Hessen-Darmstadt

Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt
Landgrafschaft Hessen-Darmstadt
State of the Holy Roman Empire
1567–1806
Coat of arms (1736)
Hesse-Darmstadt (HD) and Hesse-Kassel (HK) in 1789
Capital		Darmstadt
Languages		Hessian
Religion		Lutheran
Government		Monarchy
Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
•	1567–1596	George I
•	1596–1626	Louis V
•	1626–1661	George II
•	1661–1678	Louis VI
•	1678	Louis VII
•	1678–1739	Ernest Louis
•	1739–1768	Louis VIII
•	1768–1790	Louis IX
•	1790–1806	Louis X
History
•	Established	1567
•	Grand Duchy	1806
Preceded by Succeeded by Landgraviate of Hesse Grand Duchy of Hesse

The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt (German: Landgrafschaft Hessen-Darmstadt) was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a younger branch of the House of Hesse. It was formed in 1567 following the division of the Landgraviate of Hesse between the four sons of Landgrave Philip I.

The residence of the landgraves was in Darmstadt, hence the name. As a result of the Napoleonic Wars, the landgraviate was elevated to the Grand Duchy of Hesse following the Empire's dissolution in 1806.

The landgraviate comprised the southern Starkenburg territory with the Darmstadt residence and the northern province of Upper Hesse with Alsfeld, Giessen, Grünberg, the northwestern hinterland estates around Gladenbach, Biedenkopf and Battenberg as well as the exclave of Vöhl in Lower Hesse.

The Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt came into existence in 1567, when George, youngest of the four sons of Landgrave Philip I "the Magnanimous", received the Hessian lands in the former upper County of Katzenelnbogen. His eldest brother William IV received the Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, while the second son Louis IV obtained Hesse-Marburg, and the third Philipp II became Landgrave of Hesse-Rheinfels.