Johann Reinhard III of Hanau-Lichtenberg
Encyclopedia
Johann Reinhard III of Hanau-Lichtenberg (31 July 1665, Bischofsheim am hohen Steg
– 28 March 1736, Philippsruhe Castle, Hanau
) was the last of the counts of Hanau-Lichtenberg. He reigned from 1680 to 1736. From 1712 to 1736, he also reigned the county of Hanau-Münzenberg.
He was educated together with his older brother Philip Reinhard
, initially in Strasbourg
. In 1678, they moved to Babenhausen
, where their mother lived at the time. In 1678, they started a Grand Tour
to the Alsace
, Switzerland
and Geneva
. In 1690, the travelled for a year in Savoy
and Turin
, in 1681 to Paris
, in 1683 to the Netherlands
, England
and some French provinces. In early 1684, they were in Milan
, from there they went to see the carnival
in Venice
, followed by a trip to Rome
(with audiences with pope Innocent XII and queen Christina of Sweden
), then to Naples
, Florence
, Modena
, Parma
and Mantua
. In 1686, they visited the imperial court in Vienna
and on the way back, they traveled to Bohemia
and visited the Electoral Saxon
court in Dresden
.
, because his financial escapades had ruined the county. As Johann Reinhard III was a minor, the county was ruled by his guardians: his mother and his uncle duke Christian II of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld
. At the same time, Johann Reinhard III's older brother Philip Reinhard
came to the throne of Hanau-Münzenberg. When this division was implemented, the district of Babenhausen was awarded to Hanau-Münzenberg; this decision was confirmed in a treaty in 1691. In 1685, Johann Reinhard III was legally adopted by his deposed uncle Frederick Casimir. In 1688, he came of age and took over the government. In 1691, duke Christian II filed his final report on the guardianship.
. He could only rule those areas because he received "Letters Patent
" to that effect from the French king Louis XIV in 1701 and 1707. Johann Reinhard III tried in vain to be raised to the rank of Imperial Prince. After it was clear that he would have no male heirs, he discontinued these efforts.
When Philip Reinhard died in 1712, Johann Reinhard III inherited Hanau-Münzenberg. Under his rule, the two sub-counties were united in one hand for the last time. He alternated his residence between the two part of the county. He also succeeded his brother as director of the Wetterau Association of Imperial Count
s.
During the reign of Johann Reinhard II, the County of Hanau prospered culturally: he began building a grand castle in Bischofsheim am hohen Steg (now called Rheinbischofsheim
), which was never completed, and in the Hanau-Lichtenberg of Buchsweiler (now called Bouxwiller
, he created a park and expanded the castle. He renovated the Hanauer Court at Strasbourg
, which had been the city residence of the counts of Hanau-Lichtenberg since 1573. This building now serves as Strasbourg's City Hall.
After he took office in Hanau-Münzenberg 1712, he completed the construction of the Philippsruhe Castle, just outside the Hanau
city gate, and the Philippsruhe Avenue, including the Heller bridge. He also created Chestnut Avenue and the Pheasant Park (at the later Wilhelmsbad) and completed construction of the stables of the City Palace in Hanau
(later Hanau's City Hall; today the "Congress Park Hanau"), which Philip Reinhard had started. Behind the city palace, the City Wall was breached in order to obtain a direct access to the Turkish style gardens behind it.
In 1727, he extended the St. John's Church in Hanau, in which the counts of Hanau were buried. He built Lutheran
churches in Windecken, Steinau an der Straße
, Nauheim (now called: Bad Nauheim
), Kesselstadt and Rodheim (the "Reinhard Church") and Lutheran schools in many towns in the county of Hanau-Münzenberg. The reason for this was that Hanau-Münzenberg has adopted Calvinism
during the Reformation
, but had been ruled since 1643 by the Lutheran counts of Hanau-Lichtenberg. By the early 18th Century, the contrast between the two main Protestant variants had mitigated to the extent that this building policy was now acceptable for the Calvinist majority of the population.
In his capital city of Hanau, street lighting was introduced. The Frankfurt Gate was torn down and rebuilt in a Baroque
style, and the same was done to the Hanau's City Hall. Between 1730 and 1736, he built the Hôtel de Hanau in Strasbourg
, which would later become the City Hall.
Personally, Count Johann Reinhard III lived rather modestly, which enabled him to finance his construction projects.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
reported, in his Dichtung und Wahrheit
(Chapter 10) on a visit to Buchsweiler at the end of the 18th Century: "Above all else, the name of the last Count, Reinhard of Hanau, was held in high esteem here and in the rest of this little country. His great intellect and ability in all his actions came to the fore, and many beautiful monument remain of his existence. Such men have the advantage of being double benefactors, for the present, which they delight, and also for the future, whose sense and courage they nurture and sustain."
In this situation, Count Johann Reinhard III tried to make his daughter and his grandson in Hesse-Darmstadt inherit as much of Hanau as possible. That was relatively easy for the Lichtenberg part of the country, to which the 1643 treaty did not apply. It took considerable financial effort in 1717, however, to include the passive fiefs of the Bishopric of Strasbourg and Archbishopric of Mainz
into Louis's inheritance, because fiefs were usually only hereditary in the male line. For this payment, count Johann Reinhard III borrowed 100,000 florins from the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel and pledged the Hanau district of Brandenstein as security for this loan.
Anticipating the inheritance, Hesse-Kassel paid 600,000 taler to buy off claims by Electoral Saxony
on the imperial fief held by Hanau-Münzenberg. Saxony had acquired these claims from the emperor during the Thirty Years' War
. Hesse-Kassel pledged the districts Frauensee
, Landeck and Treffurt
; Frauensee and Landeck were redeemed in 1743.
Most problematic, however, was whether the district of Babenhausen belonged to the Lichtenberg or the Münzenberg part of the inheritance. Here, too, Count Johann Reinhard III tried to strengthen the position of his daughter and grandson in Hesse-Darmstadt. In a will written in 1729, he bequeathed Babenhausen to Louis IX of Hesse-Darmstadt. On this issue, Hesse-Kassel initially appeared to be cooperative. Agreements were signed in 1714, 1718 and 1720. In 1730, however, Landgrave Frederick I of Hesse-Kassel came to the throne and Hesse-Kassel's stance changed. On 17 April 1730, he sent the Hessian army to Hanau, to ensure his future inheritance. Count Johann Reinhard swore allegiance to Frederick; this suspended the problem during his lifetime.
. On his deathbed, he was surrounded by the diplomatic and notarized representatives of his heirs. He was buried in the family crypt in the St. John's Church in Hanau. The crypt was destroyed when Hanau was bombed during the Second World War.
The question whether Babenhausen belonged to Hanau-Lichtenberg or Hanau-Münzenberg was disputed for decades after his death. It was settled at the end of the 18th Century by dividing the district.
(1676–1731). Her sister Caroline
would later marry the British prince who became King George II
. Johann Reinhard III and Frederike Dorothea had one daughter: Charlotte Christine Magdalene Johanna (1700–1726), who married Landgrave Louis VIII
of Hesse-Darmstadt
(1691–1768).
Rheinau (Baden)
Rheinau is a town in southwestern Baden-Württemberg, Germany and is part of the district of Ortenau.-Geography:Rheinau is located in the Upper Rhine River Plains directly on the Rhine and as such at the German-French border...
– 28 March 1736, Philippsruhe Castle, 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 the last of the counts of Hanau-Lichtenberg. He reigned from 1680 to 1736. From 1712 to 1736, he also reigned the county of Hanau-Münzenberg.
Childhood and Youth
Johann Reinhard III was born on 31 July 1665 in Bischofsheim am hohen Steg (now called Rheinbischofsheim). He was the son of count Johann Reinhard II of Hanau-Lichtenberg and countess palatine Anna Magdalena of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld. He was baptized on 1 August 1665.He was educated together with his older brother 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 :...
, initially in 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,...
. In 1678, they moved to Babenhausen
Babenhausen
Babenhausen is a town in the Darmstadt-Dieburg district, in Hesse, Germany.-Geography:It is situated on the river Gersprenz, 25 km southeast of Frankfurt, and 14 km west of Aschaffenburg. South of its general borders, the mountain range of the Odenwald is situated about 15 km away...
, where their mother lived at the time. In 1678, they started a 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...
to the Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
and Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
. In 1690, the travelled for a year in Savoy
Savoy
Savoy is a region of France. It comprises roughly the territory of the Western Alps situated between Lake Geneva in the north and Monaco and the Mediterranean coast in the south....
and Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, in 1681 to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, in 1683 to the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and some French provinces. In early 1684, they were in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, from there they went to see the carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...
in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, followed by a trip to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
(with audiences with pope Innocent XII and queen Christina of Sweden
Christina of Sweden
Christina , later adopted the name Christina Alexandra, was Queen regnant of Swedes, Goths and Vandals, Grand Princess of Finland, and Duchess of Ingria, Estonia, Livonia and Karelia, from 1633 to 1654. She was the only surviving legitimate child of King Gustav II Adolph and his wife Maria Eleonora...
), then to Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
, Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
and Mantua
Mantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
. In 1686, they visited the imperial court in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and on the way back, they traveled to Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
and visited the Electoral Saxon
Electorate of Saxony
The Electorate of Saxony , sometimes referred to as Upper Saxony, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was established when Emperor Charles IV raised the Ascanian duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg to the status of an Electorate by the Golden Bull of 1356...
court in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
.
Regency
Johann Reinhard III came to the trone of the county of Hanau-Lichtenberg on 24 May 1680 (Julian, i.e. 3 June 1680 Gregorian) at the age of 15, after his family had deposed his uncle Frederick CasimirFrederick Casimir, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg
Frederick Casimir of Hanau was a member of the Hanau-Lichtenberg branch of the House of Hanau...
, because his financial escapades had ruined the county. As Johann Reinhard III was a minor, the county was ruled by his guardians: his mother and his uncle duke Christian II of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld
Christian 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:...
. At the same time, Johann Reinhard III's older brother 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 :...
came to the throne of Hanau-Münzenberg. When this division was implemented, the district of Babenhausen was awarded to Hanau-Münzenberg; this decision was confirmed in a treaty in 1691. In 1685, Johann Reinhard III was legally adopted by his deposed uncle Frederick Casimir. In 1688, he came of age and took over the government. In 1691, duke Christian II filed his final report on the guardianship.
Policy
The economic situation in the county of Hanau-Lichtenberg was very bad, because the Upper Rhine valley, in which the county was situated, had been devastated during the War of the Palatinian Succession (1688–1697) and the War of Spanish Succession (1702–1713) and related military occupations. Count Johann Reinhard III tried to improve the situation. The political situation was also problematic: his predecessor had been forced to acknowledge French supremacy over the parts of the county located in AlsaceAlsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
. He could only rule those areas because he received "Letters Patent
Letters patent
Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...
" to that effect from the French king Louis XIV in 1701 and 1707. Johann Reinhard III tried in vain to be raised to the rank of Imperial Prince. After it was clear that he would have no male heirs, he discontinued these efforts.
When Philip Reinhard died in 1712, Johann Reinhard III inherited Hanau-Münzenberg. Under his rule, the two sub-counties were united in one hand for the last time. He alternated his residence between the two part of the county. He also succeeded his brother as director of the Wetterau Association of Imperial Count
Imperial Count
Imperial Count was a title in the Holy Roman Empire. On the one hand, it was used to designate the holders of a imperial county, that is, a county that was a fief directly from the emperor, rather than from a duke; on the other hand, the owner of the title of "Count" could be elevated to...
s.
Culture
Rheinau (Baden)
Rheinau is a town in southwestern Baden-Württemberg, Germany and is part of the district of Ortenau.-Geography:Rheinau is located in the Upper Rhine River Plains directly on the Rhine and as such at the German-French border...
), which was never completed, and in the Hanau-Lichtenberg of Buchsweiler (now called Bouxwiller
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:*...
, he created a park and expanded the castle. He renovated the Hanauer Court at 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,...
, which had been the city residence of the counts of Hanau-Lichtenberg since 1573. This building now serves as Strasbourg's City Hall.
After he took office in Hanau-Münzenberg 1712, he completed the construction of the Philippsruhe Castle, just outside the 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 :...
city gate, and the Philippsruhe Avenue, including the Heller bridge. He also created Chestnut Avenue and the Pheasant Park (at the later Wilhelmsbad) and completed construction of the stables of the City Palace 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 :...
(later Hanau's City Hall; today the "Congress Park Hanau"), which Philip Reinhard had started. Behind the city palace, the City Wall was breached in order to obtain a direct access to the Turkish style gardens behind it.
In 1727, he extended the St. John's Church in Hanau, in which the counts of Hanau were buried. He built Lutheran
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the theology of Martin Luther, a German reformer. Luther's efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation...
churches in Windecken, Steinau an der Straße
Steinau an der Straße
Steinau an der Straße is a town in the Main-Kinzig district, in Hesse, Germany. It is situated on the river Kinzig, 32 km southwest of Fulda.-History:...
, Nauheim (now called: 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...
), Kesselstadt and Rodheim (the "Reinhard Church") and Lutheran schools in many towns in the county of Hanau-Münzenberg. The reason for this was that Hanau-Münzenberg has adopted Calvinism
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
during the Reformation
Reformation
- Movements :* Protestant Reformation, an attempt by Martin Luther to reform the Roman Catholic Church that resulted in a schism, and grew into a wider movement...
, but had been ruled since 1643 by the Lutheran counts of Hanau-Lichtenberg. By the early 18th Century, the contrast between the two main Protestant variants had mitigated to the extent that this building policy was now acceptable for the Calvinist majority of the population.
In his capital city of Hanau, street lighting was introduced. The Frankfurt Gate was torn down and rebuilt in a 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...
style, and the same was done to the Hanau's City Hall. Between 1730 and 1736, he built the Hôtel de Hanau in 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,...
, which would later become the City Hall.
Personally, Count Johann Reinhard III lived rather modestly, which enabled him to finance his construction projects.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
reported, in his Dichtung und Wahrheit
Dichtung und Wahrheit
Aus meinem Leben: Dichtung und Wahrheit is an autobiography by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe that comprises the time from the poet's childhood to the days in 1775, when he was about to leave for Weimar....
(Chapter 10) on a visit to Buchsweiler at the end of the 18th Century: "Above all else, the name of the last Count, Reinhard of Hanau, was held in high esteem here and in the rest of this little country. His great intellect and ability in all his actions came to the fore, and many beautiful monument remain of his existence. Such men have the advantage of being double benefactors, for the present, which they delight, and also for the future, whose sense and courage they nurture and sustain."
Inheritance
Once it became clear that there would be no male heir in Hanau, a dispute about the inheritance erupted. Basically there were two candidates:- Landgrave Louis IXLouis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-DarmstadtLouis IX of Hesse-Darmstadt was the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt from 1768 - 1790. He was a son of Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, and Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg and Müntzenberg....
of Hesse-Darmstadt, the son of Johann Reinhard III's daughter Charlotte (who had already died) and landgrave Louis VIII of Hesse-Darmstadt; - Landgrave William VIII of Hesse-Kassel, who claimed the Münzenberg part of the county, based on an inheritance treaty of 1643 between Hanau and the Landgraviate of Hesse-KasselHesse-KasselThe Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel or Hesse-Cassel was a state in the Holy Roman Empire under Imperial immediacy that came into existence when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided in 1567 upon the death of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse. His eldest son William IV inherited the northern half and the...
.
In this situation, Count Johann Reinhard III tried to make his daughter and his grandson in Hesse-Darmstadt inherit as much of Hanau as possible. That was relatively easy for the Lichtenberg part of the country, to which the 1643 treaty did not apply. It took considerable financial effort in 1717, however, to include the passive fiefs of the Bishopric of Strasbourg and Archbishopric of Mainz
Archbishopric of Mainz
The Archbishopric of Mainz or Electorate of Mainz was an influential ecclesiastic and secular prince-bishopric in the Holy Roman Empire between 780–82 and 1802. In the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy, the Archbishop of Mainz was the primas Germaniae, the substitute of the Pope north of the Alps...
into Louis's inheritance, because fiefs were usually only hereditary in the male line. For this payment, count Johann Reinhard III borrowed 100,000 florins from the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel and pledged the Hanau district of Brandenstein as security for this loan.
Anticipating the inheritance, Hesse-Kassel paid 600,000 taler to buy off claims by Electoral Saxony
Electorate of Saxony
The Electorate of Saxony , sometimes referred to as Upper Saxony, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was established when Emperor Charles IV raised the Ascanian duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg to the status of an Electorate by the Golden Bull of 1356...
on the imperial fief held by Hanau-Münzenberg. Saxony had acquired these claims from the emperor 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....
. Hesse-Kassel pledged the districts Frauensee
Frauensee
Frauensee is a municipality in the Wartburgkreis district of Thuringia, Germany....
, Landeck and Treffurt
Treffurt
Treffurt is a town in the Wartburgkreis district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Werra, 19 km northwest of Eisenach, and 18 km southwest of Mühlhausen in the Naturpark Eichsfeld-Hainich-Werratal nature park. Treffurt is well known for its old beautiful villas and...
; Frauensee and Landeck were redeemed in 1743.
Most problematic, however, was whether the district of Babenhausen belonged to the Lichtenberg or the Münzenberg part of the inheritance. Here, too, Count Johann Reinhard III tried to strengthen the position of his daughter and grandson in Hesse-Darmstadt. In a will written in 1729, he bequeathed Babenhausen to Louis IX of Hesse-Darmstadt. On this issue, Hesse-Kassel initially appeared to be cooperative. Agreements were signed in 1714, 1718 and 1720. In 1730, however, Landgrave Frederick I of Hesse-Kassel came to the throne and Hesse-Kassel's stance changed. On 17 April 1730, he sent the Hessian army to Hanau, to ensure his future inheritance. Count Johann Reinhard swore allegiance to Frederick; this suspended the problem during his lifetime.
Death
Johann Reinhard III. died on 28 March 1736 in Philippsruhe Castle in HanauHanau
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 :...
. On his deathbed, he was surrounded by the diplomatic and notarized representatives of his heirs. He was buried in the family crypt in the St. John's Church in Hanau. The crypt was destroyed when Hanau was bombed during the Second World War.
The question whether Babenhausen belonged to Hanau-Lichtenberg or Hanau-Münzenberg was disputed for decades after his death. It was settled at the end of the 18th Century by dividing the district.
Marriage and issue
Johann Reinhard III married on 20 or 30 August 1699 Countess Dorothea Friederike of Brandenburg-AnsbachDorothea Friederike of Brandenburg-Ansbach
Dorothea Friederike of Brandenburg-Ansbach was the daughter of Margrave John Frederick of Brandenburg-Ansbach and his first wife, Margravine Johanna Elisabeth of Baden-Durlach...
(1676–1731). Her sister Caroline
Caroline of Ansbach
Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach was the queen consort of King George II of Great Britain.Her father, John Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, was the ruler of a small German state...
would later marry the British prince who became King George II
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
. Johann Reinhard III and Frederike Dorothea had one daughter: Charlotte Christine Magdalene Johanna (1700–1726), who married Landgrave Louis VIII
Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
Louis VIII 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....
of 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...
(1691–1768).
Ancestors
Sources and references
- Rudolf Bernges: Aus dem Hofleben des letzten Grafen von Hanau Johann Reinhard , in Hanauisches Magazin, 11, Hanau, 1923
- Julius Rathgeber" Die Graffschaft Hanau-Lichtenberg, Strasbourg, 1876
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