Landgrave George William of Hesse-Darmstadt
Encyclopedia
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...
.
He was the second son of Landgrave 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....
and Charlotte Christine Magdalene Johanna of Hanau-Lichtenberg. From 1738 till his death he commanded an army-regiment of his land. In the 1740s, he also commanded a Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n regiment. He reached the rank of general of the cavalry. He was the official military adviser to his father, but had a strong rival in his older brother 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....
, who followed his friend's example, the soldier-king Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II was a King in Prussia and a King of Prussia from the Hohenzollern dynasty. In his role as a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire, he was also Elector of Brandenburg. He was in personal union the sovereign prince of the Principality of Neuchâtel...
and expanded Pirmasens
Pirmasens
Pirmasens is a district-free city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, near the border with France. It is famous for the manufacture of shoes. The surrounding rural district was called Pirmasens from 1818 until 1997, when it was renamed Südwestpfalz....
as a garrison town
In 1748, he married Maria Louise Albertine of Leiningen-Falkenburg-Dagsburg
Maria Louise Albertine of Leiningen-Falkenburg-Dagsburg
Maria Louise Albertine of Leiningen-Falkenburg-Dagsburg ; also known as princess George, was heiress to the barony of Broich and by marriage Princess of Hesse-Darmstadt...
. Through this marriage, he acquired the estates of Broich, Oberstein, Aspermont, Burgel and Reipolzkirchen. He and Maria had nine children.
In 1764, George William received Old Palace in Darmstadt and the associated pleasure garden as a gfit from his father, who had always favoured him above his brother Louis
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....
. George William had the palace with the White Tower expanded. He represented the royal family in Darmstadt, as his brother stayed mostly in Pirmasens.
Issue
| Name | Portrait | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ludwig Georg Karl |  |
1749 | 1823 | Married morganatically in 1788 Friederike Schmidt, Baroness of Hessenheim |
| Georg Friedrich | |
1750 | ||
| Friederike Caroline Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz |
 |
20 August 1752 | 22 May 1782 | Married in 1768 Duke Charles of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, had issue |
| Georg Karl | 14 June 1754 | 28 January 1830 | ||
| Charlotte Wilhelmine Duchess of Mecklenburg-Strelitz |
5 November 1755 | 12 December 1785 | Married in 1784 Duke Charles of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, had issue | |
| Karl Wilhelm Georg |
|
1757 | 1797 | |
| Friedrich Georg August |
|
1759 | 1808 | Married morganatically in 1788 Karoline Luise Seitz, Baroness of Friedrich |
| Louise Henriette Caroline Landgravine Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt (1761–1829) Louise Henriette Karoline of Hesse-Darmstadt , was the first Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine by marriage.- Life :... |
15 February 1761 | 24 October 1829 | Married in 1777 Louis X of Hesse-Darmstadt Louis I, Grand Duke of Hesse Louis I, Grand Duke of Hesse was Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and later the first Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine.... , had issue |
|
| Auguste Wilhelmine Landgravine Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt Princess Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt was the mother of King Ludwig I of Bavaria.Augusta Wilhelmine was born at Darmstadt, the fourth daughter and ninth child of Prince Georg Wilhelm of Hesse-Darmstadt and Maria Louise Albertine of Leiningen-Falkenburg-Dagsburg.-Marriage and... Duchess of Zweibrücken |
14 April 1765 | 30 March 1796 | Married in 1785 the future King Maximilian I of Bavaria, had issue | |