Hesse-Darmstadt
(1813-1871: Hessen (-Darmstadt))
The Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt was a German state beginning in 1567. The Landgraf of Hesse-Darmstadt became the Grand Duke of Hesse (Großherzöge von Hessen) in 1806, after being forced to join Napoleon I’s Rhine Alliance. After Napoleon’s army had been defeated in 1815, Hesse-Darmstadt’s territory was enlarged to include cities near the Rhine River, such as Mainz. The official title was changed from Hesse-Darmstadt to “Hesse and the Rhine” (Hessen und bei Rhein). It was a member state of the Germanic Confederation between 1815 and 1866. Hesse-Darmstadt sided with Austria during the war in 1866. After the Austro-Prussian War, it became a member state of the North German Confederation. It was known until 1866 as Hesse-Darmstadt. After Prussia annexed Hesse-Cassel and Hesse-Homburg in 1866, Hesse-Darmstadt remained the only independent part of Hesse, and it became known as Hesse. Not only were the inhabitants known as Hessians, but also the inhabitants of the former states of Hesse and the new Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau were considered Hessians. Hesse-Darmstadt became a member state of the German Empire in 1871. It consisted of two main parts, separated from each other by a narrow strip of Prussian territory. The northern part was the province of Oberhessen; the southern consisted of the contiguous provinces of Starkenburg and Rheinhessen. It is a common misconception that Hesse-Darmstadt lost no land as a result of royal connections after the war of 1866. While doing far better than many of its neighbors, it still lost a great deal of land north of Wetzlar.
In 1862, the Grand Duke Louis IV married Queen Victoria’s second daughter, Alice, who was a carrier of hemophilia. Their daughter, Alexandra, princess of Hesse Darmstadt, married Nicholas II of Russia and thereby introduced the genetic disorder into the Russian royalty. Their son, Friedrich suffered from hemophilia and died from a fall. Alice died in 1878, and in 1884 the duke entered into a morganatic marriage. His oldest son, Ernst Louis, succeeded him.
In 1894 Ernst Louis married Victoria of Saxe-Coburg Gotha, his first cousin. This marriage was not a happy one, and the death of their daughter, Elisabeth and the birth of a stillborn son, did nothing to help their relationship. Victoria Melita’s (Ducky’s) fights with the passive Ernst were legendary and included the throwing of china and glassware. They were divorced in 1901, after the death of Queen Victoria, who previously would not permit the divorce. There is controversy today whether the Grand Duke was gay or bisexual, or if Victoria Melita created this rumor maliciously. He married again in 1905 and had two sons.
The Hessian military became a contingent of the Prussian army on 7 April 1867. Even though only the northern part of Hesse joined the North German Confederation, the entire military was integrated into the Prussian army. There were some significant variances with other conventions and there even was a separate War Minister for Hesse. A further convention was signed in June 1871 maintaining more control over uniforms and other functions than most of the other small states. The Grand Duke retained the right to order any changes in the uniform, which may be found in later imperial orders.
The form of government was a hereditary constitutional monarchy. There were two legislative chambers in the parliament both called Kammer. The upper consisted of princes of the grand-ducal family, heads of noble houses, the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church, the superintendent of the protestant church, the chancellor of the university, two elected representatives of the land-owning nobility, and twelve members nominated by the Grand Duke. The lower chamber consisted of 50 members who were indirectly elected by deputy electors. The voting right was offered to all taxpayers and was secret and direct.
There were 1,333,000 inhabitants in 1914 of which 63 percent was Protestant. The capital was Darmstadt. The grand duchy was a total of 7,688 km². The soldiers were concentrated in the 25th Infantry Division of the Prussian XVIII Army Corps.