| Grand Duke Frederick I of Baden | |
|---|---|
| Grand Duke Frederick I of Baden | |
| Spouse(s) | Princess Louise of Prussia |
| Noble family | House of Zähringen |
| Father | Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden |
| Mother | Sophie of Sweden |
| Born | 9 September 1826 Karlsruhe |
| Died | 28 September 1907 (aged 81) Mainau |
Frederick I (Frederick Wilhelm Ludwig) (September 9, 1826 – September 28, 1907) was the sixth Grand Duke of Baden from 1856 to 1907.
Frederick was born in Karlsruhe, on September 9, 1826. He was the third son of Grand Duke Leopold (1790–1852) and of his wife, Grand Duchess Sophie (1801–1865), who was born Princess of Sweden, daughter of King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden.
He became the heir presumptive to the Grand Duchy upon the death of his father in 1852[1] and the accession of his brother as Grand Duke Louis II. Due to his brother's mental ill-health, he was Regent ad interim of Baden in 1852-1855, and took the title of Grand Duke in 1856. His brother, Louis II, died in 1858. He was considered a relatively liberal supporter of a constitutional monarchy. During his reign the option of civil marriages were introduced in Baden as well as direct elections to the Lower House of the Parliament of Baden in 1904.
In 1856, he married Princess Louise of Prussia, daughter of (then the crown prince) Wilhelm I and his wife, Augusta of Saxe-Weimar. The couple had three children:
The Grand Duke had a pivotal role in the history of the Zionist Movement. In 1896 the Grand Duke met Theodor Herzl (the founder of political Zionism) via the their mutual acquaintance the reverend William Hechler, and helped Herzl in obtaining an audience with his nephew, the German Emperor. After some persuasion on the part of the Grand Duke, the Emperor had finally accepted the appeal for an audience and it took place in Palestine in the October 28 1898, while the Kaiser was in his pilgrimage trip to Palestine.
| Name | Birth | Death | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Duke Frederick II of Baden | July 9, 1857 | August 9, 1928 | Married Princess Hilda of Luxembourg, no issue. |
| Queen Victoria of Sweden | August 7, 1862 | April 4, 1930 | Married King Gustav V of Sweden, had issue. |
| Prince Louis of Baden | June 12, 1865 | February 23, 1888 | Died unmarried, no issue. |
Frederick I was present at the proclamation of the German Empire at Versailles in 1871, as he was the only son-in-law of the Emperor and one of the reigning sovereigns of Germany. He died at his summer residence at the island of Mainau in southern Germany on September 28, 1907. Today, Mainau is owned by the Lennart Bernadotte-Stiftung (the Lennart Bernadotte Foundation), created by Frederick's great-grandson Count Lennart Bernadotte, (1909–2004).
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Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden
Born: September 9 1826 Died: September 28 1907 |
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| German royalty | ||
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| Preceded by Louis II |
Grand Duke of Baden 1856-1907 |
Succeeded by Frederick II |
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