Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (April 2017) |
Charles I | |
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Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel | |
Reign | 21 November 1670 – 23 March 1730 |
Predecessor | William VII |
Successor | Frederick I |
Born | Kassel, Landgraviate of Hesse | 3 August 1654
Died | 23 March 1730 Kassel, Landgraviate of Hesse | (aged 75)
Spouse | |
Calvinism |
Charles of Hesse-Kassel (
Childhood
Charles was the second son of
Policies
Under the reign of Charles, the consequences of the
"Dieses System verbesserte die Finanzen, aber nicht den Wohlstand des Landes,
und brachte den glänzenden Hof selbst in ausländische Familienverbindungen."
[ This system improved the finances but not the prosperity of the country,
and brought to the brilliant court itself foreign familial connections. ]
Charles left in 1685 to his younger brother Philipp as the latter's River).
Economy
Even before the Edict of Fontainebleau (October 1685), Charles adopted on 18 April 1685 the Freiheits-Concession [ "Freedom Concession" ],[1] promising the exiles from France, the Huguenots and Waldensians, free settlement and their own churches and schools. In the following years, about 4000 the Protestants fled persecution in their homelands for Northern Hesse and, for example, about 1700 of them settled in Oberneustadt, the newly created borough of Kassel.
Following the ideas of mercantilism, Charles founded in 1679 the Messinghof, one of the first metal-processing plants in Hesse, in Bettenhausen, east of Kassel.
In 1699 Charles founded Sieburg (since 1717
Culture
Landgrave Charles continued the design of the hillside park, Wilhelmshöhe ("William's Peak") in the Habichtswald ("Hawk Forest"), now a nature preserve west of Kassel. In particular, it was the construction of the Hercules monument that brought the Italian-inspired cascades and other water features to the park. Under his rule, the Moritzaue ("Maurice's Meadow") park near the town was extended over a large area to another park, the Karlsaue ("Charles's Meadow"), which still exists today, and the Schloss Orangerie was built.
With the participation of the Landgrave, who was interested in history, the first archaeological excavations began in 1709 on the Mader Heide.
Family
Charles married his first cousin,
- William (29 March 1674 – 25 July 1676), died in childhood
- Charles (24 February 1675 – 7 December 1677), died in childhood
- Friedrich (28 April 1676 – 5 April 1751), who succeeded his father as Frederick, the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, and became, in 1720, the King of Sweden.
- ∞ 1 1700 Princess Louisa Dorothea of Brandenburg (1680–1705)
- ∞ 2 1715 Ulrika Eleonora, Queen of Sweden(1688–1741)
- Christian (2 July 1677 – 18 September 1677), died in infancy
- Sophie Charlotte (16 July 1678 – 30 May 1749)
- ∞ 1704 Frederick William, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1675–1713)
- Charles (12 June 1680 – 13 November 1702)
- William (10 March 1682 – 1 February 1760), who succeeded his brother Frederick as William VIII, the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel
- ∞ 1717 Dorothea Wilhelmina of Saxe-Zeitz(1691–1743)
- Leopold (30 December 1684 – 10 September 1704)
- Louis (5 September 1686 – 23 May 1706)
- Marie Louise (7 February 1688 – 9 April 1765)
- ∞ 1709 Johan Willem Friso, Prince of Orange(1687–1711)
- Maximilian (28 May 1689 – 8 May 1753)
- ∞ 1720 Friederike Landgravine of Hesse-Darmstadt(1698–1777)
- George Charles (8 January 1691 – 5 March 1755)
- Eleonore Antoine (11 January 1694 – 17 December 1694)
- Wilhelmine Charlotte (8 July 1695 – 27 November 1722)
Maria Amalia also suffered many miscarriages:
- A miscarried daughter (12 June 1679)
- A miscarried daughter (12 April 1681)
- A miscarried daughter (12 June 1683)
- A miscarried son (12 November 1685)
- A miscarriage (12 February 1687)
- A miscarried daughter (12 January 1690)
- A miscarried son (12 March 1693)
- A miscarried son (12 July 1697)
- A miscarried daughter (12 May 1698)
- A miscarried son (12 June 1699)
- A miscarried daughter (12 January 1701)
- A miscarriage (12 November 1703)
Other Relationships
After the death of his wife in 1713, Charles had a relationship with Jeanne Marguerite de Frere, Marquise de Langallerie (b. 1685), with whom he had a son, Charles Frederic Philippe de Gentil, Marquis de Langallerie, who died early. Charles secured in the same way the financial security of children who had come with his mistress.
After the Marquise de Langallerie, the next mistress and confidante was Barbara Christine von Bernhold (1690–1756), who rose to Großhofmeisterin ("Senior Mistress of the Court") under Charles's son William VIII and was raised to the rank of Reichsgräfin ("Imperial Countess") in 1742 by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VII. She was housed in the Bellevue Palace.
Ancestry
Ancestors of Charles I, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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References
- ^ (in German) Klaus Kühnel, "Ein Beitrag für den freien Glauben : Vor 325 Jahren wurde die "Freiheits-Concession" für französische Glaubensflüchtlinge erlassen [ A Contribution to the Freedom of Religion : 325 years ago, the "Freedom Concession" for French Religious Refugees was Adopted ]", Deutschlandfunk, retrieved 30 December 2013.
Bibliography
- (in German) [Theodor] Ilgen, "Karl", "Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie [ General German Biography ] (ADB), Band 15 [ Volume 15 ] (Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, 1882), pages 292–296
- (in German) Hans Philippi, Landgraf Karl von Hessen-Kassel. Ein deutscher Fürst der Barockzeit [ Landgrave Charles of Hesse-Kassel: A German Prince of the Baroque Times ] (Veröffentlichungen der Historischen Kommission für Hessen, Number 34 [ Publications of the Historical Commission of Hesse, Number 34 ]) (ISBN 978-3770805648
- (in German) Hans Philippi, "Karl", ISBN 3-428-00192-3, pages 227-229 (digitized)
- (in German) Pauline Puppel, Die Regentin. Vormundschaftliche Herrschaft in Hessen 1500–1700 [ The Lady Regents: Reigning Guardianship in Hesse 1500-1700 ] (ISBN 978-0-521-81422-5, pages 236–277