Hesse

Hesse /ˈhɛs/ or Hessia (German: Hessen [ˈhɛsn̩], Hessian dialect: Hesse [ˈhɛzə]) is a federal state (Land) of the Federal Republic of Germany, with just over six million inhabitants. The state capital is Wiesbaden; the largest city is Frankfurt am Main. Until the formation of the German Reich in 1871, Hesse was an independent country ruled by a Grand Duke (Grand Duchy of Hesse). Due to divisions after World War II, the modern federal state does not cover the entire cultural region of Hesse which includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse (Rheinhessen) in the neighbouring state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

The English name "Hesse" originates in the Hessian dialects. The variant "Hessia" comes from the medieval Latin Hassia. The German term Hessen is used by the European Commission because their policy is to leave regional names untranslated (paragraphs 1.31 & 1.35). The term "Hesse" ultimately derives from a Germanic tribe called the Chatti, who settled in the region in the first century B.C. An inhabitant of Hesse is called a Hessian (German: Hesse (masculine) or Hessin (feminine)). The synthetic element hassium, number 108 on the periodic table, is named after the state of Hesse.

Alexandra Feodorovna (Alix of Hesse)

Alexandra Fyodorovna (Russian: Императрица Александра Фёдоровна, Imperatritsa Aleksandra Fyodorovna) (6 June 1872 – 17 July 1918), was Empress consort of Russia as the spouse of Nicholas II, the last Emperor of the Russian Empire. Born as Alix of Hesse and by Rhine, she was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Upon being received into the Russian Orthodox Church, she was given the name Alexandra Fyodorovna and in 2000 she was canonized as Saint Alexandra the Passion Bearer. Alexandra was also a maternal great-aunt of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and first cousin twice-removed to his wife Queen Elizabeth II.

Alexandra is best remembered as the last Tsaritsa of Russia, as one of the most famous royal carriers of the haemophilia disease, and for her support of autocratic control over the country. Her friendship with the Russian mystic and holy man, Grigori Rasputin, was also an important factor in her life.

Early life (1872-1894)

Alexandra was born on 6 June 1872 at the New Palace in Darmstadt as Her Grand Ducal Highness Princess Alix Viktoria Helena Luise Beatrice of Hesse and by Rhine, a Grand Duchy that was then part of the German Empire. She was the sixth child and fourth daughter among the seven children of Grand Duke Louis IV of Hesse and by Rhine, and Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, the second daughter of Queen Victoria and Albert, the Prince Consort.

Alexandra Feodorovna

Empress Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia may refer to:

The Adventures of Alix

Alix, or The Adventures of Alix, is a Franco-Belgian comics series drawn in the ligne claire style by Jacques Martin. The stories revolve around a young Gallo-Roman man named Alix in the late Roman Republic. Although the series is renowned for its historical accuracy and stunning set detail, the hero has been known to wander into anachronistic situations up to two centuries out of his era. The stories unfold throughout the reaches of the Roman world, including the city of Rome, Gaul, the German frontier, Mesopotamia, Africa and Asia Minor. One voyage goes as far as China.

Characters and story

Alix is stunning, fearless, generous and devoted to just causes. Born in Gaul, separated from his parents and sold into slavery, he is later adopted by a Roman noble contemporary to Julius Caesar. This mixed background provides Alix with an identity crisis and divided loyalties, especially in the context of the founding myths of French nationalism revolving around Vercingetorix.

Grand Duchy of Hesse

The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine (German: Großherzogtum Hessen und bei Rhein), or the Grand Duchy of Hesse (German: Großherzogtum Hessen) between 1806 and 1816, was an independent country and member state of the German Confederation as of 1806, when the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt was elevated to a Grand Duchy which it remained until 1918, when the monarchy was overthrown. Hesse lost its independence when it joined the German Reich in 1871. Before 1866, its northern neighbour was its former sister Landgraviate, since 1803 an Electorate, of Hesse-Kassel – for this reason, this state was sometimes colloquially known as Hesse-Darmstadt.

History

Hesse-Darmstadt was a member of Napoleon's Confederation of the Rhine during the Napoleonic Wars. Rapidly expanding during the mediatizations, Hesse-Darmstadt became an amalgamation of smaller German states, such as the Electorate of Cologne. The legal patchwork of the state culminated in a decree issued on 1 October 1806 by Louis I. The old territorial estates were abolished, which altered Hesse-Darmstadt "from a mosaic of patrimonial fragments into a centralized, absolute monarchy." During the Congress of Vienna it was forced to cede the Duchy of Westphalia, which Hesse-Darmstadt had received in 1803, to the Kingdom of Prussia. However, Hesse-Darmstadt received some territory on the western bank of the Rhine, including the important federal fortress at Mainz.