Grand Ducal Burial Chapel in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2025

Grand Ducal Burial Chapel in Karlsruhe; Credit – Wikipedia – Von Ikar.us,

History

Karl Friedrich, the first Grand Duke of Baden, previously Margrave of Baden-Durlach and Margrave of Baden; Credit – Wikipedia

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 Georg, the last Margrave of Baden-Baden, died in 1771 without heirs, Karl Friedrich inherited the territory. This brought all the Baden territories together, and Karl Friedrich became Margrave of Baden. When the Holy Roman Empire ended in 1806, Karl Friedrich declared himself sovereign, as Grand Duke, of the newly created Grand Duchy of Baden.

From 1538, Saint Michael’s Church in Pforzheim was the burial site of the Ernestine line of the House of Baden. Until 1860, almost all members of that branch of the House of Baden were buried at St. Michael’s Church. The Evangelische Stadtkirche Karlsruhe (Evangelical City Church Karlsruhe in English) was built between 1807 and 1816, during the reign of Karl Friedrich, the first Grand Duke of Baden, on the Market Square in Karlsruhe, Grand Duchy of Baden, now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Karl Friedrich, the first Grand Duke of Baden, intended the Stadtkirche Karlsruhe to be the burial site for members of the Grand Ducal family. However, he died in 1811, before the Stadtkirche Karlsruhe was complete, and was interred at Saint Michael’s Church in Pforzheim. Ludwig I, Grand Duke of Baden, was the first family member interred at the Stadtkirche Karlsruhe. After 1888, most family members were interred at the Grand Ducal Burial Chapel in Karlsruhe. The Stadtkirche Karlsruhe was severely damaged during World War II. In 1946, all those buried there were moved to the Grand Ducal Burial Chapel in Karlsruhe, now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg.

Why was the Grand Ducal Burial Chapel built?

Prince Ludwig Wilhelm of Baden; Credit – Wikipedia

On February 23, 1888, twenty-two-year-old Prince Ludwig Wilhelm of Baden, the younger son of Grand Duke Friedrich I of Baden and his wife, born Luise of Prussia, the only daughter of Wilhelm I, German Emperor, died. Newspapers printed the official announcement: “A few days ago, the prince, who was previously in the best of health, suffered a lung infection, which unfortunately brought an end to this young, precious life.”

However, German writer, journalist, and publisher Wolf Graf von Baudissin (link in German) reported his memories of the prince’s death in 1909. He was a member of the infantry regiment in Freiburg, where Prince Ludwig Wilhelm was studying at the university. Baudissin wrote:

“When we paraded around the square, the young Prince Ludwig von Baden very often appeared as an observer […]. He was a tall, slender, noticeably handsome and rarely amiable person […]. One day, he died of a lung infection. Quite suddenly, entirely unexpectedly.

Two days prior, I had seen him on the street […] His death has made us all wholeheartedly sad, we were truly shocked. […] We ensigns regularly ate in the mess with the officers at midday. Of course, the death of Prince Ludwig was the sole topic of conversation in the days following, and though everyone was careful around us, […] suddenly we knew it nonetheless: The prince had not died a natural death, but had fallen in a duel.

I am bound on my honor not to name his opponent. But even despite that, today everyone knows who met the cheerful and fun-loving prince, weapon in hand, demanding a reckoning for his sister’s stolen honor.”

The Grand Ducal Burial Chapel surrounded by the forest; Credit – Von Johannes Werner – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=126730664

Prince Ludwig Wilhelm’s grieving parents wanted his grave located away from the noise of the city, “in the deep seclusion of the forest world” where they could visit without attracting public attention.

The Grand Ducal Burial Chapel, dedicated on June 29, 1896, was built within the Karlsruhe Palace complex, in the middle of the Hardtwald, a forest in Karlsruhe. On the map above, “Schloss” is the location of the Karlsruhe Palace. In the northeast, “Großherzogliche Grabkapelle” is the location of the Grand Ducal Burial Chapel.

Exterior of the Grand Ducal Burial Chapel

A view of the exterior of the Grand Ducal Burial Chapel; Credit – By Joschkade – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30356235

Shortly after Prince Ludwig Wilhelm died, a competition for the design of a burial chapel was announced. Freiburg building inspector and architect Franz Baer (link in German) won the competition. However, he eventually had to resign due to illness. He was succeeded by architect Friedrich Hemberger (link in German) and his son Hermann Hemberger, who increasingly assumed more responsibility in the construction management.

The Grand Ducal Burial Chapel, built from 1889 to 1896, was modeled after the Mausoleum at Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin, which was built for Queen Luise of Prussia, born Luise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the paternal grandmother of Prince Ludwig’s mother, born Princess Luise of Prussia.

The exterior is decorated with forest-themed motifs by Karlsruhe sculptor Wilhelm Sauer (link in German) to symbolically represent its forest location and integrate it into the forest. The height of the church tower was intended to make the chapel visible from Karlsruhe Palace. Two fountains are located on the sides of the burial chapel.

Interior of the Grand Ducal Burial Chapel

The upper church is light-filled with stacked rows of columns. The upper part of the columns is carved from shimmering black labradorite. The columns support sandstone consoles and a wooden barrel vault with ornate transverse arches. Four angel heads made of light-yellow limestone adorn the crossing. Decorative forms such as foliage friezes and capitals can be found throughout the interior. Stone lizards hide in the leaves of the apse frieze. Among the artists involved in the interior design were artists from Karlsruhe: sculptor Hermann Volz (link in German), who designed the grave monuments, his student Wilhelm Sauer (link in German), who designed the busts for the crossing pillars, and Hermann Binz (link in German), who designed the griffin heads in the crypt.

Cenotaphs of Grand Duke Friedrich I & his wife Grand Duchess Luise; Credit – Thomas Steg, Karlsruhe, Selbst fotografiert, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17869659

The upper church contains large cenotaphs, empty tombs, designed by sculptor Hermann Volz, of Grand Duke Friedrich I, his wife Grand Duchess Luise, and their son Prince Ludwig Wilhelm. Their actual tombs are in the crypt on the lower level, along with the tombs of other members of the Grand Ducal Family.

Cenotaph of Prince Ludwig Wilhelm of Baden; Credit – Thomas Steg, Karlsruhe, Selbst fotografiert – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 2.0 de, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17869783

Burials in the Grand Ducal Burial Chapel

Tomb of Prince Wilhelm of Baden (1829 – 1897); Credit – Thomas Steg, Karlsruhe (Benutzer:TSteg, eigenes Foto) – Selbst fotografiert

From the upper church, wide steps lead down into the crypt. Behind a two-part, wrought-iron gate is the crypt, a bright and welcoming room containing the coffins of Baden family members.

Below are the family members who died before 1888 and were originally buried in the crypt of the Stadtkirche Karlsruhe (Evangelical City Church in Karlsruhe). After the Stadtkirche Karlsruhe was severely damaged during World War II, all those buried there were moved to the Grand Ducal Burial Chapel in Karlsruhe in 1946, and they have remained interred there.

Below are the other family members who died after 1888 and are buried in the Grand Ducal Burial Chapel.

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Works Cited

  • Autoren der Wikimedia-Projekte. (2005). Kirchengebäude in Karlsruhe. Wikipedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gro%C3%9Fherzogliche_Grabkapelle_Karlsruhe
  • Baden Royal Burial Sites. (2017). Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/former-monarchies/german-royals/grand-duchy-of-baden/baden-royal-burial-sites/
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2025). Evangelical City Church Karlsruhe. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/evangelical-city-church
  • Großherzogliche Grabkapelle – Stadtwiki Karlsruhe. (2020). Stadtwiki.net. https://ka.stadtwiki.net/Gro%C3%9Fherzogliche_Grabkapelle
  • Großherzogliche Grabkapelle Karlsruhe: Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg. (2024). Grabkapelle-Karlsruhe.de. https://www.grabkapelle-karlsruhe.de/