Frederick V, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg
Frederick V | |
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Bad Homburg vor der Höhe | |
Spouse |
Princess Caroline of Hesse-Darmstadt (m. 1768) |
Ulrike Louise of Solms-Braunfels |
Frederick V Louis William Christian, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg (30 January 1748,
He was born under Europe's
Life
Regency and accession
He was born in 1748, the only son of
On 22 March 1766 he reached majority early thanks to von Creutz's efforts and began ruling the landgraviate. He ended the dispute with Hesse-Darmstadt via a treaty in which Hesse-Darmstadt renounced all claims to Hesse-Homburg but still represented it on the Reichstag and Kreistag rather than Hesse-Homburg directly representing itself.
Education
During his minority Frederick had been educated by his pious
Frederick stammered, impeding his education in public speaking, but Sinclair taught him philosophy, maths, architecture, chess and pianoforte. A military career was out of the question, however, since Frederick was too dynastically valuable to risk his life. In line with Sinclair's Calvinist-Pietist ideals, Frederick managed the state finances as honestly as he could, though he often had to ask for loans from bankers in Amsterdam or Frankfurt. He did not manage to correct the major financial mismanagement he had inherited, despite efforts by specialists such as Friedrich Karl von Moser. Even as late as 1780 his administration was unable to draw up a list of all debts, receipts and expenditure and Frederick's intent to put all decrees in writing seemed impossible - the mismanagement was handed on to Frederick's successor.[3]
Arts and Freemasonry
Scholars, poets and musicians were always welcome at Frederick's court. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe stayed there, falling in love there and mentioning the White Tower in his "Pilgrim's Morning Song". Two of Frederick's main concerns were his library and the state's school system - he even continued to buy books when he was behind on salary payments to court officials. Caroline enjoyed French works, but Frederick preferred non-fiction, collecting works on philosophy, history, military science and theology. A passionate traveler and travel writer, he also collected other people's travel writings. Brauer writes that he "generally liked to write philosophical-political-religious treatises. It seemed to him that the best enlightenment that could be taught in schools was that Christianity was God's will divinely revealed and that life in heaven was the ultimate aim of life on earth - he also felt it best to limit the number of literate people, secondary schools and universities".[4] Despite his piety, he was a strong backer of the Société Patriotique de Hesse-Hombourg, a short-lived project to centre for coordinating Enlightenment ideas from across the whole of Europe, granting it financial support.
On 27 August 1782 he was admitted as a freemason by Prince Charles of Hesse-Kassel just outside the Wilhelmsbader Konvent in the presence of Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel and Prince Christian of Hesse-Darmstadt. He is said to have failed to keep his promise to seek out a lodge, he reached the fifth grade (Ecuyer) of the Rectified Scottish Rite.[5] This informed his encounters with Goethe and Klopstock, who were also Freemasons. The foundation of the "Friedrich zum Nordstern" lodge in Homburg in 1817 would have been inconceivable without his protection and attention - it outlived him, lasting until it was shut down by his anti-Masonic successor Frederick VI.
In 1802 Alexander von Sinclair's son Isaac asked Frederick for a permanent position as court librarian for his old friend Friedrich Hölderlin, who had fallen into melancholy after professional setbacks and the death of his mistress. Frederick had known Hölderlin since 1798 and Frederick agreed, on condition that Sinclair pay Hölderlin's salary himself. Hölderlin took up the post in June 1804 but since Frederick himself assisted in the library, he had little to do. He dedicated his poem Patmos to Frederick, which may also have been a commission from Sinclair - Frederick had initially hope that Klopstock would write him such a hymn.
Occupation and restoration
He once nicknamed himself "Frederick the Hermit" but even he could not wholly ignore the outside world, especially when in 1795 a French Revolutionary army under
After the fall of Napoleon, Hesse-Homburg was one of a few mediatised states which regained their former status, even winning total independence from Hesse-Darmstadt for the first time. This was thanks to his youngest daughter
Issue
He and Caroline had 15 children, of whom the following 11 survived to adulthood:
- George III of the United Kingdom.
- Nassau-Usingen(1778–1846), divorced 1805.
- Landgravine Ulrike Louise Karoline of Hesse-Homburg (1771–1854); married in 1791 Louis Frederick II, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt(1767–1807).
- Landgravine Louise Ulrike of Hesse-Homburg (1772–1854); married in 1793 Prince Charles Günther of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (1771–1825).
- Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Homburg (1774–1846); married in 1792 Frederick, Hereditary Prince of Anhalt-Dessau(1769–1814).
- Landgravine Auguste of Hesse-Homburg (1776–1871); married in 1818 Frederick Louis, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1778–1819).
- Philip, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg (1779–1846); married (morganatically) in 1838 Rosalie Antonie, Baroness Schimmelpfennig von der Oye, née Pototschnig (1806–1845), "Countess of Naumburg".
- Princess Louise of Anhalt-Dessau(1798–1858).
- Ferdinand, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg (1783–1866)
- Landgravine Marie Anna of Hesse-Homburg (1785–1846); married in 1804 Prince Friedrich Wilhelm Karl of Prussia(1783–1851)
- Landgrave Leopold of Hesse-Homburg (1787–1813); killed at the Battle of Großgörschen.
Ancestry
Ancestors of Frederick V, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg Ulrike Louise of Solms-Braunfels | | ||||||||||||
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14. Karl Otto, Count of Solms-Laubach-Utphe and Tecklenburg | |||||||||||||
7. Countess Sophia Magdalena Benigna of Solms-Laubach-Utphe | |||||||||||||
15. Countess Louise of Schönburg-Waldenburg | |||||||||||||
References
- ISBN 978-3-7973-1142-9, S. 57 f.
- ^ (in German) Fried Lübbecke: Kleines Vaterland Homburg vor der Höhe. Kramer, Frankfurt am Main 1981, S. 12.
- ^ (in German) Ursula Brauer, Alexander Adam von Sinclaire, Die Erziehungsakten für Friedrich V. Ludwig von Hessen-Homburg. Gutachten und Berichte über eine Fürstenerziehung – Fragmente eines Fürstenspiegels (1752–1766), in: Mitteilungen des Vereins für Geschichte und Landeskunde zu Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Band 42 (1993), 27–92.
- ^ (in German) Ursula Brauer, Landgraf Friedrich V. Ludwig von Hessen-Homburg und sein republikanischer Freund Franz Wilhelm Jung, in: Aus dem Stadtarchiv, Vorträge zur Bad Homburger Geschichte 1991/92, 7–35
- ^ (in German) Todenopfer. Ihrem am 20. Januar 1820 zum ewigen Osten eingegangenen Hochwürdigen Ordensbruder und innigst geliebten Protektor, Dem Durchlauchtigsten Fürsten und Herrn, Herrn Friederich Ludwig Wilhelm Christian, souverainen Landgrafen zu Hessen [...] gebracht von der g... u... v... Loge Friederich zum Nordstern im Aufgange zu Homburg vor der Höhe am 2ten Februar 1820. S. 30/31
- ^ Günther F. Anthes, Hessen-Homburg und Meisenheim. In: Mitteilungen des Vereins für Geschichte und Landeskunde zu Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Band 35 (1982). Zur 1200-Jahrfeier herausgegeben im Auftrag der Stadt Bad Homburg
- ^ 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. 72.
- Ursula Brauer: Friedrich V. Ludwig, Landgraf von Hessen-Homburg. In: ISBN 978-3-88309-393-2, p. 321–327.
- Johann Georg Breidenstein: Todesfeier des weiland durchlauchtigsten Fürsten und Herrn Friedrich Ludwig souverainen Landgrafen von Hessen. Frankfurt a.M. 1820 (Digitalisat)
- Werner Kirchner: Friedrich Ludwig. In: ISBN 3-428-00186-9, p. 506 f.
- Friedrich Lotz: Geschichte der Stadt Bad Homburg vor der Höhe. Band II. Kramer, Frankfurt a. M. 1964
- Fried Lübbecke: Kleines Vaterland Homburg vor der Höhe. Kramer, Frankfurt am Main 1981, ISBN 3-7829-0254-8