Solms-Hohensolms-Lich was at first a

County A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

and later Principality with

Imperial immediacy Imperial immediacy (german: Reichsfreiheit or ') was a privileged constitutional and political status rooted in German feudal law under which the Imperial estates of the Holy Roman Empire such as Imperial cities, prince-bishoprics and secular pr ...

in what is today the federal Land of

Hessen Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

. It was ruled by a branch of the

House of Solms A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

, originally from Solms.

Grafschaft

The county was originally created in 1718 as a union of the counties of Solms-Hohensolms and Solms-Lich for Count Friedrich Wilhelm zu Solms-Hohensolms-Lich (1682-1744). It existed from 1718 until 1792. Hohensolms was an old territory of the lords and counts of Solms, with Alt-Hohensolms Castle built in 1321 and destroyed in 1349, and Neu-Hohensolms Castle built in 1350. The latter was owned by the princely family until 1969. The county of

Lich In fantasy fiction, a lich (; from the Old English , meaning "corpse") is a type of undead creature. Various works of fantasy fiction, such as Clark Ashton Smith's " The Empire of the Necromancers" ( 1932), had used ''lich'' as a general ter ...

was inherited by the Counts of Solms-Braunfels after the Counts of Falkenstein-Münzenberg died out in 1418, resulting in strong territorial growth of the House of Solms in the

Wetterau The Wetterau is a fertile undulating tract, watered by the Wetter, a tributary of the Nidda River, in the western German state of Hesse, between the hilly province Oberhessen and the north-western Taunus mountains. Bettina von Arnim writes of ...

, including the lordships of Münzenberg Castle, Hungen Castle, Lich Castle and

Laubach Laubach is a town of approximately 10,000 people in the Gießen region of Hesse, Germany. Laubach is known as a ', a climatic health resort. It is situated east of Gießen. Surrounding Laubach are the towns of Hungen, Grünberg, Schotten and Li ...

Castle. Shortly thereafter, the branch of Solms-Lich split off from Solms-Braunfels.

Principality

It was raised to a Principality of the Holy Roman Empire in 1792 for Prince Karl Christian zu Solms-Hohensolms-Lich (1725-1803). Solms-Hohensolms-Lich was mediatised to

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Hesse-Darmstadt 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 betwee ...

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

and

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Wür ...

in 1806. The

had its origins at Solms, Hesse. The Prince of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich still resides at Castle Lich in

Princess Eleonore of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich Princess Eleonore Ernestine Marie of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich (17 September 1871 – 16 November 1937) was Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine as the second wife of Grand Duke Ernest Louis. She was nicknamed "Onor" by her family. She was regent ...

, daughter of Hermann, 5th Prince, wed

Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse Ernest Louis (german: Ernst Ludwig Karl Albrecht Wilhelm; 25 November 1868 – 9 October 1937) was the last Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, reigning from 1892 until 1918. Early life Ernest Louis was the elder son of Louis IV, Grand Duke of H ...

, becoming a Grand Duchess.

Rulers of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich

The House of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich is a Hessian princely family, and a collateral line of the

House of Solms-Braunfels A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

. The House of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich originally were imperial counts, raised to the rank of

Imperial Prince Prince of the Holy Roman Empire ( la, princeps imperii, german: Reichsfürst, cf. '' Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised as such by the Holy Roman Emperor. Definition Originally, possessors ...

in 1792.

Counts of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich (1718–1792)

* Friedrich Wilhelm, Count 1718–44 (1682-1744) ** Charles Christian, Count 1744–92 (1725-1803), created Reichsfürst 1792

Princes of Solms-Hohensolms-Lich (1792–present)

* Charles Christian, 1st Prince 1792–1803 (1725-1803) ∞ 1759 Sophie Charlotte, Countess of Dohna-Schlobitten ** Charles Louis Augustus, 2nd Prince 1803–1807 (1762-1807) - Mediatized in 1806; ∞ 1802 Henrietta Sophie, Countess of

Bentheim-Steinfurt Bentheim-Steinfurt was a historical county located in northwestern North Rhine-Westphalia in the region surrounding Steinfurt, Germany. Bentheim-Steinfurt was a partition of Bentheim-Bentheim, itself a partition of the County of Bentheim. Benthei ...

*** Charles, 3rd Prince 1807-1824 (1803-1824) *** Ludwig, 4th Prince 1824-1880 (1805-1880); ∞ 1829 Marie, princess of

Isenburg-Büdingen Isenburg-Büdingen was a County of southern Hesse, Germany, located in Büdingen. It was originally a part of the County of Isenburg. There were two different Counties of the same name. The first (1341–1511) was a partition of Isenburg-Cleberg ...

*** ''Prince Ferdinand (1806-1876)' **** Hermann, 5th Prince 1880-1899 (1838-1899); Agnes, Countess of

Stolberg-Wernigerode The County of Stolberg-Wernigerode (german: Grafschaft Stolberg-Wernigerode) was a county of the Holy Roman Empire located in the Harz region around Wernigerode, now part of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was ruled by a branch of the House of Stolberg ...

*****

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

, 6th Prince 1899-1920 (1866-1920); ∞ 1894 Emma, Princess of Stolberg-Wernigerode ***** Reinhard Louis, 7th Prince 1920-1951 (1867-1951); ∞ 1898 Marka Clara, Countess of Solms-Sonnewalde ****** ''Hermann Otto, Hereditary Prince (1902-1940)''; ∞ 1933 Gertrud, Baroness of Werthern-Beichlingen ******* Philipp-Reinhard, 8th Prince 1951-2015 (1934-2015); ∞ 1974 Marie, Countess Fouché d’Otrante ******** Carl-Christian, 9th Prince 2015–present (born 1975); ∞ 2009 Christina, Countess of

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civi ...

- Langenstein ********* Louis Clemens Jamal, Hereditary Prince (born 2008) ******** Prince Louis PhilHlip (born 1978) ******** Prince Frederik Sebastian (born 1987) ******* Prince Wilhelm (born 1937) ∞ Milicent von Boch-Galhau (b.1937) ******** Prince Benedict (born 1965) ******** Prince Christian-Lucius (born 1974) ********* Prince Maximilian ******* Prince Hermann Otto (born 1940) ∞ Margit Mayer (b.1944) div. 1971 ∞ Christiane Meyer zu Eissen (b. 1955)

References

{{Reflist, 30em 1718 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire Principalities of the Holy Roman Empire de:Solms-Hohensolms-Lich