Father Johann Reinhard III Grandchildren Natalia Alexeievna | Name Countess of | |
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Born 2 May 1700Bouxwiller ( 1700-05-02 ) Issue Louis IXPrince George WilliamLandgravine Caroline Louise Mother Dorothea Friederike of Brandenburg-Ansbach Died July 1, 1726, Darmstadt, Germany Children Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt Parents Dorothea Friederike of Brandenburg-Ansbach, Johann Reinhard III, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg Similar People Charles Louis - Hereditar, Princess Amalie of Hesse‑Darmstadt, Natalia Alexeievna | ||
Charlotte, Countess 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.
Contents
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
The first man to ask her hand in marriage, was the crown prince and later Landgrave William VIII of Hesse-Kassel. 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.
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. 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.
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 Munzenberg 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; 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, which in 1771 issued the so-called Partifikationsrezess. The towns of Altheim, Dietzenbach, Harpertshausen, Schaafheim and Schlierbach were awarded to Hesse-Darmstadt and were incorporated into the district Schaafheim.