Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt

Louis VIII
Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
Portrait of Louis VIII
by Johann Christian Fiedler
Born (1691-04-05)5 April 1691
Darmstadt
Died 17 October 1768(1768-10-17) (aged 77)
Darmstadt
Spouse Countess Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg
Issue Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
Prince George William of Hesse-Darmstadt
Caroline Louise, Grand Duchess of Baden
House Hesse-Darmstadt
Father Ernest Louis, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
Mother Dorothea Charlotte of Brandenburg-Ansbach

Louis VIII (German: Ludwig) (5 April 1691 – 17 October 1768) was the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt from 1739 to 1768. He was the son of Ernest Louis, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and Margravine Dorothea Charlotte of Brandenburg-Ansbach.

Life

A deer hunt near Darmstadt. Painting by Georg Adam Eger 1755

In 1717, he was married to Countess Charlotte Christine Magdalene Johanna of Hanau and he received Hanau-Lichtenberg as an addition to his dominions. Because of his passion for hunting, he is known as the "Hunting Landgrave" (German: Jagdlandgraf). During the Seven Years' War he stood on the side of the Emperor and received the rank of General Field Marshal.

Like his father, Louis was not a gifted economist and only his good relationship with Empress Maria Theresa and her intervention at the Imperial Court Council kept the Landgraviate from bankruptcy. However, his caring for his country is documented by the establishment of a textile house in 1742 and a state orphanage in the 1746.

Issue

Children:

Ancestors

Sources

  1. ↑ Genealogie ascendante jusqu'au quatrieme degre inclusivement de tous les Rois et Princes de maisons souveraines de l'Europe actuellement vivans [Genealogy up to the fourth degree inclusive of all the Kings and Princes of sovereign houses of Europe currently living] (in French). Bourdeaux: Frederic Guillaume Birnstiel. 1768. p. 67.
  • Die Geschichte Hessens, Gerd Bauer, Heiner Boencke, Hans Sarkowicz; Eichborn, 2002, p. 193-194
Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
Born: 5 April 1691 Died: 17 October 1768
Preceded by
Ernest Louis		 Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
1739–1768		 Succeeded by
Louis IX


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