History of Baden - 15th - 17th Centuries

17th Centuries

During the 15th century, a war with the count palatine of the Rhine deprived the Margrave Charles I (died 1475) of a part of his territories, but these losses were more than repaired by his son and successor, Christophe I of Baden (illustration, right). In 1503 the family Baden-Sausenberg became extinct, and the whole of Baden was united by Christophe, who divided it, however, before his death in 1527 among his three sons. One of these died childless in 1533, and in 1535 his remaining sons, Bernard and Ernest, having shared their brother's territories, made a fresh division and founded the lines of Baden-Baden and Baden-Pforzheim, called after 1565 Baden-Durlach. Further divisions followed, and the weakness caused by these partitions was accentuated by a rivalry between the two main branches of the family. This culminated in open warfare, and from 1584 to 1622 Baden-Baden was in the possession of one of the princes of Baden-Durlach.

Religious differences increased the family's rivalry. During the period of the Reformation some of the rulers of Baden remained Catholic and some became Protestants, and the house was similarly divided during the Thirty Years' War. Baden suffered severely during this struggle, and both branches of the family were exiled in turn. The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 restored the status quo, and the family rivalry gradually died out.