Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden
Encyclopedia
Louis William, Margrave of Baden (8 April 1655 – 4 January 1707) was the ruler of Baden
in Germany and chief commander of the Imperial army
. He was also known as Türkenlouis (Turk Louis). At his death in 1707, his wife Sibylle of Saxe-Lauenburg acted as regent of Baden-Baden.
, Louis was a son of Prince Ferdinand Maximilian of Baden-Baden Hereditary Prince of Baden-Baden and his Italian wife Louise of Savoy. His father was the elder son of Wilhelm, Margrave of Baden-Baden
, whom he pre-deceased, leaving Louis to succeed as reigning Margrave
of Baden and head of the Catholic branch of the House of Zähringen.
His mother's brother was the Count of Soissons, father of the renowned general Prince Eugene of Savoy
, in whose military shadow Louis would live and fight, although the cousins would also be allied in service to the Holy Roman Emperor
against the French. His parents being estranged, he was kidnapped as a child from his mother's home in Paris and re-patriated
to Germany, where he was raised by his paternal step-grandmother.
Louis was a military commander in the service of the Holy Roman Empire
. In 1689 he was made chief commander of the Imperial army
in Hungary
, where he scored a resounding victory against the Ottomans
at Slankamen
in 1691. Louis saw Osijek
as a location of exceptional strategic importance in the war against the Ottomans. He urged the repair of the city walls, and proposed construction of a new fort called Tvrđa, according to Vauban's principles of military engineer
ing. Shortly afterward he was sent to head the army of the Rhine in the War of the Grand Alliance
.
He later led the imperial army in the War of the Spanish Succession
where he captured Landau
in September 1702, but soon had to withdraw across the Rhine and was defeated by the French under the Duke of Villars at Friedlingen
. In 1704 however, he participated in the successful German campaign of Marlborough
and Eugene of Savoy. He distinguished himself in the Battle of Schellenberg
and besieged and conquered Ingolstadt
and Landau
, thus drawing Bavarian troops away from the decisive Battle of Blenheim
.
He died in at his unfinished Schloss Rastatt
in 1707. His wife took up a regency for their son Louis George; he took over his own government in October 1727.
Ironically, for a soldier-prince who fought France most of his martial career, seventeen years after the margrave's death the only one of his daughters to survive childhood, Princess Auguste, married Louis d'Orléans, son of the infamous
French Regent
and, at the time of the wedding, first in the line of succession
to the throne of France.
His descendant through this marriage became King Louis Philippe of the French
in 1830.
After the death of Louis, his widow built Schloss Favorite
castle as a summer residence in memory of her husband. He was buried at the Stiftskirche in Baden-Baden.
Baden
Baden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....
in Germany and chief commander of the Imperial army
Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire
The Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire was the army of the Holy Roman Empire...
. He was also known as Türkenlouis (Turk Louis). At his death in 1707, his wife Sibylle of Saxe-Lauenburg acted as regent of Baden-Baden.
Family
Born in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Louis was a son of Prince Ferdinand Maximilian of Baden-Baden Hereditary Prince of Baden-Baden and his Italian wife Louise of Savoy. His father was the elder son of Wilhelm, Margrave of Baden-Baden
Wilhelm, Margrave of Baden-Baden
Margrave William of Baden-Baden was regent of Baden-Baden between 1621 and 1677.Born in Baden-Baden, he was the eldest son of Margrave Edward Fortunatus of Baden and Maria of Eicken. He was Geheimrat, Generalfeldmarschall and Imperial Kammerrichter of Speyer, which gave him his nickname: Wilhelm...
, whom he pre-deceased, leaving Louis to succeed as reigning Margrave
Margrave
A margrave or margravine was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active...
of Baden and head of the Catholic branch of the House of Zähringen.
His mother's brother was the Count of Soissons, father of the renowned general Prince Eugene of Savoy
Prince Eugene of Savoy
Prince Eugene of Savoy , was one of the most successful military commanders in modern European history, rising to the highest offices of state at the Imperial court in Vienna. Born in Paris to aristocratic Italian parents, Eugene grew up around the French court of King Louis XIV...
, in whose military shadow Louis would live and fight, although the cousins would also be allied in service to the Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
against the French. His parents being estranged, he was kidnapped as a child from his mother's home in Paris and re-patriated
Repatriation
Repatriation is the process of returning a person back to one's place of origin or citizenship. This includes the process of returning refugees or soldiers to their place of origin following a war...
to Germany, where he was raised by his paternal step-grandmother.
Military career
Louis was called the Türkenlouis or shield of the empire. The Turks called him the red king because his red uniform jacket made him very visible on the battlefield. He was a defender of Europe against the Turks, as was Eugene of Savoy.Louis was a military commander in the service of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
. In 1689 he was made chief commander of the Imperial army
Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire
The Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Empire was the army of the Holy Roman Empire...
in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, where he scored a resounding victory against the Ottomans
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
at Slankamen
Battle of Slankamen
The Battle of Slankamen was fought near Slankamen in the Ottoman Sanjak of Syrmia on August 19, 1691 between the Ottoman Empire, and the forces of Austria and states of the Holy Roman Empire as part of the Great Turkish War.The Ottomans had suffered partial military collapse against the Austrians...
in 1691. Louis saw Osijek
Osijek
Osijek is the fourth largest city in Croatia with a population of 83,496 in 2011. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja county...
as a location of exceptional strategic importance in the war against the Ottomans. He urged the repair of the city walls, and proposed construction of a new fort called Tvrđa, according to Vauban's principles of military engineer
Military engineer
In military science, engineering refers to the practice of designing, building, maintaining and dismantling military works, including offensive, defensive and logistical structures, to shape the physical operating environment in war...
ing. Shortly afterward he was sent to head the army of the Rhine in the War of the Grand Alliance
War of the Grand Alliance
The Nine Years' War – often called the War of the Grand Alliance, the War of the Palatine Succession, or the War of the League of Augsburg – was a major war of the late 17th century fought between King Louis XIV of France, and a European-wide coalition, the Grand Alliance, led by the Anglo-Dutch...
.
He later led the imperial army in the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
where he captured Landau
Landau
Landau or Landau in der Pfalz is an autonomous city surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town , a long-standing cultural centre, and a market and shopping town, surrounded by vineyards and wine-growing villages of the...
in September 1702, but soon had to withdraw across the Rhine and was defeated by the French under the Duke of Villars at Friedlingen
Battle of Friedlingen
The Battle of Friedlingen was fought in 1702 between France and the Holy Roman Empire. The Imperial forces were led by Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden, while the French were led by Claude Louis Hector de Villars. The French were victorious....
. In 1704 however, he participated in the successful German campaign of Marlborough
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, Prince of Mindelheim, KG, PC , was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reigns of five monarchs through the late 17th and early 18th centuries...
and Eugene of Savoy. He distinguished himself in the Battle of Schellenberg
Battle of Schellenberg
The Battle of Schellenberg, also known as the Battle of Donauwörth, was fought on 2 July 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession. The engagement was part of the Duke of Marlborough's campaign to save the Habsburg capital of Vienna from a threatened advance by King Louis XIV's Franco-Bavarian...
and besieged and conquered Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt is a city in the Free State of Bavaria, in the Federal Republic of Germany. It is located along the banks of the Danube River, in the center of Bavaria. As at 31 March 2011, Ingolstadt had 125.407 residents...
and Landau
Landau
Landau or Landau in der Pfalz is an autonomous city surrounded by the Südliche Weinstraße district of southern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is a university town , a long-standing cultural centre, and a market and shopping town, surrounded by vineyards and wine-growing villages of the...
, thus drawing Bavarian troops away from the decisive Battle of Blenheim
Battle of Blenheim
The Battle of Blenheim , fought on 13 August 1704, was a major battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. Louis XIV of France sought to knock Emperor Leopold out of the war by seizing Vienna, the Habsburg capital, and gain a favourable peace settlement...
.
He died in at his unfinished Schloss Rastatt
Schloss Rastatt
Schloss Rastatt is a historical building in Rastatt, Germany. The palace and the Garden were built between 1700 and 1707 by the Italian architect Domenico Egidio Rossi as ordered by Margrave Louis William of Baden.-History:...
in 1707. His wife took up a regency for their son Louis George; he took over his own government in October 1727.
Marriage and children
The Emperor gave him a young heiress to wed, Sibylle of Saxe-Lauenburg. They had the following children:- Leopold William of Baden-Baden (1694 – 1695) Hereditary Prince of Baden-Baden, died in infancy;
- Charlotte of Baden-Baden (1696 – 1700) died in infancy;
- Charles Joseph of Baden-Baden (1697 – 1703) Hereditary Prince of Baden-Baden, died in infancy;
- Louis George Simpert of Baden-BadenLouis George, Margrave of Baden-BadenLouis George of Baden-Baden was the Margrave of Baden-Baden from 1707 till his death in 1761. From 1707 till 1727 his mother Sibylle of Saxe-Lauenburg was the regent of Baden-Baden. He was succeeded by his younger brother August Georg Simpert...
, (7 June 1702 – 22 October 1761) Margrave of Baden-Baden, married Maria Anna of Schwarzenberg, had issue; married again to Maria Anna of Bavaria, no issue; - Wilhelm Georg Simpert of Baden-Baden (1703 – 1709), died in infancy;
- Augustus George Simpert of Baden-BadenAugustus George, Margrave of Baden-BadenAugustus George of Baden-Baden was the ruling Margrave of Baden-Baden from 1761 till his death in 1771. He succeeded his brother Louis George and was the brother of the Duchess of Orléans...
, (14 January 1706 – 21 October 1771) Margrave of Baden-Baden, married Marie Victoire d'ArenbergPrincess Marie Victoire d'ArenbergMarie Victoire d'Arenberg was a member of the House of Arenberg and later the Margravine of Baden-Baden as consort of Augustus George of Baden-Baden...
, no issue; - Wilhelmine of Baden-Baden (* 1700 in Schlackenwerth – 1702 in Schlackenwerth), died in infancy;
- Luise of Baden-Baden (1701 in Nürnberg – 1707), died in infancy;
- Auguste Marie Johanna of Baden-Baden, (10. November 1704 in Aschaffenburg – 8. August 1726 in Paris) married Louis d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans and had issue.
Ironically, for a soldier-prince who fought France most of his martial career, seventeen years after the margrave's death the only one of his daughters to survive childhood, Princess Auguste, married Louis d'Orléans, son of the infamous
Infamy
Infamy, in common usage, is notoriety gained from a negative incident or reputation . The word stems from the Latin infamia, antonym of fama ....
French Regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
and, at the time of the wedding, first in the line of succession
Order of succession
An order of succession is a formula or algorithm that determines who inherits an office upon the death, resignation, or removal of its current occupant.-Monarchies and nobility:...
to the throne of France.
His descendant through this marriage became King Louis Philippe of the French
Louis-Philippe of France
Louis Philippe I was King of the French from 1830 to 1848 in what was known as the July Monarchy. His father was a duke who supported the French Revolution but was nevertheless guillotined. Louis Philippe fled France as a young man and spent 21 years in exile, including considerable time in the...
in 1830.
After the death of Louis, his widow built Schloss Favorite
Schloss Favorite (Rastatt)
Schloss Favorite is a castle on the outskirts of Rastatt-Förch in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Built by Johann Michael Ludwig Rohrer between 1710 and 1730, it was a pleasure and hunting palace used by Margravine Franziska Sibylla Augusta of Sachsen-Lauenburg, widow of Louis William, Margrave of...
castle as a summer residence in memory of her husband. He was buried at the Stiftskirche in Baden-Baden.