Helene Martini

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Helene Martini (born July 5, 1728 in Bockenheim near Frankfurt am Main , † July 8, 1803 in Darmstadt ) was 24 years old, until his death in 1768, mistress and confidante of Ludwig VIII of Hesse-Darmstadt , who lived from 1739 to 1768 Landgrave of Hessen-Darmstadt was.

Your childhood in Bockenheim

Helene grew up with her grandmother on the Schönhof in what was then the village of Bockenheim, which still belonged to Hessen-Kassel , together with her younger brother. Her parents were Carl Ludwig Martini (* 1698) and Susanna Catharina Meser. From 1629 the large Schönhof estate was owned by the Martini family. The family's prosperity was boosted by one of Dr. Peter Friedrich d'Orville threatened the strenuous process in which he demanded the repayment of the children's education costs. The process lasted for several years, even went to the Reich Chamber of Commerce and was lost. In October 1731, his father Carl Ludwig Martini therefore accepted service with the newly established Hessian Guard Dragon Regiment and came to the Gross-Gerau headquarters with his wife and children. At the same time, from 1731, Dr. Peter Friedrich d'Orville at the Schönhof in Bockenheim. Only three-year-old Helene stayed with her grandmother in Bockenheim for several years until the beginning of the 1740s, where she enjoyed an excellent upbringing and grew up there into a very beautiful woman. An officer of the Landgrave's life guard once advised the parents to contact the Landgrave directly and ask him for further use and recommendation for Carl Ludwig Martini, although it would be best if their exquisitely eloquent and agile daughter Helene be the bearer of the petition. It was done that way. In 1744, 16-year-old Helene petitioned the Kranichstein hunting lodge , a building complex in the north of Darmstadt , but never returned. The 53-year-old Landgrave, widowed for 18 years, took a great liking to her and forbade her to return to Bockenheim.

Your life with Landgrave Ludwig VIII (Hessen-Darmstadt)

The beautiful, young Helene Martini became the favorite of Landgrave Ludwig VIII of Hesse-Darmstadt (1691–1768) until his death. She enjoyed the love of the prince to the full and was appreciated for his unlimited trust. His wife Charlotte (1700–1726), daughter and heir to Count Johann Reinhard III. von Hanau, died prematurely. So Helena accompanied him a lot on trips and was given a house in Darmstadt on Ballonplatz. She was able to take her sister children into the castle to raise them with her.

She was on the best of terms with the princely family and also worked for the landgrave family, as Landgrave Ludwig VIII (Hessen-Darmstadt) claimed regency in Hesse together with his mother for the underage Friedrich IV of Hessen-Homburg until 1766 -Homburg . Ludwig had been in dispute with Hessen-Homburg over the rule of Braubach since 1747 , which could only be resolved in 1768 after his death. There were also conflicts with the Reformed Hereditary Prince and later Landgrave Wilhelm VIII of Hesse-Kassel , who at first tried in vain to secure the hand of the Lutheran Charlotte Christine. In the dispute with Hessen-Kassel about the Babenhausen office from the Hanau inheritance, Hessen-Kassel was able to secure most of the office after a long legal battle before the Reich Chamber of Commerce. Therefore, she also undertook diplomatic trips to Kassel, Stuttgart and other places. She was able to maintain her special position in the Landgrave's house for 24 years. She was and remained Ludwig's only and dearest friend until he suddenly died on October 17, 1768 in the Darmstadt Opera during a performance in his box. “Mamsel Lene”, as she was always called, appointed her sister's children as heirs to her fortune amounting to 30,000  florins . She died on July 8, 1803, 35 years after the death of Landgrave Ludwig VIII in Darmstadt.

portrait

An oil painting 77 × 95 cm by Helena Martini by the German painter Johann Conrad Seekatz (1719–1768) is preserved in the Kranichstein hunting lodge .

literature

  • Karl Esselborn (Hrsg.): Landgrave stories from the time of Ernst Ludwig, Ludwig VIII u. Louis IX , Marburg 1919
  • Heinrich Ludwig: History of Bockenheim , Verlag Dr. Waldemar Kramer, Frankfurt am Main, 1940

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Martini, Helene
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Mistress and confidante of Ludwig VIII of Hessen-Darmstadt
DATE OF BIRTH July 5, 1728
PLACE OF BIRTH Bockenheim
DATE OF DEATH July 8, 1803
Place of death Darmstadt