Ernst Ludwig (Hessen-Darmstadt, Landgrave)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Landgrave Ernst Ludwig of Hesse-Darmstadt

Ernst Ludwig von Hessen-Darmstadt (born December 15, 1667 at Friedenstein Castle in Gotha ; † September 12, 1739 at Jägersburg Palace near Einhausen ) was Landgrave of Hessen-Darmstadt from 1678 to 1739 .

Life

Ernst Ludwig was a son of Landgrave Ludwig VI. von Hessen-Darmstadt (1630–1678) from his second marriage to Elisabeth Dorothea (1640–1709), daughter of Duke Ernst I of Saxe-Gotha . His successor when his father died in Hessen-Darmstadt in 1678 was Ernst Ludwig's older half-brother Ludwig VII , who, however, died shortly thereafter in the same year. His successor was Ernst Ludwig. At that time only 11 years old, he was under the reign of his capable mother until 1688.

In 1688 Ernst Ludwig had to leave the Darmstadt residence because of the war with France , which, like Rüsselsheim and Dornberg , was occupied by the French. He resided in Nidda and Gießen for ten years . After the death of his mother and his first wife, Pietism was decisively pushed back and almost all of its previous advisors were dismissed. Ernst Ludwig introduced the absolutist form of government in Hessen-Darmstadt , which resulted in an innovation in the tax system, the creation of a war department and expansion of the cities, especially Darmstadt. The estates were as good as not convened and tax increases decided over their heads.

The Landgrave showed himself to be a patron of theater and music and, like his father and older sisters Magdalene Sibylle and Auguste Magdalene , distinguished himself as a poet of hymns. Ernst Ludwig composed marches and played viol . His Kapellmeister was Christoph Graupner . In 1723 he applied for a position as cantor at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, but Ernst Ludwig did not dismiss him from his service.

Due to the ever increasing debt burden, which was constantly increased by extravagance, ambition for representation, building passion and love of splendor of the sovereign, Ernst Ludwig turned to alchemy . The Darmstadt residential palace was rebuilt by the architect Louis Remy de la Fosse, appointed by Ernst Ludwig, after a fire in 1715. Ernst Ludwig's great passion for hunting was expressed in the grounds of many new hunting castles such as the Jägersburg and the Kleudelsburg . The expenses were so burdensome that Ernst Ludwig was forced by the opposition officials and theologians to give up the parforce hunt in 1718.

ancestors

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ludwig V Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (1577–1626)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Georg II Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (1605–1661)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Magdalena of Brandenburg (1582–1616)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Louis VI. Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (1630–1678)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Johann Georg I Elector of Saxony (1585–1656)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sophie Eleonore of Saxony (1609–1671)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Magdalena Sibylle of Prussia (1586–1659)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ernst Ludwig Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Johann III. of Saxe-Weimar (1570–1605)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ernst I of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1601–1675)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Dorothea Maria of Anhalt (1574–1617)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Elisabeth Dorothea of ​​Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1640–1709)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Johann Philipp von Sachsen-Altenburg (1597–1639)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Elisabeth Sophia of Saxe-Altenburg (1619–1680)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Elisabeth of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel (1593–1650)
 
 
 
 
 
 

progeny

Ernst Ludwig married Dorothea Charlotte (1661–1705), daughter of Margrave Albrecht von Brandenburg-Ansbach (1620–1667) in Darmstadt on December 1, 1687 , with whom he had the following children:

⚭ 1710 Count Johann Friedrich von Hohenlohe-Öhringen (1683–1765)
  • Ludwig VIII (1691–1768), Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
⚭ 1717 Countess Charlotte von Hanau-Lichtenberg (1700–1726)
⚭ 1720 Landgrave Maximilian of Hessen-Kassel (1689–1753)
Luise Sophie Spiegel, Countess Eppstein

In his second marriage, he morganatically married on January 20, 1727 in Darmstadt Luise Sophie, baroness von Spiegel zu Desenberg (1690–1751), who was appointed Countess von Eppstein , after the noble family that had died out . She was born in Werna and she died in Rauschenberg / Hessen.

She was previously widowed Countess von Seiboldsdorf (also: Freyen-Seyboldsdorf ), ⚭ in first marriage with the Imperial Count Franz Christoph von Seiboldsdorf ( Freien-Seiboltsdorf ), (* 1673; † in September 1725 in Strasbourg ); Bavarian chamberlain , field marshal and owner of an infantry regiment. Her father was Baron Hermann Wilhelm von Spiegel zu Desenberg , Lieutenant General and Colonel-Jägermeister in the service of Hessen-Kassel .

The Landgrave had two daughters, Countess Eppstein:

  • Louisa Charlotte (1727–1753), Countess of Eppstein
  • Friederika Sophia (1730–1770), Countess of Eppstein
⚭ 1764 Freiherr Johann Carl Ludwig Christian von Pretlack (born January 29, 1716; † September 24, 1781)

Furthermore, Ernst Ludwig had a son born out of wedlock with Charlotte Luise, baroness von Forstner (1686–1727), lady- in- waiting in Darmstadt, * in Stuttgart † in Arheilgen near Darmstadt; a granddaughter of the Württemberg chancellor Christoph Forstner zu Dambenois (1598–1667); her parents were Heinrich Friedrich Forstner von Dambenoy (1641–1687) and his wife Claudia Maria von Lützelburg . Her father was initially a Brandenburg-Bayreuth privy councilor , most recently a Württemberg privy councilor , court marshal and chief bailiff of Urach . Her brother, the Württemberg Oberhofmarschall Georg Friedrich Forstner von Dambenoy (1676-1717), had fallen out with the Württemberg duke because of his mistress Wilhelmine von Graevenitz and her political intrigues and had to leave the country. At the instigation of Grävenitz, his property was confiscated and the family archive was destroyed. His sudden death in Milan sparked rumors of poisoning. After her liaison with Landgrave Ernst Ludwig, Charlotte Luise von Forstner married von Stauff: ⚭ 1719 with Johann Georg Alexander von Stauff, chamberlain at the court of Darmstadt (* around 1684; † 1729 in Arheilgen):

  • Friedrich Carl Ludwig von Hohenstein zu Fürstenfeld (* 1711; † approx. 1715)

literature

Web links

Commons : Ernst Ludwig  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Christoph Graupner (* January 13, 1683 in Kirchberg im Zwickauer Land / Saxony; † May 10, 1760 in Darmstadt) , cantata "Kommet frolocket mit Dancken und Loben", D-DS Mus ms 437-29, GWV 1174 / 29, RISM ID no. 450006251, pp. 7-9.
  2. ↑ Sybille Osswald-Bargende: The mistress, the prince and the power: Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz , 2000, p. 65.
  3. ↑ Sybille Osswald-Bargende: The mistress, the prince and power: Christina Wilhelmina von Grävenitz , 2000, p. 83 f.
predecessor Office successor
Louis VII Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
1678–1739 		Louis VIII
personal data
SURNAME Ernst Ludwig
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hessen-Darmstadt, Ernst Ludwig von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
DATE OF BIRTH December 15, 1667
PLACE OF BIRTH at Friedenstein Castle, Gotha
DATE OF DEATH September 12, 1739
Place of death at Jägersburg Castle near Darmstadt