Louise Elisabeth of Courland (12 August 1646 in

Jelgava Jelgava () is a state city in central Latvia. It is located about southwest of Riga. It is the largest town in the Semigallia region of Latvia. Jelgava was the capital of the united Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1578–1795) and was the ad ...

– 16 December 1690 in

Weferlingen Weferlingen is a village and a former municipality in the Börde district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 January 2010, it has been part of the town of Oebisfelde-Weferlingen. Weferlingen was featured in thGlobal Mobilization Creator DLCfor ...

) was Landgravine of

Hesse-Homburg Hesse-Homburg was a state of the Holy Roman Empire and a sovereign member of the German Confederation, which consisted of the lordship of Homburg at the foot of the Taunus, which was then known as ''Die Höhe'' ("the Heights"). The reigning princ ...

by marriage to Frederick II, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg.

Life

Louise Elisabeth was a daughter of Duke Jacob of Courland (1610-1662) from his marriage to Charlotte Louise (1617-1676), eldest daughter of Elector George William of Brandenburg. On 23 October 1670 in

Cölln Cölln () was the Twin cities, twin city of Old Berlin (Alt-Berlin) from the 13th century to the 18th century. Cölln was located on the Fischerinsel, Fisher Island section of Spree Island, opposite Altberlin on the western bank of the River ...

, she married the later Landgrave Frederick II of Hesse-Homburg, the famous ''Prince of Homburg''. Frederick had converted to the

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

faith for the sake of their marriage. This conversion brought him into closer relations with the princely houses in Brandenburg and

Hesse-Kassel The Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (), spelled Hesse-Cassel during its entire existence, also known as the Hessian Palatinate (), was a state of the Holy Roman Empire. The state was created in 1567 when the Landgraviate of Hesse was divided upon t ...

, who were also Calvinist. Louise Elisabeth's sister Maria Amalia married Landgrave

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

of Hesse-Kassel in 1673. Louise Elizabeth was a niece of Elector Frederick William of Brandenburg. This relationship allowed Frederick to join the Prussian army and become commander of all the troops of the Electorate only two years later, in 1672. The Calvinist Louise Elisabeth played a significant role in the settlement of displaced

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

s and Waldenses in Friedrichsdorf and Dornholzhausen in as well as in the formation of Calvinist congregations in

and

Bad Homburg Bad Homburg vor der Höhe (, ) is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis, Hesse, Germany, on the southern slope of the Taunus mountains. Bad Homburg is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. The town's official name is ''Bad Homburg ...

Issue

* Charlotte Dorothea Sophia (1672–1738) :married 1694

Johann Ernst III, Duke of Saxe-Weimar Johann Ernst III (22 June 1664 in Weimar – 10 May 1707 in Weimar), was a duke of Saxe-Weimar. Life He was the second son of Johann Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, and Christine Elisabeth of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg. After the death of ...

(1664–1707) * Frederick III Jacob (1673–1746), Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg :married 1. 1700 Princess Elisabeth Dorothea of Hesse-Darmstadt (1676–1721) :married 2. 1728 Princess Christiane Charlotte of Nassau-Ottweiler (1685–1761) * Karl Christian (1674–1695), fell at the Siege of Namur * Hedwig Luise (1675–1760) :married 1718 Count Adam Friedrich von Schlieben (1677–1752) * Philipp (1676–1706), fell at the

Battle of Speyerbach The Battle of Speyerbach took place on 15 November 1703 during the War of the Spanish Succession, near Speyer in the modern German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. A French army commanded by Camille de Tallard defeated an Allied force under F ...

in the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict fought between 1701 and 1714. The immediate cause was the death of the childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700, which led to a struggle for control of the Spanish E ...

* Wilhelmine Maria (1678–1770) :married 1711 Count Anton II of Aldenburg (1681–1738) * Eleonore Margarete (1679–1763) * Elisabeth Juliana Francisca (1681–1707) :married 1702 Prince Frederick William Adolf, Prince of Nassau-Siegen (1680–1722) * Johanna Ernestine (1682–1698) * Ferdinand (born and died 1683) * Karl Ferdinand (1684–1688) * Casimir William (1690–1726)

References

* Hugo Aust ''et al.''
''Fontane, Kleist und Hölderlin'' p. 12 ff
* Konstanze Grutschnig-Kieser
''Der Geistliche Würtz'', p. 224
* Jürgen Rainer Wolf: ''Die kurländische Erbschaft. Landgräfin Louise Elisabeth und die gescheiterten Hoffnungen des Hauses Hessen-Homburg'', Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, 1988 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Louise Elisabeth Of Courland Noblewomen from the Holy Roman Empire Landgravines of Hesse 1646 births 1690 deaths 17th-century German nobility Mothers of German monarchs