Luise of Hessen-Darmstadt (1757-1830)

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Duchess Louise of Saxe-Weimar and Eisenach, née Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt (von Tischbein (1795))
Luise of Hessen-Darmstadt (painting by Georg Melchior Kraus )

Luise von Hessen-Darmstadt (born January 30, 1757 in Berlin ; † February 14, 1830 ) had been the wife of the Duke and later Grand Duke Carl August von Sachsen-Weimar from October 3, 1775 and as such part of the court circle of people in the vicinity of the Weimar Classic .

Biographical

Luise, Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt, painting by Johann Ludwig Strecker (around 1772/1773)

The princess from the house of Darmstadt , which bore the title of Landgrave in Hesse, was born on January 30, 1757 in Berlin. The parents stayed in the capital of the Prussian King Friedrich II because of the Seven Years' War . The father, Louis IX. , who was to take over the government as Landgrave of Hesse in 1768, was in Prussian service as a general. This tendency towards the military remained typical for the father throughout his life, which is why the upbringing of the princess was in the hands of the mother. Henriette Karoline raised her daughter in the Protestant tradition to be an educated nobleman who was interested in literature and music, but also described as brittle and proud.

As the youngest daughter of the eight siblings, the upbringing of the princess was an important basis for a desired marriage. Since the father showed little interest in his offspring, the marriage of the daughters remained in the hands of the mother. Henriette Karoline von Pfalz-Zweibrücken received the nickname “the great landgrave” thanks to her successful house policy. Luise's first appearance on the international stage of the ancien regime was also due to this purpose. In 1773 she traveled with her mother and sisters Amalie and Wilhelmine to the Russian court in St. Petersburg for inspection. There, the Tsarina Catherine II found that she was unsuitable for the Grand Duke and future Tsar Paul , and her sister Wilhelmine was preferred to her. This rude disgrace and the conflicting relationship with the future brother-in-law Paul clearly had a lasting impact on the reserved young woman. In any case, she remained silent about her time in the Russian Empire.

Luise von Hessen-Darmstadt silhouette around 1880 by Starke

Nevertheless, this trip was not without influence, because the great landgrave had met another widowed regent of a small state - Anna Amalia - on the way there. The two companions of fate probably took a liking to each other. At the end of this acquaintance was, through the intermediary of Kurmainzer Governor in Erfurt , Dalberg , a marriage agreement between the eighteen Hessian and the slightly younger firebrand Carl August of Saxe-Weimar . The marriage was concluded on October 3, 1775 at the Karlsruher Hof, from where Luise was brought in as the new princely wife to the Ernestine capital of Weimar.

Contemporary witnesses and secondary literature agree that this connection was anything but happy. Even the usual celebratory reception was rather meager. At court, too, she stood in the shadow of her mother-in-law, Anna Amalia, who gave the round tables. Louise gave birth to a princess in 1779 who died at the age of five. Three of her other children did not even reach the age of a few days for baptism. During this time the storm and stress phase of her husband Carl August also fell. His excesses along with his poet and consilium member Goethe are well known today. The public humiliation of his wife by the princely husband found a certain calming only after his tolerated extramarital relationship with the actress Karoline Jagemann . It was not until 1783 that Luise gave birth to the Hereditary Prince Carl Friedrich . With the birth of Prince Bernhard in 1792, the marriage had finally fulfilled its purpose, since the succession to the throne and thus the continued existence of the dynasty were guaranteed.

Luise had her finest hour in October 1806, she essentially determined her image for posterity. This phase occupies a large space in literature. After the double battle of Jena and Auerstedt (October 14th), which led to an embarrassing defeat for the Prussian-Saxon armies, the victorious French rallied in the small residential town of Weimar. The other members of the ruling house had fled or, like the sovereign in Prussian service, were not available in the chaos of war. So it was up to Luise to fulfill the role of mother of the country and patroness. Two days after the battle, she opposed the French Emperor Napoleon . She made it clear to him quite undiplomatically that her husband could not withdraw from military service out of loyalty to his duties, although the Kaiser insisted on it. Nevertheless, at the command of the general, the looting was stopped and Weimar got off lightly. Whether Napoleon let Luise soften him or rather followed power-political considerations must remain open here. The Duchy of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach was preserved after the Peace of Poznan and survived the Napoleonic era through the ensuing swing policy. Since then, Luise has been considered the savior of the fatherland.

Luise had been Grand Duchess since 1815, a result of the congress in Vienna . The following period was mainly characterized by representative commitments. The Russian connections through her daughter-in-law Maria Pavlovna drew u. a. Visits by Tsars Alexander I and Nicholas I after them. The fact that in 1825, on the occasion of the jubilee of the reign, her golden wedding was not honored, gives a deep insight. Already withdrawn, the Hessian princess and now Grand Duchess died at the age of 73 on February 14, 1830 and was buried in the Weimar royal crypt .

siblings

progeny

The three children of the family: Prince Bernhard, Princess Karoline Luise and Hereditary Prince Carl Friedrich (standing)

Luise von Hessen-Darmstadt married Carl August in 1775:

ancestors

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ernst Ludwig Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (1667–1739)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ludwig VIII Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (1691–1768)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Dorothea Charlotte of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1661–1705)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Louis IX Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (1719–1790)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Johann Reinhard III. von Hanau (1665–1736)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Charlotte von Hanau-Lichtenberg (1700–1726)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Dorothea Friederike of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1676–1731)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Luise of Hessen-Darmstadt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Christian II of Pfalz-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld (1637–1717)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Christian III of Pfalz-Zweibrücken (1674–1735)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Katharina Agathe von Rappoltstein (1648–1683)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Caroline of Pfalz-Zweibrücken (1721–1774)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ludwig Kraft of Nassau-Saarbrücken (1663–1713)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken (1704–1774)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Philippine Henriette zu Hohenlohe-Langenburg (1679–1751)
 
 
 
 
 
 

literature

Web links

Commons : Luise von Hessen-Darmstadt  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Hessen-Darmstadt, Luise von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Hessian princess, Grand Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
DATE OF BIRTH January 30, 1757
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin
DATE OF DEATH February 14, 1830