Wilhelm VIII (Hessen-Kassel)

Landgrave Wilhelm VIII of Hessen-Kassel, painting by Johann Heinrich Tischbein the Elder

Landgrave Wilhelm VIII of Hessen-Kassel, painting by Johann Heinrich Tischbein the Elder , around 1755

Wilhelm VIII of Hessen-Kassel (born March 10, 1682 in Kassel ; † February 1, 1760 in Rinteln ) from the House of Hessen was Landgrave of Hessen-Kassel from 1751 until his death .

Life

Youth and Lieutenancy

Wilhelm was the sixth son of Landgrave Karl von Hessen-Kassel (1654–1730) from his marriage to Marie Amalia (1653–1711), daughter of Duke Jakob Kettler of Courland .

After the usual upbringing of a prince, he undertook his cavalier tour to Geneva and Paris, among other places. He then joined the Republic of the Seven United Provinces ("United Netherlands") with his older brother Karl (1680–1702 ) and began a decidedly military career. From his godfather Wilhelm III. from Orange he received the Guard Dragoons here in 1702 and took part in the War of the Spanish Succession . In 1709 he became lieutenant general and four years later governor of Breda . From 1723 Governor of Maastricht , he became Dutch General of the Cavalry in 1727 . In 1747 he resigned from the United Provinces. He was partially in parallel with 10 units in Holland and Hesse-Kassel, including the Grenadier Guard .

After his older brother Friedrich was crowned King of Sweden in 1720 and Landgrave Karl died in 1730, Wilhelm took over the administration of the Landgraviate as his brother's governor and regent. Although Friedrich had a chancellery in Stockholm related to Hessian affairs, Wilhelm ruled Kassel completely without these circumstances being politically disadvantageous for Hessen-Kassel. Under Wilhelm's reign, the Hessian army was increased to 24,000 men.

After the death of his brother Friedrich, Wilhelm officially succeeded him as ruling landgrave in 1751.

In 1736 he inherited the county of Hanau after the last Hanau count, Johann Reinhard III. , had died and his brother Friedrich had renounced this inheritance; he ruled there in his own name. In 1754 he transferred the county to his grandson Wilhelm and appointed his mother as guardian.

Landgrave

Wilhelm was considered a personal friend of both the Prussian King Friedrich II of Prussia and the short-term Emperor Karl VII. In 1742, he concluded a treaty with Emperor Karl VII in Frankfurt am Main , in which Wilhelm transferred 3,000 soldiers to the Kaiser in the War of the Austrian Succession the emperor took over the guarantee for the Hessian lands and Wilhelm the electoral dignity was promised. His reign as Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel was also marked by the Seven Years' War , in which Wilhelm took part on the side of Prussia and England and was one of the most important actors in the western theater of war. As a result, the landgraviate became an important battlefield and suffered considerable devastation. Among other things, the French occupied Kassel several times.

The conversion of Wilhelm's son Friedrich, later Landgrave Friedrich II , to Catholicism in 1749 in Neuhaus, Paderborn , was of domestic political importance . In order to prevent Friedrich as the ruling sovereign from exercising his right to determine the state religion , Wilhelm VIII and the Hessian estates made a series of regulations in 1754, the central part of which was the insurance act . This stipulated that there were no public Catholic worship services and that Catholics were not allowed to occupy government offices. In addition, the County of Hanau was kept separate from the Landgraviate and, bypassing Friedrichs, his son, the later Landgrave Wilhelm IX. inherited directly. Hereditary Prince Friedrich had to agree to these regulations in order not to be completely excluded from the line of succession.

Under Wilhelm VIII, the foundation stone for Wilhelmsthal Castle was laid in 1753 . In addition, he was the founder of the Kassel picture gallery. For his collection of paintings he acquired a. A. Rembrandt's “Jacob's Blessing” from the former collection of Andries de Graeff , The Bean Festival by Jan Steen and the “ Coronation of the Virtuous Hero ” by Peter Paul Rubens . He called the painter Johann Heinrich Tischbein and the sculptor Johann August Nahl to the Kasseler Hof and promoted the builder Simon Louis du Ry .

progeny

Wilhelm married in the September 27, 1717 Zeitz Dorothea Wilhelmine (1691-1743), daughter of the Duke Moritz Wilhelm of Saxe-Zeitz . He had three children with her:

• Karl (1718–1719)
• Friedrich II. (1720–1785), Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel; ⚭ 1740 Princess Marie of Great Britain (1723–1772)
• Maria Amalie (1721-1744); she died as the bride of Margrave Karl Albrecht von Brandenburg-Schwedt

ancestors

Wilhelm V, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (1602–1637)

Wilhelm VI., Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (1629–1663)

Amalie Elisabeth von Hanau-Münzenberg (1602–1651)

Karl, Landgrave of Hessen-Kassel (1654–1730)

Georg Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg (1595–1640)

Hedwig Sophie of Brandenburg (1623–1683)

Elisabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate (1597–1660)

Wilhelm VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel

Wilhelm Kettler, Duke of Courland (1574–1640)

Jakob Kettler, Duke of Courland (1610–1682)

Sophie of Prussia (1582–1610)

Amalia of Courland (1653-1711)

Georg Wilhelm, Elector of Brandenburg (1595–1640)

Luise Charlotte of Brandenburg (1617–1676)

Elisabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate (1597–1660)

Note: Due to marriages within the family, the Brandenburg Elector Georg Wilhelm and his wife Elisabeth Charlotte are two-time great-grandparents of Wilhelm VIII.

literature

• Hugo Brunner:  Wilhelm VIII. In: General German Biography (ADB). Volume 43, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1898, pp. 60-64.
• Reinhard Dietrich : The state constitution in Hanau. The position of the lords and counts in Hanau-Münzenberg based on the archival sources (= Hanauer Geschichtsblätter. Vol. 34). Hanau History Association, Hanau 1996, ISBN 3-9801933-6-5 .
• Bernhard Schnackenburg: Landgrave Wilhelm VIII of Hessen-Kassel, founder of the Kasselerer Gemäldegalerie . In: Heide Wunder (Hrsg.): Kassel in the 18th century . Kassel 2000. pp. 71-87.
• Wolf von Both / Hans Vogt (eds.): Landgrave Wilhelm VIII of Hessen-Kassel. A prince of the Rococo period = publications by the Historical Commission for Hesse and Waldeck, vol. 27.1 / writings on Hessian cultural history, vol. 1. Munich 1964.
• Franz Carl Theodor Piderit: History of the capital and residence city of Kassel . P. 304 ff.

Web links

Commons : Wilhelm VIII. (Hessen-Kassel)  - Collection of images

• Museum Kassel
• Hessen-Kassel, Wilhelm VIII. Landgrave of. Hessian biography. (As of February 1, 2020). In: Landesgeschichtliches Informationssystem Hessen (LAGIS).

predecessor	Office	successor
Johann Reinhard III.	Count of Hanau 1736–1754	Wilhelm
Friedrich I.	Landgrave of Hessen-Kassel 1751–1760	Friedrich II.