William II, Landgrave of Hesse-Wanfried-Rheinfels (also known as ''William the Younger''; born: 25 August 1671 in
Langenschwalbach; died: 1 April 1731 in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, 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 ''* ...
of
Hesse-Wanfried (1649–1711) and his first wife, Countess Sophie Magdalene of
Salm-Reifferscheid (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
canon 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
Christian 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, where troops of 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 ''* ...
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
lay state, to avert the impending extinction of the
Hesse-Wanfried line. After mediation by the Emperor, he married on 19 September 1719 with
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
Carmelite monastery at
Neuburg an der Donau, 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