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Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg
Hereditary Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt
Born(1700-05-02)2 May 1700
Bouxwiller
Died1 July 1726(1726-07-01) (aged 26)
Darmstadt
Burial
Stadtkirche Darmstadt
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1717)​
IssueLouis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
Prince George William
Caroline Louise, Margravine of Baden
HouseHanau (by birth)
Hesse-Darmstadt (by marriage)
FatherJohann Reinhard III, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg
MotherPrincess Dorothea Friederike of Brandenburg-Ansbach

Countess Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg, full name: Countess Charlotte Christine Magdalene Johanna of Hanau-Lichtenberg (2 May 1700, Bouxwiller – 1 July 1726, Darmstadt) was the wife of landgrave Louis VIII of Hesse-Darmstadt.

Biography

The Heiress

Charlotte was the only surviving child of the last Count of Hanau, Johann Reinhard III, and the Countess Dorothea Friederike of Brandenburg-Ansbach. Thus, she was the sole heir of the County of Hanau.

Marriage

Her husband: Landgrave Louis VIII
Her son, Louis IX

The first man to ask her hand in marriage, was the crown prince and later Landgrave William VIII of Hesse-Kassel.[1] Had this marriage taken place, the county of Hanau would have remained united. However, it failed because of religious differences between William, who was a Calvinist and Charlotte, who was Lutheran.[2]

The second candidate was the crown prince and later Landgrave Louis VIII of Hesse-Darmstadt, who was Lutheran. They were married on 5 April 1717.[3] From this marriage the following children were born:

Death

Charlotte Christine died on 1 July 1726 in Darmstadt. A number of funeral sermons were published in July 1726 in Darmstadt.[4]

The inheritance

As Charlotte Christine died before her father, her son, the future Landgrave Louis IX, became heir apparent of the County of Hanau. This was, however, restricted to the Lichtenberg part of the county, because the Münzenberg part of the county had been awarded to the county of Hesse-Kassel in an earlier inheritance contract between Hanau and Hesse-Kassel.

A dispute arose, because it wasn't clear to which part the district of Babenhausen would belong. It escalated into a military conflict. Hesse-Darmstadt occupied Dietzenbach, Schaafheim and Schlierbach [de]; Hesse-Kassel occupied the rest of the district of Babenhausen, deploying troops that had already been stationed in Hanau.

The dispute could be settled only after protracted litigation before the highest courts of the Empire, which in 1771 issued the so-called Partifikationsrezess. The towns of Altheim [de], Dietzenbach, Harpertshausen [de], Schaafheim and Schlierbach were awarded to Hesse-Darmstadt and were incorporated into the district Schaafheim.

Ancestors

References

Footnotes

  1. ^ Hessian State Archive Marburg, file: 4a:85.1
  2. ^ According to Duchess Elisabeth Charlotte of Orleans ("Liselotte of the Palatinate"), see: Holland, p. 25: Letter from the Duchess of 14 April 1716 to Louise Raugravine of the Palatinate
  3. ^ On the occasion of the wedding, a commemorative festschrift was published: In the House Hanau [...] joy, 1717; reference: Hanau City Library, Department of Hesse-Hanau, Signature: I o 2 F 4, further documentation in: Hessian State Archive Marburg, Signature: Coll 15, Box 242, No. 10
  4. ^ John Rhenius and Johann Reinhard Vulpius: Funeral sermon, Gießen, undated, printed by Johann Reinhard Vulpius. Reference: Lenz, Catalogue No. 350; Christoph Friedrich Ayrmannus: [funeral sermon], Gießen, undated, printed by Müller. Reference: Lenz, Catalogue No. 441, Johann Heinrich Stephani and Wilhelm Krebs: Darmstad's most guilty tears and Love sacrifice, as Hereditary Princess Charlotta Christina Magdalena née Countess Johanna of Hanau died 07/01/1726, Darmstadt, 1726. Reference: Public Library Hanau, Dept. Hesse-Hanau, Signature: I h 2 B, Lenz, Catalog No. 442, and further in the Hessian State Archives, Marburg, files: ECR 15, 242; 81 Hanau government A 46.6. Reference: Marburg Catalogue, and further in the Hessian State Archives, Darmstadt, inventory: D 4 No. 412/3. Reference: Catalog State Archives Darmstadt
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