Ludwig II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2017

Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine: The House of Hesse-Darmstadt was one of several branches of the House of Hesse. After the fall of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt was raised to the Grand Duchy of Hesse, and Ludwig X, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt became the first Grand Duke, Ludwig I.  Several years later, at the Congress of Vienna, Ludwig was forced to cede his Westphalian territories but in return was given the Rheinhessen region and the Grand Duchy of Hesse became the Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine. Ernst Ludwig, a grandson of Queen Victoria, was the last Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine. With the fall of the German states, Ernst Ludwig refused to abdicate but still lost his throne on November 9, 1918. Today the territory that encompassed the Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine is in the German state of Hesse.

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Ludwig II, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine; Credit – Wikipedia

Ludwig II was Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine from April 6, 1830 until his abdication in 1848. He was born in Darmstadt, Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt, now in Hesse, Germany on December 26, 1777, the eldest son of Ludwig X, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (the future Grand Duke Ludwig I) and Luise of Hesse-Darmstadt. He had five siblings:

  • Princess Luise (1779-1811) – married Ludwig of Anhalt-Köthen, had issue
  • Prince Georg (1780-1856) – married Caroline Török de Szendrö, had issue
  • Prince Friedrich (1788-1867) – unmarried
  • Prince Emil (1790-1856) – unmarried
  • Prince Gustav (1791-1806) – unmarried

Ludwig became Hereditary Grand Duke in 1806 when the Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine was established. He served in the First Chamber of the Hessian Parliament and was a member of the Council of State from 1823-1830. He also represented the Grand Duchy at the Congress of Erfurt in 1808 and the Congress of Vienna in 1814-1815.

Wilhelmine of Baden. source: Wikipedia

On June 19, 1804, in Karlsruhe, Ludwig married his first cousin, Princess Wilhelmine of Baden. She was the daughter of Karl Ludwig, Hereditary Prince of Baden and Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt. Ludwig and Wilhelmine had five children:

Ludwig became Grand Duke upon his father’s death in March 1830 and continued his father’s policies. Soon after his accession, he demanded that the state assume his personal debts. This led to a growing dislike for Ludwig amongst the Hessian people. He also stood strongly against calls for a more liberal government. Following the beginning of the March Revolution, Grand Duke Ludwig II abdicated on March 5, 1848, in favor of his eldest son.

Grand Duke Ludwig II died three months later, on June 16, 1848. He is buried in the Altes Mausoleum in the Rosenhöhe in Darmstadt, Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine, now in Hesse, Germany.

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Hesse and by Rhine Resources at Unofficial Royalty