Topic summary
Electorate of Hesse
The Electorate of Hesse (German: Kurfürstentum Hessen), also known as Hesse-Kassel or Kurhessen, was the title used for the former Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel after an 1803 reform where Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor elevated its ruler to the rank of Elector, thus giving him a vote in any future elections to the emperorship. When the Holy Roman Empire was abolished in 1806, William I, Elector of Hesse, chose to retain the title of Elector, even though there was no longer an Emperor to elect. In 1807, with the Treaties of Tilsit, the area was annexed to the Kingdom of Westphalia, but in 1814, the Congress of Vienna restored the electorate.
The state was the only electorate within the German Confederation. It consisted of several detached territories to the north of Frankfurt, which survived until the state was annexed by Prussia in 1866 following the Austro-Prussian War.
The Elector's formal titles included "Elector of Hesse, Prince of Fulda (Fürst von Fulda), Prince of Hersfeld, Hanau, Fritzlar and Isenburg, Count of Katzenelnbogen, Dietz, Ziegenhain, Nidda, and Schaumburg."