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Großherzogtum Hessen und bei Rhein Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine ← 1806 – 1918 → Flag Coat of arms Grand Ducal Hesse within the German Empire Capital Darmstadt Government Monarchy Grand Duke  - 1806–30 Louis I  - 1830–48 Louis II  - 1848–77 Louis III  - 1877–92 Louis IV  - 1892–1918 Ernest Louis History  - Established 13 August 1806  - German Revolution 9 November 1918 Area  - 1910[1] 7,688.36 km² (2,968 sq mi) Population  - 1910[1] est. 1,282,051       Density 166.8 /km²  (431.9 /sq mi)

The Grand Duchy of Hesse (German: Großherzogtum Hessen) was a former state that existed in modern-day Germany. It was formed in 1806 after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire as a result of the actions of Napoleon, who then elevated the former Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt to the level of grand duchy. For this reason, this state was occasionally known simply as Hesse-Darmstadt.

Due to Hesse-Darmstadt's membership of Napoleon's Confederation of the Rhine, it was forced to cede a considerable amount of territory at the 1815 Congress of Vienna. The territory of the Duchy of Westphalia, which Hesse-Darmstadt received from the 1803 Reichsdeputationshauptschluss, was ceded to the Kingdom of Prussia. However, it received some territory on the western bank of the Rhine, including the important federal fortress at Mainz.

The Grand Duchy changed its name to the Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine (German: Großherzogtum Hessen und bei Rhein) in 1816.

In 1867, the northern half of the Grand Duchy (Upper Hesse) became a part of the North German Confederation, while the half of the Grand Duchy south of the Main (Starkenburg and Rhenish Hesse) remained outside. In 1871, it became a constituent state of the German Empire. The last Grand Duke, Ernst Ludwig (a grandson of Queen Victoria and brother to Empress Alexandra of Russia), was forced from his throne at the end of World War I, and the state was renamed the Volksstaat Hessen (People's State of Hesse).

The majority of the state combined with Frankfurt am Main, the Waldeck area (Rhine-Province) and the former Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau to form the new state of Hesse following the Second World War. Excepted was the Montabaur district from Hessen-Nassau and that part of Hessen-Darmstadt on the left bank of the Rhine (Rhenish Hesse) became part of the Rhineland-Palatinate state. (Bad) Wimpfen - an exclave of Hessen-Darmstadt - became part of Baden-Württemberg, district of Sinsheim.

The three provinces of the Grand Duchy of Hesse: Upper Hesse, Starkenburg and Rhenish Hesse

The Grand Duchy of Hesse was divided into three provinces:

• Starkenburg: (Capital: Darmstadt) Right bank of the Rhine, south of the Main
• Rhenish Hesse, (Capital: Mainz) Left bank of the Rhine, territory gained from the Congress of Vienna
• Upper Hesse (Capital: Giessen) North of the Main, separated from Starkenburg by the Free City of Frankfurt, which was later annexed by Prussia in 1866.

• Rulers of Hesse
• Line of succession to the Hesse Throne

• Das Großherzogtum Hessen 1806–1918
• Großherzogtum Hessen (Kreise und Gemeinden) 1910

v • d • e States of the Confederation of the Rhine (1806–13)
Rank elevated by Napoleon	Kingdoms: Bavaria | Saxony | Württemberg Grand Duchies: Baden | Hesse
States created	Kingdoms: Westphalia Grand Duchies: Berg | Frankfurt‡ | Würzburg Principalities: Aschaffenburg† | Leyen | Regensburg†
Pre-existing states	Duchies: Anhalt: Bernburg, Dessau, Köthen | Arenberg | Mecklenburg: Schwerin, Strelitz | Nassau | Oldenburg | Saxony: Coburg-Saalfeld, Gotha-Altenburg, Hildburghausen, Meiningen, Weimar*, Eisenach*, Weimar-Eisenach** Principalities: Hohenzollern: Hechingen, Sigmaringen | Isenburg-Birstein | Liechtenstein | Lippe-Detmold | Reuß: Ebersdorf, Greiz, Lobenstein, Schleiz | Salm: Kyrburg, Salm | Schaumburg-Lippe | Schwarzburg: Rudolstadt, Sondershausen | Waldeck
* until 1809     ** from 1809       † until 1810     ‡ from 1810

v • d • e States of the German Confederation (1815–66)
Empires	Austria
Kingdoms	Prussia | Bavaria | Saxony | Hanover | Württemberg
Electorates	Hesse
Grand Duchies	Baden | Hesse | Luxembourg | Mecklenburg-Schwerin | Mecklenburg-Strelitz | Oldenburg | Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Duchies	Anhalt: Bernburg¹, Dessau¹, Köthen² | Brunswick | Holstein | Limburg | Nassau | Saxony: Altenburg³, Coburg-Saalfeld4, Coburg-Gotha³, Gotha-Altenburg4, Hildburghausen4, Lauenburg, Meiningen
Principalities	Hesse-Homburg | Hohenzollern: Hechingen5, Sigmaringen5 | Liechtenstein | Lippe | Reuß: Elder, Junior | Schaumburg-Lippe | Schwarzburg: Rudolstadt, Sondershausen | Waldeck and Pyrmont
City-states	Bremen | Frankfurt | Hamburg | Lübeck
1: Merged to Anhalt from 1863;     2: until 1847;     3: from 1826;     4: until 1826;     5: until 1850

v • d • e States of the North German Confederation (1866–71)
Kingdoms	Prussia | Saxony
Grand Duchies	Hesse | Mecklenburg: Schwerin, Strelitz | Oldenburg | Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Duchies	Anhalt | Brunswick | Saxony: Altenburg, Coburg and Gotha, Meiningen
Principalities	Schaumburg-Lippe | Schwarzburg: Rudolstadt, Sondershausen | Lippe | Reuss: Elder, Junior | Waldeck-Pyrmont
City-states	Bremen | Hamburg | Lübeck

v • d • e States of the German Empire (1871–1918)
Kingdoms	Prussia | Bavaria | Saxony | Württemberg
Grand Duchies	Baden | Hesse | Mecklenburg: Schwerin, Strelitz | Oldenburg | Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Duchies	Anhalt | Brunswick | Saxony: Altenburg, Coburg and Gotha, Meiningen
Principalities	Schaumburg-Lippe | Schwarzburg: Rudolstadt, Sondershausen | Lippe | Reuss: Elder, Junior | Waldeck-Pyrmont
City-states	Bremen | Hamburg | Lübeck
Other	Alsace-Lorraine | Colonial possessions