, Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg (1638–1683) *Amalia Juliana (28 November 1639– 20 December 1639), died young *Stillborn daughter (1640) *Henrica Dorothea (14 October 1641 – 22 December 1672), married Count John II of Waldeck-Landau *John (24 November 1642 – 22 February 1643), died young *Augusta Philippina (29 December 1643 – 4 February 1672), never married. *Agnes (11 November 1645 – 12 November 1645), died young * Marie Hedwig (1647–1680), married Duke Bernhard I of Saxe-Meiningen

Ancestry

References

''Georg II. , Landgraf von Hessen-Darmstadt'' (Biography in German)Wikisource: ''Allgemeine Deutsch Biographie'' "Georg II. (Landgraf von Hesse-Darmstadt)" (in German)
, - 1605 births 1661 deaths Landgraves of Hesse-Darmstadt Nobility from Darmstadt 17th-century nobility from the Holy Roman Empire {{Germany-noble-stub