Luise Henriette Karoline of Hessen-Darmstadt

Luise of Hessen-Darmstadt, Grand Duchess of Hessen and the Rhine

Luise Henriette Karoline von Hessen-Darmstadt (born February 15, 1761 in Darmstadt , † October 24, 1829 in Auerbach ) was the first Grand Duchess of Hesse and the Rhine by marriage .

Life

Luise was a daughter of Prince Georg Wilhelm von Hessen-Darmstadt (1722–1782) from his marriage to Luise (1729–1818), daughter of Count Christian Karl Reinhard zu Leiningen-Dagsburg .

The princess was part of Marie Antoinette's entourage in 1770 when she traveled to France for her wedding . Luise was in correspondence with the French queen until 1792.

Luise married her cousin in Darmstadt on February 19, 1777, then Hereditary Prince Ludwig of Hesse-Darmstadt (1753-1830). Her husband ruled as Landgrave Ludwig X in Hesse-Darmstadt from 1790 and became the first Grand Duke of Hesse and the Rhine in 1806 as Ludwig I.

Luise spent the summer months regularly in the state park Fürstenlager from 1783 , where she also died in 1829. Here she had a benevolent effect on the population of Auerbach. The Grand Duchess has been described as educated, popular, and amiable. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe frequented her court and Friedrich Schiller read from his Don Carlos in her salon .

Politically, the Landgravine was opposed to the upstart Napoleon . An intrigue initiated by them against the France-friendly Minister of State Carl Ludwig von Barckhaus gen. Von Wiesenhütten in 1805 led the Hesse-Darmstadt policy to remain neutral, which maneuvered the Landgraviate to the brink of ruin. Only the last minute of the Landgrave's turn to the French side in 1806 could just prevent this.

After her death, Luise, like her husband, was buried in the landgrave's crypt in the town church . In 1910 their coffins were transferred to the old mausoleum in Rosenhöhe Park .

Luisenstrasse and Luisenplatz in Darmstadt are named after Luise .

progeny

Luise had the following children from her marriage:

Ludwig II (1777–1848), Grand Duke of Hesse and the Rhine

⚭ 1804 Princess Wilhelmine Luise von Baden (1788–1836)

Luise (1779-1811)

⚭ 1800 Prince Ludwig of Anhalt-Köthen (1778–1802)

Georg (1780-1856)

⚭ (morning) 1804 Caroline Török de Szendrő (1786–1862), “Baroness of Menden” 1804, “Countess of Nidda” 1808, “Princess of Nidda” 1821; (divorced 1827)

Friedrich (1788–1867)
Emil (1790-1856)
Gustav (1791–1806)

literature

Philipp Alexander Ferdinand Walther: Darmstadt as it was and how it became p. 240
Carl Friedrich Günther: Anecdotes, character portrayals and memorabilia from the Hessian ... p. 172

Web links

http://www.harry-siegert.de/html/frauen_und_strassen.html

Individual evidence

^ Carl Hertzog: Ludewig I and his monument to Darmstadt p. 5
^ Eckhart G. Franz , Peter Fleck, Fritz Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hesse (1800) 1806-1918 . In: Walter Heinemeyer , Helmut Berding , Peter Moraw , Hans Philippi (ed.): Handbook of Hessian History . Volume 4.2: Hesse in the German Confederation and in the New German Empire (1806) 1815–1945. The Hessian states until 1945 = publications of the historical commission for Hesse 63. Elwert. Marburg 2003. ISBN 3-7708-1238-7 , pp. 687f.

personal data
SURNAME	Luise Henriette Karoline of Hessen-Darmstadt
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Luise of Hessen-Darmstadt
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt, by marriage Grand Duchess of Hesse and the Rhine
DATE OF BIRTH	February 15, 1761
PLACE OF BIRTH	Darmstadt
DATE OF DEATH	October 24, 1829
Place of death	Auerbach

[1] Carl Hertzog: Ludewig I and his monument to Darmstadt p. 5

[2] Eckhart G. Franz , Peter Fleck, Fritz Kallenberg: Grand Duchy of Hesse (1800) 1806-1918 . In: Walter Heinemeyer , Helmut Berding , Peter Moraw , Hans Philippi (ed.): Handbook of Hessian History . Volume 4.2: Hesse in the German Confederation and in the New German Empire (1806) 1815–1945. The Hessian states until 1945 = publications of the historical commission for Hesse 63. Elwert. Marburg 2003. ISBN 3-7708-1238-7 , pp. 687f.