Grand Duchy of Hesse

Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine Großherzogtum Hessen und bei Rhein (German)
1806–1918
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Gott, Ehre, Vaterland God, Honour, Fatherland
Anthem: Hessenlied "Song of Hesse"
The Grand Duchy of Hesse within the German Empire
Grand Duchy of Hesse (1815–1866)
Status	State of the Confederation of the Rhine (1806–1813) State of the German Confederation (1815–1866) State of the North German Confederation (1867/70–1871) Federal State of the German Empire (1871–1918)
Capital	Darmstadt
Common languages	Hessian German
Religion	Protestantism Catholicism
Government	Constitutional Monarchy
Grand Duke
• 1806–1830 (first)	Louis I
• 1892–1918 (last)	Ernest Louis
Minister-President
• 1821–1829 (first)	Carl Grolman (first)
• 1906–1918 (last)	Christian Ewald (last)
Legislature	Landstände
Historical era	Napoleonic Wars WWI
• Established	13 August 1806
• German Revolution	9 November 1918
Area
1806[1]	9,300 km2 (3,600 sq mi)
1815	8,345 km2 (3,222 sq mi)
1866	7,682 km2 (2,966 sq mi)
1910[2]	7,688.36 km2 (2,968.49 sq mi)
Population
• 1806[1]	546,000
• 1889[3]	968,000
• 1910[2]	1,282,051
Preceded by Succeeded by Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt Holy Roman Empire People's State of Hesse

The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine (German: Großherzogtum Hessen und bei Rhein) was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The grand duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 as the Grand Duchy of Hesse (German: Großherzogtum Hessen). It assumed the name Hesse und bei Rhein in 1816 to distinguish itself from the Electorate of Hesse, which had formed from neighbouring Hesse-Kassel. Colloquially, the grand duchy continued to be known by its former name of Hesse-Darmstadt.

In 1806, the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt seceded from the Holy Roman Empire and joined Napoleon's new Confederation of the Rhine. The country was promoted to the status of grand duchy and received considerable new territories, principally the Duchy of Westphalia. After the French defeat in 1815, the grand duchy joined the new German Confederation. Westphalia was taken by Prussia, but Hesse received Rhenish Hesse in return. A constitution was proclaimed in 1820 and a long process of legal reforms was begun, with the aim of unifying the disparate territories under the grand duke's control. The political history of the grand duchy during this period was characterised by conflict between the conservative mediatised houses (Standesherren) and forces supporting political and social liberalisation. During the 1848 revolutions, the government was forced to grant wide-ranging reforms, including the full abolition of serfdom and universal manhood suffrage, but the reactionary government of Reinhard von Dalwigick rolled most of these back over the following decade. In 1866, Hesse entered the Austro-Prussian War on the Austrian side, but received a relatively mild settlement from the Prussian victors. The grand duchy joined the German Empire in 1871. As a small state within the empire, the grand duchy had limits placed on its autonomy, but significant religious, social, and cultural reforms were carried out. During the November Revolution after World War I in 1918, the grand duchy was overthrown and replaced by the People's State of Hesse.