Monthly Archives: October 2017

Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2017

Grand Duchy of Baden: In 1738, ten-year-old, Karl Friedrich succeeded as Margrave of Baden-Durlach upon his grandfather’s death. Baden-Durlach was one of the branches of the Margraviate of Baden, which had been divided several times over the previous 500 years. When August George, the last Margrave of Baden-Baden, died in 1771 without heirs, Karl Friedrich inherited the territory. This brought all of the Baden territories together once again, and Karl Friedrich became Margrave of Baden. Upon the end of the Holy Roman Empire, Karl Friedrich declared himself sovereign, as Grand Duke of the newly created Grand Duchy of Baden. Friedrich II, the last Grand Duke of Baden formally abdicated the throne of Baden on November 22, 1918. The land that encompassed the Grand Duchy of Baden is now located in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.

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Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden – source: Wikipedia

Grand Duke Leopold was born on August 29, 1790, in Karlsruhe, Margraviate of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, the eldest son of Karl Friedrich, Margrave (later Grand Duke) of Baden and his second wife, Luise Karoline, Baroness Geyer von Geyersberg. He had four siblings:

  • Prince Wilhelm (1792-1859) – married Alexandrine of Württemberg, had issue
  • Prince Friedrich Alexander (born and died 1793) – died in infancy
  • Princess Amalie (1795-1869) – married Karl Egon II, Prince of Fürstenberg, had issue
  • Prince Maximilian (1796-1882) – unmarried

He also had four half-siblings from his father’s first marriage to Karoline Luise of Hesse-Darmstadt:

As his parents’ marriage was morganatic, Leopold and his siblings were not titled as Prince/Princess of Baden, nor were they initially in the line of succession. They were styled as Baron/Baroness of Hochberg, and later as Count/Countess of Hochberg. Leopold’s father had always intended that his younger children would be eligible for succession if there were no heirs left from his elder sons. But it wasn’t until 1817 that the Hochberg children were raised to Prince and Margrave of Baden and formally given succession rights by the government the following year.

Sofia of Sweden. source: Wikipedia

Leopold married Princess Sofia of Sweden, the daughter of King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden and Friederike of Baden, and the granddaughter of his elder half-brother Karl Ludwig – on July 25, 1819. They had eight children:

He became Grand Duke of Baden on March 30, 1830, upon the death of his unmarried brother Ludwig I. Leopold became the first of the Hochberg line to rule in Baden, and held the throne for just over 22 years. Grand Duke Leopold died in Karlsruhe, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany,  on April 24, 1852. He was buried in the Karlsruhe Stadtkirche, and after World War II, his remains were moved to the Grand Ducal Chapel in the Pheasant Garden in Karlsruhe.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Baden Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Ludwig I, Grand Duke of Baden

by Scott Mehl © Unofficial Royalty 2017

Grand Duchy of Baden: In 1738, ten-year-old, Karl Friedrich succeeded as Margrave of Baden-Durlach upon his grandfather’s death. Baden-Durlach was one of the branches of the Margraviate of Baden, which had been divided several times over the previous 500 years. When August George, the last Margrave of Baden-Baden, died in 1771 without heirs, Karl Friedrich inherited the territory. This brought all of the Baden territories together once again, and Karl Friedrich became Margrave of Baden. Upon the end of the Holy Roman Empire, Karl Friedrich declared himself sovereign, as Grand Duke of the newly created Grand Duchy of Baden. Friedrich II, the last Grand Duke of Baden formally abdicated the throne of Baden on November 22, 1918. The land that encompassed the Grand Duchy of Baden is now located in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.

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Ludwig I, Grand Duke of Baden. source: Wikipedia

Ludwig I was the third Grand Duke of Baden, reigning from 1818 until 1830. He was born in Karlsruhe, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, on February 9, 1763, the third son of Karl Friedrich, Margrave of Baden (later Grand Duke), and Karoline Luise of Hesse-Darmstadt. He had three siblings:

From his father’s second marriage to Baroness Luise Karoline Geyer von Geyersburg (later Countess of Hochberg), he also had five half-siblings:

As the third son, there was little expectation that he would succeed to the throne. He pursued a military career from a young age, serving in the Prussian forces, and was recognized for his bravery in battle during the War of the First Coalition. He left the Prussian military in 1795, returning to Baden to assist his father who was the reigning Margrave at that time. He participated in the negotiations with Napoléon Bonaparte and attended his crowning in 1804. Ludwig also served as Minister of War and was responsible for the financial and forestry administration of Baden. Despite being friendly with Napoléon, the Emperor soon pushed Ludwig out of his positions with the Baden government, and after criticizing him publicly in 1808, was stripped of his military leadership and banished to Schloss Salem in 1810. He would not return to Baden for several years.

Ludwig became Grand Duke upon his nephew’s death on December 8, 1818. He worked to promote the development of the country, as well as to strengthen the military forces. He also established several universities and churches.

Ludwig never married, but he did have several illegitimate children. He had a long relationship with Katharina Werner – an actress and dancer nearly 35 years younger than him. They met in 1816 when Katharina was just sixteen and Ludwig nearly 51. This relationship resulted in three children – Luise (1817), Ludwig Wilhelm August (1820), and Luise Katharina (1825). In 1827, Ludwig created Katharina Countess of Langenstein and Gondelsheim, and there were rumors that the two had married morganatically, but no proof of this exists. Their youngest daughter married the Swedish Count Carl Douglas in 1848, and their son founded the Baden line of Douglas-Langenstein (named when he took Langenstein Castle as his main residence in the early 1900s).

Ludwig I, Grand Duke of Baden.source: Wikipedia

Grand Duke Ludwig I died in Karlsruhe, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany on March 30, 1830, after suffering a stroke, and was buried in the Karlsruhe Stadtkirche.  After World War II, his remains were moved to the Grand Ducal Chapel in the Pheasant Garden in Karlsruhe. As he had no legitimate heirs, the throne passed to his half-uncle, Leopold I.

Baden Resources at Unofficial Royalty

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Stéphanie de Beauharnais, Grand Duchess of Baden

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2017

source: Wikipedia

Stéphanie de Beauharnais was the first Grand Duchess of Baden, through her marriage to Grand Duke Karl I. She was born at the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France on August 28, 1789, the daughter of Claude de Beauharnais and Claudine Françoise de Lézay-Marnézia. Stéphanie had one older brother, Albéric (born in 1787), who died in childhood. She also had a younger half-sister from her father’s second marriage – Josephine de Beauharnais (1803). The Beauharnais family soon found themselves under the patronage of the French Emperor Napoléon I. Napoleon’s wife, Joséphine, had previously been married to Stéphanie’s father’s cousin, Alexandre François Marie, Viscount of Beauharnais who had been executed during the French Revolution.

After her mother’s death in 1791, Stéphanie was placed in the Convent of Penthemont by her godmother and later moved to southern France with two nuns. When Napoléon learned of her existence, he had her brought to Paris and placed under the care of his wife, Joséphine. After becoming Emperor in 1804, Napoléon sought to strengthen alliances with several of the European dynasties by arranging several marriages of his extended family. One of these marriages was between Stéphanie and Hereditary Prince Karl, the grandson, and heir of the Elector of Baden. In 1806, Napoléon brought Stéphanie to the Imperial Court and adopted her, elevating her to an Imperial Highness and French Princess.

Karl of Baden. source: Wikipedia

Stéphanie and Karl married in a lavish ceremony held in Paris on April 8, 1806. The bride was not interested in her new husband at all and refused to spend time with him. Upon returning to Baden, they lived separately for several years, and Stéphanie was largely shunned by the Grand Ducal court. After several years, with the Grand Duke’s health declining, she and her husband finally came together, accepting their responsibility to provide heirs to the throne. Over the next seven years, they had five children:

Her husband became Grand Duke of Baden just days after Stéphanie gave birth to her first child. As the previous Grand Duke had been widowed before the Grand Duchy was proclaimed, Stéphanie was the first Grand Duchess. Never immensely popular, her position weakened even further after the death of Emperor Napoléon in 1814.

When her husband died in 1818, Stéphanie moved with her surviving daughters to Mannheim Palace where she focused on providing them with a proper education and finding them suitable husbands. Through these marriages, Stéphanie’s descendants include the former Kings of Romania and Yugoslavia, as well as the royal families of Belgium, Luxembourg, and Monaco.

Having survived her husband by more than 41 years, the Dowager Grand Duchess of Baden died in Nice, France on January 29, 1860. Her remains were returned to Baden and she was buried alongside her husband in St. Michael’s Church in Pforzheim, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Baden Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Karl, Grand Duke of Baden

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2017

Grand Duchy of Baden: In 1738, ten-year-old, Karl Friedrich succeeded as Margrave of Baden-Durlach upon his grandfather’s death. Baden-Durlach was one of the branches of the Margraviate of Baden, which had been divided several times over the previous 500 years. When August George, the last Margrave of Baden-Baden, died in 1771 without heirs, Karl Friedrich inherited the territory. This brought all of the Baden territories together once again, and Karl Friedrich became Margrave of Baden. Upon the end of the Holy Roman Empire, Karl Friedrich declared himself sovereign, as Grand Duke of the newly created Grand Duchy of Baden. Friedrich II, the last Grand Duke of Baden formally abdicated the throne of Baden on November 22, 1918. The land that encompassed the Grand Duchy of Baden is now located in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.

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source: Wikipedia

Karl, Grand Duke of Baden, reigned from 1811 until 1818. He was born Karl Ludwig Friedrich at Karlsruhe Palace in Karlsruhe, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany  on July 8, 1786, the son of Karl Ludwig, Hereditary Prince of Baden and Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt.

Karl had seven siblings:

Upon his father’s death in 1801, Karl became heir-apparent to his grandfather, Karl Friedrich, Margrave of Baden. Over the next five years, Baden would become an Electorate and then a Grand Duchy in 1806.

Stéphanie de Beauharnais; Credit – Wikipedia

That same year, on April 8, 1806, Karl married Stéphanie de Beauharnais, the daughter of Claude de Beauharnais and Claudine Françoise de Lézay-Marnézia. She was also the adopted daughter of the French Emperor Napoléon I. Napoléon, wanting to secure an alliance with the Electorate of Baden, arranged for the marriage, despite neither Karl nor Stéphanie wanting to marry each other. For several years, the two lived separately, and it wasn’t until Karl’s grandfather was nearing death that they came together and began a family. They had five children:

Karl became Grand Duke upon his grandfather’s death in 1811. In 1817, with no living male heirs, and only one unmarried uncle to succeed him, Karl formally gave dynastic rights to his half-uncles – the sons of his grandfather from his second, morganatic, marriage. This kept the Grand Ducal throne of Baden from passing to Karl’s brother-in-law, the King of Bavaria. In 1818, Karl oversaw the passing of a new and much more liberal constitution.

Grand Duke Karl died at Schloss Rastatt in Rastatt, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, on December 8, 1818. He is buried in St. Michael’s Church in Pforzheim, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. As he had no male heirs, the throne of Baden passed to his uncle, Ludwig I. However, his descendants include the former Kings of Romania and Yugoslavia, the Belgian royal family, the Luxembourg grand ducal family, and the Monaco princely family.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Baden Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Luise Karoline Geyer von Geyersberg, Countess of Hochberg

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2017

Credit – Wikipedia

Luise Karoline Geyer von Geyersberg was the second – and morganatic – wife of the future Grand Duke Karl Friedrich of Baden. She was born in Karlsruhe, Margraviate of Baden, now in the german state of Baden-Württemberg, on May 26, 1768, to Ludwig, Baron Geyer von Geyersberg and Maximiliana, Countess of Sponeck. Her godparents were her future husband Karl Friedrich and his first wife, Karoline Luise of Hesse-Darmstadt.

Luise Karoline received a private school education in the free imperial city of Colmar and later served as a lady-in-waiting to the Hereditary Princess of Baden – the daughter-in-law of her future husband.

Karl Friedrich of Baden. source: Wikipedia

On November 24, 1787, Luise Karoline married Karl Friedrich – then Margrave of Baden – as his second wife. Together they had five children:

At the time of the marriage, Karl Friedrich created Luise Karoline Baroness of Hochberg, and their children were not included in the line of succession. However, in 1796, Karl Friedrich decreed – with the agreement of his sons from his first marriage – that his sons with Luise Karoline would be eligible for the throne should there be no heirs from his first marriage. In 1799, the Holy Roman Emperor Franz II elevated Luise Karoline to Countess of Hochberg, retroactively to 1796. In 1817, Karl Friedrich and Luise Karoline’s children were elevated to Prince/Princess of Baden, and in the following year, the Baden Congress formally confirmed their succession rights.

Luise Karoline, Countess of Hochberg died in Karlsruhe, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany on June 23, 1820. She is buried at St. Michael’s Church in Pforzheim, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany along with her husband. Ten years after her death, her eldest son, Leopold, became the fourth reigning Grand Duke of Baden.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Baden Resources at Unofficial Royalty