Countess Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg
Encyclopedia
Charlotte, Countess of Hanau-Lichtenberg, full name: Countess Charlotte Christine Magdalene Johanna of Hanau-Lichtenberg (2 May 1700, Bouxwiller
Bouxwiller, Bas-Rhin
Bouxwiller is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.Among the city's sight is the Musée Judéo-Alsacien, dedicated to the History of Jews in Alsace, and located in the former synagogue.-References:*...

 – 1 July 1726, Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...

) was the wife of Duke Louis VIII
Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
Louis VIII was the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt from 1739 to 1768. He was the son of Ernest Louis, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and Margravine Dorothea Charlotte of Brandenburg-Ansbach....

 of Hesse-Darmstadt
Hesse-Darmstadt
Hesse-Darmstadt or the German Hessen-Darmstadt is a name that describes:* Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt , a state of the Holy Roman Empire...

.

The Heiress

Charlotte was the only surviving child of the last Count of Hanau, Johann Reinhard III
Johann Reinhard III of Hanau-Lichtenberg
Johann Reinhard III of Hanau-Lichtenberg was the last of the counts of Hanau-Lichtenberg. He reigned from 1680 to 1736...

, and the Countess Dorothea Friederike of Brandenburg-Ansbach
Dorothea Friederike of Brandenburg-Ansbach
Dorothea Friederike of Brandenburg-Ansbach was the daughter of Margrave John Frederick of Brandenburg-Ansbach and his first wife, Margravine Johanna Elisabeth of Baden-Durlach...

. Thus, she was the sole heir
Inheritance
Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies...

 of the County of Hanau.

Marriage

The first man to ask her hand in marriage, was the crown prince and later Landgrave William VIII of Hesse-Kassel
Hesse-Kassel
The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel or Hesse-Cassel was a state in the Holy Roman Empire under Imperial immediacy that came into existence when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided in 1567 upon the death of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse. His eldest son William IV inherited the northern half and the...

. If this had happened, 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.

The second candidate was the crown prince and later Landgrave Louis VIII of Hesse-Darmstadt
Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
Louis VIII was the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt from 1739 to 1768. He was the son of Ernest Louis, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and Margravine Dorothea Charlotte of Brandenburg-Ansbach....

, who was Lutheran. They were married on 5 April 1717. From this marriage the following children were born:
  1. Louis IX
    Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
    Louis IX of Hesse-Darmstadt was the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt from 1768 - 1790. He was a son of Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, and Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg and Müntzenberg....

  2. George William
  3. Caroline Louise

Death

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

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, the restricted to the Lichtenberg part of the county, because the Münzenberg part of the county had been awarded to the county of Hesse-Kassel
Hesse-Kassel
The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel or Hesse-Cassel was a state in the Holy Roman Empire under Imperial immediacy that came into existence when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided in 1567 upon the death of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse. His eldest son William IV inherited the northern half and the...

 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
Babenhausen
Babenhausen is a town in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district, in Hesse, Germany.-Geography:It is situated on the river Gersprenz, 25 km southeast of Frankfurt, and 14 km west of Aschaffenburg. South of its general borders, the mountain range of the Odenwald is situated about 15 km away...

 would belong. It escalated into a military conflict. Hesse-Darmstadt
Hesse-Darmstadt
Hesse-Darmstadt or the German Hessen-Darmstadt is a name that describes:* Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt , a state of the Holy Roman Empire...

 occupied Dietzenbach
Dietzenbach
Dietzenbach is the seat of Offenbach district in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany and lies roughly 12 km southeast of Frankfurt am Main on the river Bieber. Before the Second World War, the current town was a farming village with not quite 4,000 inhabitants...

, Schaafheim
Schaafheim
Schaafheim is a municipality in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district, in Hesse, Germany....

 and Schlierbach
Schlierbach
Schlierbach may refer to:* Schlierbach , a town in the district of Göppingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany* Schlierbach, Haut-Rhin, commune in France* Heidelberg-Schlierbach, a district of the city of Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany...

; Hesse-Kassel occupied the rest 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. The dispute was settled in 1771 in the so-calledPartifikationsrezess. The towns of Altheim, Dietzenbach, Harpertshausen, Schaafheim and Schlierbach were awarded to Hesse-Darmstadt and were incorporated into the district Schaafheim
Schaafheim
Schaafheim is a municipality in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district, in Hesse, Germany....

.

Ancestors

Footnotes

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