George Christian, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg

Georg Christian ( born December 10, 1626 Homburg; † August 1, 1677 in Frankfurt am Main ) was third Landgrave of Hesse- Homburg.

Origin

Philipp I of Hesse ( " the Magnanimous ) (* 1504, † 1567) ∞ Christina of Saxony ( * 1505, † 1549)

Bernhard of Lippe VIII (* 1527, † 1563) ∞ Countess Katharina of Waldeck -Eisenberg (* 1524, † 1583 )

Count George I zu Leiningen - Schaumburg (* 1533, † 1586) ∞ Countess Margareta to Isenburg - Birstein (* 1542, † 1612 )

Baron Ungnad of Weißenwolffstraße ∞?

George I of Hesse -Darmstadt (* 1547, † 1596) ∞ Magdalene of Lippe (* 1552, † 1587 )

Count Christoph von Leiningen- Westerburg (* 1575, † 1635) ∞ Anna Maria Ungnad, Baroness von Wolff White (* 1573, † 1606 )

Frederick I of Hesse -Homburg (* 1585, † 1638) ∞ Margarete Elisabeth of Leiningen- Westerburg (* 1604, † 1667)

Georg Christian of Hesse- Homburg

George Christian was born the fifth child of the Landgrave Frederick I of Hesse- Homburg and the Countess Margarete Elisabeth of Leiningen- Westerburg. The family were Lutherans. Then the father died already in 1638, the children grew up under the tutelage of the mother. She sent Georg Christian 1642 first at the Akademi Soro in Denmark, a knight academy. As the but proved to be too expensive, he went from 1643 to the University of Giessen.

Military- political career

Typical of Georg Christian was that his demands on life were always greater than its possibilities. His life is therefore dominated by economically precarious positions and started, not completed or failed projects.

Spain

Due to the relations of the Landgrave George II of Hesse-Darmstadt joined the Spanish court Georg Christian in 1648 as a captain in the Spanish military service in the Spanish Netherlands. In 1651 he converted to the Roman Catholic Church; there are only suspicions about his motives. 1652 he went to Madrid to audition with King Philip IV and to promote his career in the service of Spain. However, he involved himself in disputes with the Hofbürokratie of protocol about the shape of his appearance before the king. Eventually, he received a patent in 1653 as " Capitan general" ( Field Marshal ), but was deported at the same time in the Spanish Netherlands back. But not here he has been in the patent desired, prominent position, so that he was still in the same year resigned from the service.

France

He moved to French services. Cardinal Jules Mazarin put him on a diplomatic mission in Germany, in order to strengthen the French interests against the Habsburgs. In particular, he was a contact man to Count Palatine Philip William of Neuburg, one of the possible, acceptable to France opposing candidates in the next upcoming election as emperor. Also in the negotiations on the "first Confederation of the Rhine " he was involved. When the imperial election in 1658 but then ran out in favor of Leopold I., the services of George Christian of France were no longer needed. In the meantime he had after the French side appointed Lieutenant General, 1656 tries to recruit a regiment of infantry and cavalry ever for France. Again, he took over again: His economic resources ranged far is not sufficient to finance such an undertaking and to organize.

Saxony

Subsequently, Georg Christian held 1660 in Saxony on how long he stayed there, it is not clear from the sources. There he was received at the court in Weimar by Duke Wilhelm IV of Saxe- Weimar in the Fruitbearing society. Duke William granted him the company name of the Brave and the motto in the open field. As an emblem him massilisch star herb was meant for. In Köthener society book, Georg Christian's entry takes place under the No. 755

In September 1665, he served in the Netherlands as commander in chief of the army Christoph Bernhard von Galen, who was allied with the English king. The military struggle for control of Borkeloh ( Dutch: Borculo outdated, Heerlijkheid Borkelo ) ended with the intervention of France and Brandenburg detriment of Galen.

Landgraviate Homburg

Marriage

On October 11, 1666 Georg Christian married in Hamburg, the wealthy merchant's widow Anna Catharina von Pogwitsch, widow of Ahlefeldt. The conformity of the prior marriage was doubtful there was only niederadelig Anna Catharina von Ahlefeldt. However, they probably brought a considerable dowry, from the presumably ancestral and the means for the next step of the Landgrave: The purchase of Hesse- Homburg. The common life of the spouse may have just stopped short: Just two years after marriage we find the Landgraf in Homburg, his wife remains in Hamburg. You have probably seen more then not. In his will, he does not mention it. At the funeral of the Landgrave it is neither present nor represented by a representative.

Sovereign

1669 bought Landgraf Georg Christian his brother Wilhelm Christoph land county Homburg, consisting of the City and the Office Homburg, from. He tried to sit here as a sovereign, could obtain from the emperor holds the coin for the Hesse- Homburg and began with individual reforms for the bled during the Thirty Years War Landgraviate. But already in 1671 he must sell it to his two main creditor, the kurmainzischen Councillor Johann Christian von Boyneburg and the Frankfurt banker Johann Ochs. Landgrave Louis VI. of Hesse- Darmstadt broke a pledge this - from 1673 to 1679 remained Hesse -Homburg then at Darmstadt.

Hanauer "Great Year "

In 1669 he was one of the main participants in the " Hanauer great year," a confrontation between the ruling Count Friedrich Casimir there - also a member of the Fruchtbringende society - and its agnates. Background was the catastrophic indebtedness and fiscal situation of the county of Hanau and economically over-sized projects the count. Outstanding was the project with Hanauisch - India on the north coast of South America to create a colony on the Orinoco, and operate. To compensate for the financial disaster, considered Count Friedrich Casimir, to pledge the county of Hanau -Lichtenberg to the Duke of Lorraine and convert to Roman Catholicism in order to secure appropriate support. The financial emergency also scored that Count Friedrich Casimir sold the office Rodheim for 9000 Taler of Landgrave Georg Christian. This sought to bring the Office Dorheim and therein situated, for the county of Hanau economically highly significant saline of ( bathroom) Nauheim, per se. To turn off the opposing against the sale of the county of Hanau agnates of Count Friedrich Casimir, Georg Christian, trying to get the regency over the county in his hands. In this situation the relatives pulled the emergency brake: After much back and forth erwirkten the guardians of the nephews and later successor, Frederick Casimir, Duke Christian II of Palatinate -Zweibrücken - Birkenfeld and Countess Palatine Anna Magdalena of Pfalz- Zweibrücken - Birkenfeld, when Emperor Leopold I. , that they were used as co-regent in the county of Hanau and so fell to them the right to veto decisions of the count. This was supported by the military Hesse- Kassel, which there was also considerable interest due to inheritance contract with the House of Hanau. The advisor to the Count, including Landgraf Georg Christian, were dismissed and had to flee.

Frankfurt am Main

From 1671 the Landgrave lived in Frankfurt am Main in the second floor of a building known as a pin house on the corner of Great Eschenheim alley in a four- room apartment, constantly pursued by creditors.

Death and burial

He died on August 1, 1677 here in his apartment. On his testamentary request, he was buried in Mainz Cathedral. He is one of the few members of the Hesse - Homburg family that is not buried in the crypt under the Homburg Castle Church. He received a baroque tomb, which is today after restoration work in the cathedral in the 1870s in the area of the southern entrance of the crypt. At that time the funeral was investigated and laid inside the cathedral. The legacy was in debt, so that his heirs had considerable problems to meet the claimed legacies.