The Margraviate of Baden () was a historical territory of the Holy Roman Empire. Spread along the east side of the Upper Rhine River in southwestern Germany, it was named a margraviate in 1112 and existed until 1535, when it was split into the two margraviates of Baden-Durlach and Baden-Baden. The two parts were reunited in 1771 under Margrave Charles Frederick, even if the three parts of the State maintained their distinct seats to the Reichstag. The restored Margraviate of Baden was elevated to the status of electorate in 1803. In 1806, the Electorate of Baden, receiving territorial additions, became the Grand Duchy of Baden. The rulers of Baden, known as the House of Baden, were a cadet line of the Swabian House of Zähringen.
History
During the 11th century, the Duchy of Swabia lacked a powerful central authority and was under the control of various comital dynasties, the strongest of them being the House of Hohenstaufen, the House of Welf, the Habsburgs and the House of Zähringen. Emperor Henry III had promised the ducal throne to the Zähringen scion Berthold, however, upon Henry's death in 1056 his widow Agnes of Poitou appointed Rudolf of Rheinfelden Duke of Swabia. Berthold renounced his rights and was compensated with the Duchy of Carinthia and the March of Verona in Italy. Not able to establish himself, he finally lost both territories, when he was deposed by King Henry IV of Germany during the Investiture Controversy in 1077. Berthold retired to his Swabian home territory, where he died the next year. The Veronese margravial title was nevertheless retained by his eldest son Herman I
Herman II, son of Herman I and grandson of Berthold II, had concluded an agreement with the rivalling Hohenstaufen dynasty, and about 1098 was enfeoffed with immediate territory by Emperor Henry IV. Like his father, Herman II insisted on his margravial title. He chose to establish his residence in Germany, as he had been born and raised there. His lordship of choice was Baden (present-day Baden-Baden), where his father had gained the right to rule by marrying the heiress, Judit von Backnang-Sulichgau, Countess of Eberstein-Calw. In Baden, Herman II had Hohenbaden Castle built. Construction began about 1100, and when completed in 1112, he marked the occasion by adopting the title of a Margrave of Baden.
Growth
Because Baden was the capital, the new Margraviate was also known as Baden. Herman II would continue to be Margrave until his death in 1130. His son and grandson, Hermann III (reigned 1130–1160) and Herman IV (reigned 1160–1190), added to their territories. Around 1200, these lands were divided for the first time. Two lines, Baden-Baden and Baden-Hochberg, were founded. The latter was divided about a hundred years later to create the third line – Baden-Sausenberg.
In the 12th and 13th centuries Baden was a loyal and steadfast supporter of the House of Hohenstaufen, even against its own relatives from Zähringen-Swabia. In return for its services, it was permitted to spread its rule throughout southwestern Germany, west across the Rhine River into Alsace, east to the edges of the Black Forest, north to the Murg River and south to the Breisgau. The fourth Margrave of Baden-Baden, Herman V, Margrave of Baden-Baden (reigned 1190–1243), founded the cities of Backnang, Durlach, Stuttgart, Ettlingen, and Pforzheim and several monasteries, including the Lichtenthal Abbey, which became the burial place of his descendants. In 1219 he moved his seat of power to Pforzheim. He had to abandon his claims to Zähringen and Braunschweig, but he gained the title of Graf [Count] von Ortenau and Breisgau, named for the two valleys in southern Baden. His son and grandson, Herman VI, Margrave of Baden (reigned 1243–1250) and Frederick I, Margrave of Baden (reigned 1250–1268), claimed the titles of Dukes of Austria and Styria. The Austrians rejected them as they did not want to be ruled by outsiders.
Consolidation
Bernard I, Margrave of Baden-Baden (reigned 1391–1431) united all of the acquisitions in 1391. A soldier of some renown, Bernard continued the mission of his predecessors, and gained several more districts, including Baden-Pforzheim and Baden-Hochberg. Since 1291, Baden-Pforzheim had its own Margraviate, but in 1361 it ran out of heirs, falling back to the House of Baden-Baden. Baden-Hochberg fared little better. Founded in 1190, it lasted until 1418, when it too died with no male heirs. Bernard, being the closest heir, claimed Baden-Hochberg. Baden-Sausenberg continued its own Margraviate until 1503, when the lack of its own heirs sent it back to the House of Baden-Baden.