Frederick Casimir, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg
Encyclopedia
Frederick Casimir of Hanau (born: 4 August 1623 in Bouxwiller
; died: 30 March 1685 in Hanau
) was a member of the Hanau-Lichtenberg branch of the House of Hanau. He was the ruling Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg from 1641 and of Hanau-Münzenberg from 1642.
, the residence of the county of Hanau-Lichtenberg, as the son of Count Philip Wolfgang
(1595–1641) and his wife, Countess Johanna of Oettingen (1602–1639). During his childhood, his parents and he had to flee to Strasbourg
several times, due to the Thirty Years' War
.
On 14 February 1641, Frederick Casimir succeeded his father as ruler of the county of Hanau-Lichtenberg. Legally, he was still a minor at the time, so that a guardianship had to be set up. Just one year later, in 1642, he also inherited the County of Hanau-Münzenberg. For the first time since 1458 all parts of Hanau were again united in one hand.
From 1643 to 1645, he made the Grand Tour
that was usual for youngers of his standing. He visited countries that were not affected by the Thirty Years' War: France, Spain, Italy, England and the Netherlands. He was probably safer there than in his war-torn homeland.
. When John Ernest died in 1642, the Baron remained as the sole guardian. After he died in 1644, Count George Albert of Erbach acted as guardian, until his death in 1647. Since only a few months remained until the age of majority, no further attempt was made to establish a guardianship.
, the widow of Count Philip Maurice, who had been the ruling count until 1638. She had received Steinau
Castle as her widow seat. As widow of a ruling count, she could raise substantial claims against the county. To avoid this, it was decided to marry Frederick Casimir to the widow, who was 44 years old at the time, almost 20 years older than he. An added advantage of this marriage was that the Calvinist majority in the county was suspicious that the Lutheran count might undermine their position; the marriage with the Calvinist widow laid their fears to rest. The marriage was plagued by differences. One problem was that the count was continuously in financial difficulties and he sometimes dipped into his wife's resources to alleviate his problems.
The marriage with the elderly widow remained childless. Shortly before his death, Frederick Casimir adopted his nephews Philip Reinhard
and Johann Reinhard III as his heirs.
Several liege lord
s of Hanau-Münzenberg, in particular the Archdiocese of Mainz, but also Electoral Saxony, Hesse-Darmstadt
, the Bishopric of Würzburg
and the Imperial Abbey of Fulda held that the family relationship between Frederick Casimir and John Ernest was too distant and that John Ernest therefore had no male heir, so the fief was completed and should be terminated. However weak their position might have been legally, in the confused situation of the Thirty Years' War
, the current power structure weighed more heavily than legal niceties. George of Fleckenstein-Dagstuhl appreciated the situation and made sure that Hesse-Kassel would back Frederick Casimir. Amalie Elisabeth of Hanau-Münzenberg, the widow of Landgrave William V
of Hesse-Kassel, who was regent of Hesse-Kassel for her minor son William VI, would provide diplomatic and political support. She aimed at Hanau-Münzenberg keeping all its territories, not least because the county was heavily indebted to Hesse-Kassel. In return, Frederick Casimir signed a treaty of inheritance, promising that if Hanau-Münzenberg were to die out in the male line, the country would fall to Hesse-Kassel. This would eventually happen in 1736. Frederick Casimir also gave Hesse-Kassel the district of Schwarzenfels
and the Winery of Naumburg
(the secularized Naumburg Abbey) as collateral for the debt.
Hanau
, the capital of Hanau-Münzenberg, consisted at the time of the legally separate cities: ("Old Hanau") and ("New Hanau"). The latter had been settled at the turn of the 16th to the 17th Century by Calvinist refugees from France
and the Spanish Netherlands (present-day Belgium
). Its leadership was composed of wealthy merchants and traders who took advantage of the weak position of the new count to negotiate favourable conditions, in particular, they demanded guarantees that the religious would be maintained. After ten days of negotiating, George of Fleckenstein-Dagstuhl gave this guarantee, so that Frederick Casimir could finally accept his inheritance.
Frederick Casimir was a Lutheran, like the rest of the Hanau-Lichtenberg family. Hanau-Münzenberg, however, had been Calvinist since the days of count Philip Louis II. Back then, Philip Louis II had been able to decide the denomination for himself and his subjects under the principle of , Frederick Casimir not only had to allow the Calvinists to retain their religion; initially Frederick Casimir could only hold Lutheran services for himself and his court in the chapel in the City Palace. It wasn't until 1658 that he was able to build the Lutheran John Church, with substantial contributions from foreign Lutherans, in particular Elector John George I
of Saxony, after whom the church was named. Lutheran congregation were formed in many communities in the county, leading to considerable controversy.
In 1650 and 1670, the two sides in the religious dispute came to agree on a compromise. The 1670 compromise is known as the ("religious main recess"). The compromise puts the two Protestant denominations on an equal footing and gives each its own church administration, so that there were two established churches in the County of Hanau and the count had to waive his . The Religionshauptrezeß becmae a permanent and solid foundation for a bi-confessional county until the early 19th Century. It did not, however, stop the continuing debate between the two confessions. It wasn't until 1818 that the two churches formally merged.
the county of Hanau got off lightly. The county was allowed to keep most of the territory it had held before 1618. Frederick Casimir succeeded in re-establishing a balanced relationship with the imperial court in Vienna and was appointed as imperial councillor by Emperor Ferdinand II
. Even so, the county suffered from a substantial debt, which burdened Frederick Casimir's entire reign. This was particularly problematic because Frederick Casimir lacked any sense of financial matters. His court was modeled on the large Baroque
courts and his expenses exceeded the capacity of his county. In order to finance his expenses, such as his art collection and his wax museum, he resorted to selling off real estate, ultimately selling the district of Rodheim to Hesse-Homburg
for 9000 taler.
The political landscape in which Frederick Casimir had to operate, remained marked by uncertainty, even after the Peace of Westphalia. This was particularly true for the Hanau-Lichtenberg part of the country, which was within reach of Louis XIV and had repeatedly been occupied during the war. The part of Hanau-Lichtenberg on the left bank of the Rhine had been separated from the Holy Roman Empire
by the Peace of Westphalia and were placed under the sovereignty of the French crown. After the Peace of Nijmegen of 1678 and a verdict of the Chamber of Reunion
in 1681, Frederick Casimir had to pay homage
to the French king for these areas. In 1672, French troops even occupied Friedberg
, Aschaffenburg
and Seligenstadt
. Hanau had declared itself neutral, but was completely surrounded by French troops.
Among his advisors were the doctor and Alchemist
Friedrich Kretschmar, a vagabond and princely advisor with a dubious reputation, Swedish councillor Bengt Skytte, a self-styled philosopher, Johann Joachim Becher, a dcotor and economic theorist, Landgrave George Christian, a soldier and diplomat, and the author Johann Michael Moscherosch
. They provided no counterweight to Frederick Casimir's ambition.
. During Frederick Casimir's reign, one of the first faience
manufacturing plants in Germany was founded by Daniel Behaghel and Jacob van der Walle, using a countly privilege issued on 5 March 1661; it would operate successfully until the early 19th century. In 1678, the , one of Germany's oldest newspapers, was founded. Frederick Casimir was a member of the literary Fruitbearing Society
.
Several treaties were concluded with the Archdiocese of Mainz and the Bishopric of Würzburg
, which were both administered by John Philip of Schönborn in apersonal union, on the one hand resolving disputes which had arisen during the Thirty Years' War
, on the other hand exchanging territories in order to make both countries more convex.
To compensate for the loss of population of the war, he promoted immigration of Swiss people from the Bernese Oberland
into the county of Hanau-Lichtenberg. These people held Calvinist beliefs and Hanau-Lichtenberg was still predominantly Lutheran, but Calvinism was tolerated.
The high point of his fantastic projects was the foundation of Hanauer India, a colony that would arise on the Orinoco
river on the north coast of South America
. The idea probably came from Johann Joachim Becher. This project progressed asfar as a final contract with the Dutch West India Company
. Frederick Casimir probably already saw himself as king of a tropical empire, however, he was derided as King of Cockaigne by the population of Hanau. What was lack ing was the money to implement such a project. Consequently, nothing happened in South America, and the project left behind huge debts in the county of Hanau. To compensate for this financial disaster, Frederick Casimir considered pledging the county of Hanau-Lichtenberg to the Duke of Lorraine and converting it to the Catholic
faith in order to secure support from the Catholic side. Landgrave George Christian of Hesse-Homburg
was alleged to have stood behind this project. He was also alleged to try to transfer the district of Dorheim to his own landgraviate, including the salt mine
of Bad Nauheim
, which was vital for the economy of Hanau. Frederick Casimir's relatives opposed this plan; to get them out of the way, George Christian tried to have himself appointed regent
of Hanau.
and Countess Palatine Anna Magdalena of Birkenfeld-Bischweiler
asked Emperor Leopold I
be appointed regents and heads of a new administration. They were appointed co-regent and given the right to veto any decision made by Frederick Casimir. Frederick Casimir councillor were dismissed and a new government was installed, led by President of the Chamber Johann Georg Seyfried, who was later ennobled as Baron von Edelsheim. In practice, this limitation of the Count's power often led to conflicts with the government. The regents tried to implement rigorous financial policies to repay government debt; the Count was still far more generous. In the end, a sweeping financial turnaround did not materialize.
The County of Hanau-Münzenberg was inherited by his nephew Philip Reinhard
, the County of Hanau-Lichtenberg by his nephew Johann Reinhard III. This division was reconfirmed in a treaty in 1691.
Frederick Casimir's widow, Sibylle Christine of Anhalt-Dessau, survived him by less than a year. She was buried in the crypt of the Reformed St. Mary's Church, also in Hanau.
Bouxwiller, Bas-Rhin
Bouxwiller is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.Among the city's sight is the Musée Judéo-Alsacien, dedicated to the History of Jews in Alsace, and located in the former synagogue.-References:*...
; died: 30 March 1685 in Hanau
Hanau
Hanau is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main. Its station is a major railway junction.- Geography :...
) was a member of the Hanau-Lichtenberg branch of the House of Hanau. He was the ruling Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg from 1641 and of Hanau-Münzenberg from 1642.
Childhood and Youth
Frederick Casimir was born in BouxwillerBouxwiller, Bas-Rhin
Bouxwiller is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.Among the city's sight is the Musée Judéo-Alsacien, dedicated to the History of Jews in Alsace, and located in the former synagogue.-References:*...
, the residence of the county of Hanau-Lichtenberg, as the son of Count Philip Wolfgang
Philip Wolfgang, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg
Philip Wolfgang, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg Philip Wolfgang, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg Philip Wolfgang, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (31 July 1595, Bouxwiller – , Bouxwiller was a count of Hanau-Lichtenberg. He ruled the county from 1625 until his death.- Youth :...
(1595–1641) and his wife, Countess Johanna of Oettingen (1602–1639). During his childhood, his parents and he had to flee to Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
several times, due to the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
.
On 14 February 1641, Frederick Casimir succeeded his father as ruler of the county of Hanau-Lichtenberg. Legally, he was still a minor at the time, so that a guardianship had to be set up. Just one year later, in 1642, he also inherited the County of Hanau-Münzenberg. For the first time since 1458 all parts of Hanau were again united in one hand.
From 1643 to 1645, he made the Grand Tour
Grand Tour
The Grand Tour was the traditional trip of Europe undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s, and was associated with a standard itinerary. It served as an educational rite of passage...
that was usual for youngers of his standing. He visited countries that were not affected by the Thirty Years' War: France, Spain, Italy, England and the Netherlands. He was probably safer there than in his war-torn homeland.
Guardianship
Under the law at the time, he was a minor until the age of 25. A committee of guardians was established for him and his two brothers, John Philip and Johann Reinhard II. Initially, the committee consisted of John Ernest of Hanau-Münzenberg and Baron George II of Fleckenstein-Dagstuhl, who was a great-grandson of Count Philip IV of Hanau-LichtenbergPhilip IV, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg
Philip IV of Hanau-Lichtenberg was from 1538 to 1590 the reigning Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg. Before his accession he had already conducted gouvernment business on behalf of his father, Count Philip III. He was very interested in alchemy.- Reformation :Unlike his father, Philip IV stood behind...
. When John Ernest died in 1642, the Baron remained as the sole guardian. After he died in 1644, Count George Albert of Erbach acted as guardian, until his death in 1647. Since only a few months remained until the age of majority, no further attempt was made to establish a guardianship.
Family
When Frederick Casimir took office in Hanau-Münzenberg, the county was financially in a precarious situation, due to the Thirty Years' War. When he arrived in Hanau, he was greeted by Sibylle Christine of Anhalt-DessauSibylle Christine of Anhalt-Dessau
Sibylle Christine of Anhalt-Dessau , was by birth a member of the House of Ascania and princess of Anhalt-Dessau...
, the widow of Count Philip Maurice, who had been the ruling count until 1638. She had received Steinau
Steinau
Steinau can refer to:*Steinau an der Straße, a town in Hesse, Germany*Steinau, Lower Saxony, a town in Lower Saxony, Germany*Steinau an der Oder, the German name for Ścinawa, a town in southwestern Poland...
Castle as her widow seat. As widow of a ruling count, she could raise substantial claims against the county. To avoid this, it was decided to marry Frederick Casimir to the widow, who was 44 years old at the time, almost 20 years older than he. An added advantage of this marriage was that the Calvinist majority in the county was suspicious that the Lutheran count might undermine their position; the marriage with the Calvinist widow laid their fears to rest. The marriage was plagued by differences. One problem was that the count was continuously in financial difficulties and he sometimes dipped into his wife's resources to alleviate his problems.
The marriage with the elderly widow remained childless. Shortly before his death, Frederick Casimir adopted his nephews Philip Reinhard
Philip Reinhard, Count of Hanau-Münzenberg
Philipp Reinhard of Hanau-Münzenberg from 1680 to 1712 in the County of Hanau-Münzenberg.- Childhood and Youth :...
and Johann Reinhard III as his heirs.
Inheriting Hanau-Münzenberg
When Count John Ernest of Hanau-Münzenberg died on 12 January 1642, Frederick Casimir was his next-of-kin. He was only a distant relative, but he was nevertheless the closest male relative and his hereditary claims were confirmed in a treaty of inheritance between Hanau-Lichtenberg and Hanau-Münzenberg dated 1610. Accepting the throne was not without its problems. Frederick Casimir had to travel through enemy territory in disguise, accompanied by his guardian George II of Fleckenstein-Dagstuhl and a small security detail. He arrived in Hanau on 21 January 1642.Several liege lord
Liege Lord
Liege Lord was an American speed/power metal band, active in the 1980s and considered to be a pioneer of the genre. It was formed by Matt Vinci, Anthony Truglio and Frank Cortese....
s of Hanau-Münzenberg, in particular the Archdiocese of Mainz, but also Electoral Saxony, Hesse-Darmstadt
Hesse-Darmstadt
Hesse-Darmstadt or the German Hessen-Darmstadt is a name that describes:* Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt , a state of the Holy Roman Empire...
, the Bishopric of Würzburg
Bishopric of Würzburg
The Bishopric of Würzburg was a prince-bishopric in the Holy Roman Empire, located in Lower Franconia, around the city of Würzburg, Germany. Würzburg was a diocese from 743. In the 18th century, its bishop was often also Bishop of Bamberg...
and the Imperial Abbey of Fulda held that the family relationship between Frederick Casimir and John Ernest was too distant and that John Ernest therefore had no male heir, so the fief was completed and should be terminated. However weak their position might have been legally, in the confused situation of the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
, the current power structure weighed more heavily than legal niceties. George of Fleckenstein-Dagstuhl appreciated the situation and made sure that Hesse-Kassel would back Frederick Casimir. Amalie Elisabeth of Hanau-Münzenberg, the widow of Landgrave William V
William V, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel
William V of Hesse-Kassel was the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel in the Holy Roman Empire from 1627 to 1637....
of Hesse-Kassel, who was regent of Hesse-Kassel for her minor son William VI, would provide diplomatic and political support. She aimed at Hanau-Münzenberg keeping all its territories, not least because the county was heavily indebted to Hesse-Kassel. In return, Frederick Casimir signed a treaty of inheritance, promising that if Hanau-Münzenberg were to die out in the male line, the country would fall to Hesse-Kassel. This would eventually happen in 1736. Frederick Casimir also gave Hesse-Kassel the district of Schwarzenfels
Schwarzenfels
Schwarzenfels is a village in the German municipality of Sinntal in Main-Kinzig-Kreis in the state of Hesse.The population in 2009 was 577.- References :...
and the Winery of Naumburg
Naumburg
Naumburg is a town in Germany, on the Saale River. It is in the district Burgenlandkreis in the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt. It is approximately southwest of Leipzig, south-southwest of Halle, and north-northeast of Jena....
(the secularized Naumburg Abbey) as collateral for the debt.
Hanau
Hanau
Hanau is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main. Its station is a major railway junction.- Geography :...
, the capital of Hanau-Münzenberg, consisted at the time of the legally separate cities: ("Old Hanau") and ("New Hanau"). The latter had been settled at the turn of the 16th to the 17th Century by Calvinist refugees from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and the Spanish Netherlands (present-day Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
). Its leadership was composed of wealthy merchants and traders who took advantage of the weak position of the new count to negotiate favourable conditions, in particular, they demanded guarantees that the religious would be maintained. After ten days of negotiating, George of Fleckenstein-Dagstuhl gave this guarantee, so that Frederick Casimir could finally accept his inheritance.
Frederick Casimir was a Lutheran, like the rest of the Hanau-Lichtenberg family. Hanau-Münzenberg, however, had been Calvinist since the days of count Philip Louis II. Back then, Philip Louis II had been able to decide the denomination for himself and his subjects under the principle of , Frederick Casimir not only had to allow the Calvinists to retain their religion; initially Frederick Casimir could only hold Lutheran services for himself and his court in the chapel in the City Palace. It wasn't until 1658 that he was able to build the Lutheran John Church, with substantial contributions from foreign Lutherans, in particular Elector John George I
John George I, Elector of Saxony
John George I was Elector of Saxony from 1611 to 1656.-Biography:Born in Dresden, he was the second son of the Elector Christian I and Sophie of Brandenburg....
of Saxony, after whom the church was named. Lutheran congregation were formed in many communities in the county, leading to considerable controversy.
In 1650 and 1670, the two sides in the religious dispute came to agree on a compromise. The 1670 compromise is known as the ("religious main recess"). The compromise puts the two Protestant denominations on an equal footing and gives each its own church administration, so that there were two established churches in the County of Hanau and the count had to waive his . The Religionshauptrezeß becmae a permanent and solid foundation for a bi-confessional county until the early 19th Century. It did not, however, stop the continuing debate between the two confessions. It wasn't until 1818 that the two churches formally merged.
The political framework
Under the Peace of WestphaliaPeace of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia was a series of peace treaties signed between May and October of 1648 in Osnabrück and Münster. These treaties ended the Thirty Years' War in the Holy Roman Empire, and the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch Republic, with Spain formally recognizing the...
the county of Hanau got off lightly. The county was allowed to keep most of the territory it had held before 1618. Frederick Casimir succeeded in re-establishing a balanced relationship with the imperial court in Vienna and was appointed as imperial councillor by Emperor Ferdinand II
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand II , a member of the House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Bohemia , and King of Hungary . His rule coincided with the Thirty Years' War.- Life :...
. Even so, the county suffered from a substantial debt, which burdened Frederick Casimir's entire reign. This was particularly problematic because Frederick Casimir lacked any sense of financial matters. His court was modeled on the large Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
courts and his expenses exceeded the capacity of his county. In order to finance his expenses, such as his art collection and his wax museum, he resorted to selling off real estate, ultimately selling the district of Rodheim to Hesse-Homburg
Hesse-Homburg
Hesse-Homburg was formed into a separate landgraviate in 1622 by the landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt to be ruled by his son, although it did not become independent of Hesse-Darmstadt until 1668....
for 9000 taler.
The political landscape in which Frederick Casimir had to operate, remained marked by uncertainty, even after the Peace of Westphalia. This was particularly true for the Hanau-Lichtenberg part of the country, which was within reach of Louis XIV and had repeatedly been occupied during the war. The part of Hanau-Lichtenberg on the left bank of the Rhine had been separated from the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
by the Peace of Westphalia and were placed under the sovereignty of the French crown. After the Peace of Nijmegen of 1678 and a verdict of the Chamber of Reunion
Chambers of Reunion
The Chambers of Reunion were French courts established by King Louis XIV in the early 1680s. The purpose of these courts was to increase French territory. Louis had been expanding the borders of France in a series of wars. Territory was gained in the Treaty of Nijmegen in 1679 and the Treaty of...
in 1681, Frederick Casimir had to pay homage
Homage
Homage is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic....
to the French king for these areas. In 1672, French troops even occupied Friedberg
Friedberg
- Places :* Friedberg, Bavaria, Germany* Friedberg, Hesse, Germany** University of Applied Sciences Giessen-Friedberg* Aichach-Friedberg, Bavaria, Germany* Friedberg, Bad Saulgau, a district of Bad Saulgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany* Friedberg, Styria, Austria...
, Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg
Aschaffenburg is a city in northwest Bavaria, Germany. The town of Aschaffenburg is not considered part of the district of Aschaffenburg, but is the administrative seat.Aschaffenburg is known as the Tor zum Spessart or "gate to the Spessart"...
and Seligenstadt
Seligenstadt
Seligenstadt is a town in the Offenbach district in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Seligenstadt is one of Germany’s oldest towns and was already of great importance in Carolingian times.-Location:...
. Hanau had declared itself neutral, but was completely surrounded by French troops.
Among his advisors were the doctor and Alchemist
Alchemy
Alchemy is an influential philosophical tradition whose early practitioners’ claims to profound powers were known from antiquity. The defining objectives of alchemy are varied; these include the creation of the fabled philosopher's stone possessing powers including the capability of turning base...
Friedrich Kretschmar, a vagabond and princely advisor with a dubious reputation, Swedish councillor Bengt Skytte, a self-styled philosopher, Johann Joachim Becher, a dcotor and economic theorist, Landgrave George Christian, a soldier and diplomat, and the author Johann Michael Moscherosch
Johann Michael Moscherosch
Johann Michael Moscherosch , German satirist and moralist, was born at Willstädt, on the Upper Rhine near Strasbourg. His bitterly brilliant but partisan writings graphically describe life in a Germany ravaged by the Thirty Years' War...
. They provided no counterweight to Frederick Casimir's ambition.
Successful projects
After decades of construction, the construction of the National High School was completed in 1665. The Lutheran School in Hanau, which had been founded in 1647, was expanded to a Lutheran High School in 1680. In 1813, it would be converted to a RealschuleRealschule
The Realschule is a type of secondary school in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein. It has also existed in Croatia , Denmark , Sweden , Hungary and in the Russian Empire .-History:The Realschule was an outgrowth of the rationalism and empiricism of the seventeenth and...
. During Frederick Casimir's reign, one of the first faience
Faience
Faience or faïence is the conventional name in English for fine tin-glazed pottery on a delicate pale buff earthenware body, originally associated with Faenza in northern Italy. The invention of a white pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an oxide of tin to the slip...
manufacturing plants in Germany was founded by Daniel Behaghel and Jacob van der Walle, using a countly privilege issued on 5 March 1661; it would operate successfully until the early 19th century. In 1678, the , one of Germany's oldest newspapers, was founded. Frederick Casimir was a member of the literary Fruitbearing Society
Fruitbearing Society
The Fruitbearing Society was a German literary society founded in 1617 in Weimar by German scholars and nobility to emulate the idea of the Accademia della Crusca in Florence and similar groups already thriving in Italy, to be followed in later years also in France and Britain...
.
Several treaties were concluded with the Archdiocese of Mainz and the Bishopric of Würzburg
Bishopric of Würzburg
The Bishopric of Würzburg was a prince-bishopric in the Holy Roman Empire, located in Lower Franconia, around the city of Würzburg, Germany. Würzburg was a diocese from 743. In the 18th century, its bishop was often also Bishop of Bamberg...
, which were both administered by John Philip of Schönborn in apersonal union, on the one hand resolving disputes which had arisen during the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
, on the other hand exchanging territories in order to make both countries more convex.
To compensate for the loss of population of the war, he promoted immigration of Swiss people from the Bernese Oberland
Bernese Oberland
The Bernese Oberland is the higher part of the canton of Bern, Switzerland, in the southern end of the canton: The area around Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, and the valleys of the Bernese Alps .The flag of the Bernese Oberland consists of a black eagle in a gold field The Bernese Oberland (Bernese...
into the county of Hanau-Lichtenberg. These people held Calvinist beliefs and Hanau-Lichtenberg was still predominantly Lutheran, but Calvinism was tolerated.
Fantasies
Many of Count Frederick Casimir's projects remained the castles in the sky. These include an Academy of Sciences and Arts. It would bebe established in Hanau and named Sophopolis.The high point of his fantastic projects was the foundation of Hanauer India, a colony that would arise on the Orinoco
Orinoco
The Orinoco is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes called the Orinoquia, covers , with 76.3% of it in Venezuela and the remainder in Colombia...
river on the north coast of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. The idea probably came from Johann Joachim Becher. This project progressed asfar as a final contract with the Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company
Dutch West India Company was a chartered company of Dutch merchants. Among its founding fathers was Willem Usselincx...
. Frederick Casimir probably already saw himself as king of a tropical empire, however, he was derided as King of Cockaigne by the population of Hanau. What was lack ing was the money to implement such a project. Consequently, nothing happened in South America, and the project left behind huge debts in the county of Hanau. To compensate for this financial disaster, Frederick Casimir considered pledging the county of Hanau-Lichtenberg to the Duke of Lorraine and converting it to the Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
faith in order to secure support from the Catholic side. Landgrave George Christian of Hesse-Homburg
Hesse-Homburg
Hesse-Homburg was formed into a separate landgraviate in 1622 by the landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt to be ruled by his son, although it did not become independent of Hesse-Darmstadt until 1668....
was alleged to have stood behind this project. He was also alleged to try to transfer the district of Dorheim to his own landgraviate, including the salt mine
Salt mine
A salt mine is a mining operation involved in the extraction of rock salt or halite from evaporite deposits.-Occurrence:Areas known for their salt mines include Kilroot near Carrickfergus, Northern Ireland ; Khewra and Warcha in Pakistan; Tuzla in Bosnia; Wieliczka and Bochnia in Poland A salt mine...
of Bad Nauheim
Bad Nauheim
Bad Nauheim is a town in the Wetteraukreis district of Hesse state of Germany. , Bad Nauheim has a population of 30,365. The town is located approximately 35 kilometers north of Frankfurt am Main, on the east edge of the Taunus mountain range. It is a world-famous resort, noted for its salt...
, which was vital for the economy of Hanau. Frederick Casimir's relatives opposed this plan; to get them out of the way, George Christian tried to have himself appointed regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
of Hanau.
Disempowerment
Frederick Casimir's relatives then pulled the emergency brake. His brother, John Philip of Hanau-Lichtenberg staged a coup in November 1669 and seized power while Frederick Casimir was absent. However, his emergency government broke down after three days. His relatives and the guardians of successors, Christian II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-BirkenfeldChristian II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld
Christian II was the Duke of Birkenfeld-Bischweiler from 1654 until 1717, the Duke of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld from 1671 until 1717, and the Count of Rappoltstein from 1673 until 1699.-Life:...
and Countess Palatine Anna Magdalena of Birkenfeld-Bischweiler
Countess Palatine Anna Magdalena of Birkenfeld-Bischweiler
Countess Palatine Anna Magdalena of Birkenfeld-Bischweiler was a daughter of Count Palatine Christian I of Birkenfeld-Bischweiler and his first wife, Countess Palatine Magdalene Catherine of Zweibrücken .- Life :She married on 18 October 1659 Count Johann Reinhard II of Hanau-Lichtenberg...
asked Emperor Leopold I
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
| style="float:right;" | Leopold I was a Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary and King of Bohemia. A member of the Habsburg family, he was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand III and his first wife, Maria Anna of Spain. His maternal grandparents were Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria...
be appointed regents and heads of a new administration. They were appointed co-regent and given the right to veto any decision made by Frederick Casimir. Frederick Casimir councillor were dismissed and a new government was installed, led by President of the Chamber Johann Georg Seyfried, who was later ennobled as Baron von Edelsheim. In practice, this limitation of the Count's power often led to conflicts with the government. The regents tried to implement rigorous financial policies to repay government debt; the Count was still far more generous. In the end, a sweeping financial turnaround did not materialize.
Death and inheritance
Frederick Casimir died on 30 March 1685 in Hanau. He was buried in the crypt of the Lutheran St. John Church in Hanau.The County of Hanau-Münzenberg was inherited by his nephew Philip Reinhard
Philip Reinhard, Count of Hanau-Münzenberg
Philipp Reinhard of Hanau-Münzenberg from 1680 to 1712 in the County of Hanau-Münzenberg.- Childhood and Youth :...
, the County of Hanau-Lichtenberg by his nephew Johann Reinhard III. This division was reconfirmed in a treaty in 1691.
Frederick Casimir's widow, Sibylle Christine of Anhalt-Dessau, survived him by less than a year. She was buried in the crypt of the Reformed St. Mary's Church, also in Hanau.