Landgraviate of Hesse

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Was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire in central Germany. It was divided and reunited several times throughout its history. We only take in account the division of 1567 as in the maps of G. DROYSEN, “Historischer Handatlas” (1886).

Establishment

September 1264: Granted Henry I of Hesse, the son of Sophie von Brabant, the county of Hesse in the War of the Thuringian-Hessian Succession (1247-1264).

Chronology

Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation

1. War of the Thuringian Succession

Was a military conflict over the succession in the Landgraviate of Thuringia.

1.1.Peace of Langsdorf

Was a treaty which ended the War of the Thuringian succession. Thuringia was divided in two: Thuringia and Hesse.

2. Division of Hesse

After the death in 1567 of Philip I, the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided between the four sons of his first marriage.

January 1568: When Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, died in 1567, his territory was divided between his sons from his first marriage. This led to the creation of separate branches of the Hesse dynasty: Hesse-Kassel, Hesse-Darmstadt, Hesse-Marburg, and Hesse-Rheinfels.

January 1568: When Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, died in 1567, his territory was divided between his sons from his first marriage. This led to the creation of Hesse-Kassel, Hesse-Darmstadt, Hesse-Marburg, and Hesse-Rheinfels, weakening the overall significance of Hesse.

January 1568: When Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, died in 1567, his territory was divided between his sons from his first marriage. This division led to the creation of Hesse-Kassel, Hesse-Darmstadt, Hesse-Marburg, and Hesse-Rheinfels, weakening the overall power and influence of the Hesse territory.

January 1568: After his father's death in 1567, the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided between the four sons of his first marriage. Philip the younger received a portion of about an eighth of his father's territories, mainly the former Lower County of Katzenelnbogen with its four Ämter Rheinfels (with the city of St. Goar and the residence Rheinfels Castle) on the left bank of the Rhine, and Braubach, Reichenberg and Hohenstein on the right bank.

3. Further events (Unrelated to Any War)

January 1265: Gießen was sold to the landgraves of Hesse in 1264.

January 1362: When the Wittgenstein counts got extinct, their county passed to Hesse.

January 1379: Based on Gustav Droysen's Map of the Holy Roman Empire in the XIV century.

January 1384: In 1383 the Hessian landgraves also pledged their share to Thile, whereby the castle and almost the entire Itter estate came into his pledge.

January 1430: Schöneberg Castle was conquered by Landgrave Ludwig I of Hesse in 1429.

January 1451: In 1450 the house of Ziegenhain went extinct. Succession dispute between Hesse and Hohenlohe-Weikersheim. Ziegenhain was occupied by Hesse despite the legal succession of Hohenlohe.

January 1457: The Rietberg County is acquired by the Landgraviate of Hesse.

January 1478: The County of Münzenberg had a complex joint administration. The simplified version of these territories from Droysen's Holy Roman Empire Maps is adopted.

January 1558: In 1479 the line of counts of Katzenelnbogen died out in the male line. After major inheritance disputes with Nassau, the property finally fell to the Landgraviate of Hesse in 1557.

January 1566: Rietberg County is restored.