George II (Hessen-Darmstadt)

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George II of Hessen-Darmstadt

Georg II of Hessen-Darmstadt (born March 17, 1605 in Darmstadt ; † June 11, 1661 ibid) was Landgrave of Hessen-Darmstadt from 1626 until his death .

Life

Georg was a son of Landgrave Ludwig V of Hesse-Darmstadt (1577–1626) from his marriage to Magdalene (1582–1616), daughter of Elector Johann Georg von Brandenburg .

His cavalier tour, accompanied by Count Johann Kasimir von Erbach , took him through most of Europe, where he also carried out diplomatic missions on behalf of his father. During the clashes in the Thirty Years' War , Ludwig V, loyal to the emperor, was taken prisoner by the Elector Palatinate ; During Georg's wedding celebrations in Dresden he died and Georg became Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1626.

During the Thirty Years War, Georg, loyal to Emperor Ferdinand II (HRR) , behaved neutrally. Nevertheless, the imperial soldiers raged in Hessen-Darmstadt. In 1629 Georg had to consent to the edict of restitution . In contrast to most of the Protestant imperial princes, the landgrave had not entered into an alliance with Sweden in 1631. It was therefore used by the emperor as a mediator after 1635, after the Peace of Prague had been concluded , to persuade other Protestant imperial princes and imperial cities to join the peace treaty. As a result, the landgrave acquired the designation "Reichsfriedenmacher"

In the Treaty of Höchst in 1631, after personal negotiations with King Gustav Adolf , Georg left the fortress of Rüsselsheim, who recognized him as neutral.

Already in 1625 a dispute with Hessen-Kassel began about the legacy of the extinct Hessen-Marburg line . Georg quickly conquered all the territories granted to him by the emperor, which Kassel finally had to cede in 1627. Hessen-Kassel, allied with Sweden and France, succeeded in recapturing the areas from 1645. Georg and his family fled from the atrocities of war and the plague to Lichtenberg Castle and later to Giessen . In the Treaty of Münster and Osnabrück , Georg finally lost the territories granted to him by the Emperor in 1622 to Landgravine Amalie Elisabeth von Hessen-Kassel , for which Georg was compensated with 60,000 thalers. The Hessian War was over.

Hessen-Darmstadt suffered considerably in the Thirty Years' War. Trade and agriculture were completely ruined. Georg bought grain and cattle, which he had distributed. This enabled him to revive agriculture in the country. In 1650 he had successfully urged fled subjects to return to the country. In 1659, Georg turned away from his policies that were friendly to the emperor and joined the Rhenish Confederation , which was directed against the Habsburgs. In his will he recommended that his successor "stick together in harmony" with Hessen-Kassel.

progeny

Georg II married Sophie Eleonore of Saxony (1609–1671), daughter of Elector Johann Georg I of Saxony , on July 1, 1627 at Torgau Castle . They had three sons and twelve daughters, the female names ending in "a" or "e" depending on the source.

  • Louis VI. (1630–1678), Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
⚭ 1. 1650 Princess Marie Elisabeth of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf (1634–1665)
⚭ 2. 1666 Princess Elisabeth Dorothea of ​​Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1640–1709)
  • Magdalena Sybilla (1631-1651)
  • Georg (1632–1676), paraged Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt zu Itter
⚭ 1. 1661 Princess Dorothea Augusta of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (1636–1662)
⚭ 2. 1667 Countess Juliane Alexandrine von Leiningen-Dagsburg-Heidesheim (1651–1703)
⚭ 1650 Landgrave Wilhelm Christoph of Hessen-Homburg (1625–1681)
⚭ 1653 Elector Philipp Wilhelm von Pfalz-Neuburg (1615–1690)
⚭ 1665 Count Christoph Ludwig I. zu Stolberg (1634–1704)
⚭ 1667 Count Johann II. Von Waldeck-Pyrmont (1623–1668)
⚭ 1671 Duke Bernhard I of Saxe-Meiningen

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Lothar Höbelt: From Nördlingen to Jankau. Imperial strategy and warfare 1634-1645 . In: Republic of Austria, Federal Minister for National Defense (Hrsg.): Writings of the Army History Museum Vienna . tape 22 . Heeresgeschichtliches Museum, Vienna 2016, ISBN 978-3-902551-73-3 , p. 18 .

Web links

Commons : George II.  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
predecessor Office successor
Ludwig V. Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
1626–1661 		Louis VI.
personal data
SURNAME George II
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hessen-Darmstadt, Georg II of (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (1626–1661)
DATE OF BIRTH March 17, 1605
PLACE OF BIRTH Darmstadt
DATE OF DEATH June 11, 1661
Place of death Darmstadt