Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden

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Charles Frederick
Grand Duke of Baden
Reign25 July 1806 – 10 June 1811
SuccessorCharles
Elector of Baden
Reign27 April 1803 – 6 August 1806
Margrave of Baden (unified)
Reign21 October 1771 – 27 April 1803
PredecessorAugustus George, Margrave of Baden-Baden
Margrave of Baden-Durlach
Reign12 May 1738 – 21 October 1771
PredecessorCharles III William
Born(1728-11-22)22 November 1728
Karlsruhe Palace, Karlsruhe,
Margraviate of Baden-Durlach,
Holy Roman Empire
Died10 June 1811(1811-06-10) (aged 82)
Spouses
Landgravine Caroline Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt
(m. 1751; died 1783)
Lutheran

Charles Frederick (22 November 1728 – 10 June 1811

Grand Duke of Baden
(initially only Margrave of Baden-Durlach) from 1738 until his death.

Biography

Born at

Johan Willem Friso of Nassau-Dietz
.

He succeeded

enlightened despot, supporting schools, universities, jurisprudence, the civil service, the economy, culture, and urban development. He outlawed torture in 1767, and serfdom in 1783. He was elected a Royal Fellow of the Royal Society in 1747.[2]

In 1803, Charles Frederick became Elector of Baden, and in 1806 the first Grand Duke of Baden. Through the politics of minister

Bishopric of Speyer that lay on the right bank of the Rhine, in addition to Breisgau and Ortenau.[3]

In 1806, Baden joined the Confederation of the Rhine.

Together with his architect, Friedrich Weinbrenner, Charles Frederick was responsible for the construction of the handsome suite of classical buildings that distinguish Karlsruhe. He died there in 1811, and was one of the few German rulers to die during the Napoleonic era.

Marriages and children

Silver coin: 1 konventionsthaler Karl Friedrich of Baden-Durlach, 1766

Charles Frederick married

Caroline Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt on 28 January 1751. She was the daughter of Louis VIII of Hesse-Darmstadt
, was born on 11 July 1723 and died on 8 April 1783.

Charles Frederick and Caroline Louise had the following children:

  • Charles Louis, Hereditary Prince of Baden (14 February 1755 – 16 December 1801); his son, Charles, succeeded Charles Frederick as Grand Duke upon the latter's death in 1811.
  • Prince Frederick of Baden (29 August 1756 – 28 May 1817); married on 9 December 1791 Louise of Nassau-Usingen (16 August 1776 – 19 February 1829), the daughter of Duke Frederick of Nassau-Usingen.
  • Prince Louis of Baden (9 February 1763 – 30 March 1830); had three illegitimate children by Katharina Werner, created Countess of Gondelsheim and Langenstein in 1818. Louis succeeded his nephew Charles as Louis I, 3rd Grand Duke in 1818.
  • Son (29 July 1764 – 29 July 1764).
  • Princess Louise Auguste of Baden (8 January 1767 – 11 January 1767).
Charles Frederick statue in front of the Karlsruhe Palace (Schloss)

Charles Frederick married

Lt. Col. Louis Henry Philipp, Baron Geyer of Geyersberg and his wife Maximiliana Christiane, Countess of Sponeck. She was born on 26 May 1768 and died on 23 July 1820. This was a morganatic marriage
, and the children born of it were not eligible to succeed. Louise was created Baroness of Hochberg at the time of her marriage and Countess of Hochberg in 1796; both titles were also borne by her children.

They had the following children:

By 1817, the descendants of Charles Frederick by his first wife were dying out. To prevent Baden from being inherited by the next heir (his brother-in-law King

Great Powers in the Treaty of Frankfurt, 1819. Leopold's descendants ruled the Grand Duchy of Baden until 1918. The current pretenders to the throne of Baden are descendants of Leopold.[4]

Leopold, the eldest son from the second marriage, succeeded as Grand Duke in 1830.

Ancestry

References

  1. ^ von Weech, Friedrich von. "Karl Friedrich, Großherzog von Baden" (Online edition). Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie 15 (1882) (in German). pp. 241–248. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
  2. ^ "Library and Archive Catalogue". Royal Society. Retrieved 15 July 2011.[permanent dead link]
  3. .
  4. ^ "Maximilian, Margrave of Baden". 8 September 2021. Archived from the original on 9 September 2021.
  5. ^ Genealogie ascendante jusqu'au quatrieme degre inclusivement de tous les Rois et Princes de maisons souveraines de l'Europe actuellement vivans [Genealogy up to the fourth degree inclusive of all the Kings and Princes of sovereign houses of Europe currently living] (in French). Bourdeaux: Frederic Guillaume Birnstiel. 1768. p. 37.

Further reading

  • Helen P. Liebel, "Enlightened bureaucracy versus enlightened despotism in Baden, 1750-1792." Transactions of the American Philosophical Society 55.5 (1965): 1–132.
Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden
Born: 22 November 1728 Died: 10 June 1811
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Margrave of Baden-Durlach

1738–1771
Reunification of Baden
Preceded by
Margrave of Baden-Baden

1771
Preceded by
Himself
as
Margrave of Baden-Durlach
Margrave of Baden

1771–1803
Elevated to electorate
New title
Electorate established
Elector of Baden

1803–1806
Dissolution of the
Holy Roman Empire
New title
Grand Duke of Baden

1806–1811
Succeeded by