Wilhelm Christoph (Hesse-Homburg)
Wilhelm Christoph von Hessen-Homburg (born November 13, 1625 in Ober-Rosbach ; † August 27, 1681 in Hamburg ) was the second Landgrave of Hessen-Homburg , but was called Landgrave of Bingenheim.
origin
| Family tree Landgrave Wilhelm Christoph von Hessen-Homburg | ||||||
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| Great grandparents |
Philip I of Hesse ("the magnanimous") (* 1504; † 1567) |
Bernhard VIII. Zur Lippe (* 1527; † 1563) |
Count Georg I of Leiningen-Schaumburg (* 1533; † 1586) |
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| Grandparents |
Georg I of Hessen-Darmstadt (* 1547; † 1596) |
Count Christoph von Leiningen-Westerburg (* 1575; † 1635) |
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| parents |
Friedrich I of Hessen-Homburg (* 1585; † 1638) |
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Landgrave Wilhelm Christoph |
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Life
Wilhelm Christoph was born as the fourth child of Landgrave Friedrich I of Hessen-Homburg in Ober-Rosbach - where the family had fled from the plague . Since the father died in 1638, the children grew up under the tutelage of their mother Margarete Elisabeth von Leiningen-Westerburg .
When he married 16-year-old Sophie Eleonore von Hessen-Darmstadt on April 21, 1650 in Darmstadt , her father Georg II enfeoffed her with the office and Bingenheim Castle. Avoiding war, Wilhelm Christoph preferred to live in the former Bingenheim Castle in the Wetterau, which had been rebuilt several times and expanded into a palace . Since he preferred Bingenheim to his actual residence Homburg and even sold Homburg in 1669, he was usually called Landgrave of Bingenheim.
Wilhelm Christoph, a friend of poetry and science, was a member of the Fruitful Society . He was given the company name “the decorated one”.
On the other hand, Wilhelm Christoph was an avid follower of the witch hunt . While the other Hessian princes held back in this area, Wilhelm Christoph had 53 people, including five children, executed in his little country.
Wilhelm Christoph had twelve children with Sophia Eleonora - including eight sons, all of whom died before their father. The countess died at birth of the twelfth child in 29 years, and Wilhelm Christoph married on April 2, 1665 in Lübeck second wife Anna Elisabeth von Sachsen-Lauenburg (* August 23, 1624). Before the wedding, the forty-year-old widower had not seen his bride. "The princess turned out to be hunchbacked, and for physical love nature had given her the will, but not the ability" .
After a failed attempt at divorce, Wilhelm Christoph began a relationship with Anna Elisabeth von Lützow , his wife's 17-year-old lady -in- waiting . When she became pregnant, the landgrave had her kept hidden in Schloss Philippseck . That was not welcomed in Darmstadt, especially since Anna Elisabeth with Landgrave Ludwig VI. was related. He did not miss the chance to wipe out the unloved Homburg cousin and on June 6, 1670 ordered Anna von Lützow to be kidnapped and arrested at Biedenkopf Castle . The problem became more complicated because Wilhelm Christoph's brother Friedrich and his future uncle - the great elector - got involved. In June, Ludwig VI. Bring Anna von Lützow and her child to a secret place. Both should never appear again.
On August 24, 1672 the divorce from Anna Elisabeth took place and Schloss Philippseck was assigned to her as a residence. She tried to provide for the poor and founded schools in Bodenrod and Maibach . She died there on May 27, 1688 at the age of 64 and is buried in the church of Münster in the crypt under the choir.
Wilhelm Christoph was not interested in his Homburg Landgraviate. This is also proven by the sale of the town and office of Homburg for 200,000 guilders to his brother Georg Christian in 1669. He died on August 27, 1681 in Hamburg. He is buried in the crypt of Bad Homburg Castle . Hessen-Darmstadt moved in again - much to the annoyance of the other two Homburg brothers - in Bingenheim Palace and Office.
progeny
From his marriage to Sophia Eleonora , daughter of Landgrave Georg II of Hessen-Darmstadt , Wilhelm Christoph had the following offspring (three stillborn children are not listed):
- Friedrich (* / † 1651)
- Christine Wilhelmine (1653–1722) ⚭ 1671 Duke Friedrich of Mecklenburg (1638–1688)
- Leopold Georg (1654–1675)
- Friedrich (* / † 1655)
- Friedrich (* / † 1656)
- Karl Wilhelm (* / † 1658)
- Friedrich (* / † 1659)
- Magdalene Sophie (1660–1720) ⚭ 1679 Count Wilhelm Moritz von Solms-Greifenstein (1651–1724)
- Friedrich Wilhelm (1662–1663)
literature
- Barbara Dölemeyer: Landgrave Wilhelm Christoph, the "Bingenheimer" - On the trail of the Homburg Landgraves in the Wetterau . In: From the city archive - Lectures on Bad Homburg History 1994/95, Bad Homburg vd Höhe 1996, pp. 41–65
- Hessen-Homburg-Bingenheim . In: Heinrich August Pierer , Julius Löbe (Hrsg.): Universal Lexicon of the Present and the Past . 4th edition. tape 8 . Altenburg 1859, p. 339 ( zeno.org ).
Web links
- historicum.net
- Hessen-Homburg, Wilhelm Christof Landgraf von. Hessian biography. (As of January 21, 2020). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).
Individual evidence
- ^ Herbert Rosendorfer : The Prince of Homburg: Biography . dtv, Munich 1991, ISBN 3-423-11448-7 , p. 99
- ^ Gerta Walsh, love stories in Bad Homburg, Societäts-Verlag Frankfurt; ISBN 3-7973-09058 , p. 21
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Friedrich I. |
Landgrave of Hessen-Homburg 1648–1669 |
Georg Christian |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wilhelm Christoph |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Wilhelm Christoph of Hessen-Homburg |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | second Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 13, 1625 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ober-Rosbach |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 27, 1681 |
| Place of death | Bingenheim |