Hesse-Darmstadt

Pictured above: Ludwig I- First Grand Duke of Hesse-Darmstadt I. A Brief Introduction The Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt (it would be more properly termed the Grand Duchy of Hesse but the former title will be used throughout this history to avoid confusion with the elector state of Hesse-Kassel) rose out of the ashes of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. It was in August of that year that the last Holy Roman Emperor, Francis II, was forced to abdicate following his defeat at the hands of the forces of the French Emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte. With his…

former landgraviate, Germany Alternate titles: Hessen-Darmstadt By The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Date: 1567 - 1945 Key People: Wilhelm Heinrich August, Freiherr von GagernErnest Louis Related Places: Germany Hesse-Darmstadt, German Hessen-darmstadt, former landgraviate, grand duchy, and state of Germany. It was formed in 1567 in the division of old Hesse; after Hesse-Kassel was absorbed by Prussia in 1866, Hesse-Darmstadt was usually known simply as Hesse. Hesse-Darmstadt was originally only the small territory of Upper Katzenelnbogen with Darmstadt, being situated in what is now the extreme southern portion of the present-day Land (state) of Hessen. But the…