HISTORY. The original inhabitants of Baden were the Alemamii. They were conquered by the Franks under Clovis in 496, and were Christian ized. They made repeated attempts to regain their independence, but in vain; and the dukedom of the Alemanni was abolished in 748 by Pepin the Short. In the Eleventh Century, Duke Berthold, a supposed descendant of the Alemannian Gott fried, built the castle of Zahringen in Brei.sgan, and with him begins the unbroken line of the princes of the house of Ziihringen. Berthold's second son, Hermann, took the title of Margrave of Baden, and became the founder of the still flourishing house of Baden. He died in 1074. The history of this house presents for several generations little else but a succession of parti tions of the territories among brothers, to he again and again reunited upon one or other of the collateral branches becoming extinct. The prosperity of the country was thus greatly re tarded. From the time of the Reformation there existed two lines, those of Baden-Baden and Baden-Durlach, which were united in 1771. The present capital, Karlsruhe, was built in 1715 by the Margrave of Baden-Durlaeh, Charles Wil liam. Ills grandson. Charles Frederick, favored the policy of Napoleon and joined the Confedera tion of the Rhine. By this move he doubled his possessions in extent and population, and ac quired successively the titles of Elector and Grand Duke. In 1811 he was succeeded by his grandson, Charles Louis Frederick, who, five years before, had married Stephanie, an adopted daughter of Napoleon. After the battle of Leip zig this prince seceded from the Confederation of the Rhine, and (1815) joined the German Confederation.
In 1818 the Grand Duke Charles granted the charter which forms the basis of the present con stitution. Ile was succeeded in the same year by his uncle, Louis, who was inclined to absolut ism. and had to contend at first with a powerful opposition. He succeeded, in 1825. in carrying through an alteration of the Constitution, ex tending the duration of the diets; after which the Government and the chambers acted more harmoniously. Louis died childless (1830), and was succeeded by his half-brother, Leopold. The known liberal tendencies of this prince promised at first a new life to constitutional government; but the tide of reaction, which became strong after the failure of the Polish insurrection and the fall of Warsaw in 1831, soon seized upon the Government, and the act establishing the freedom of the press, which had been passed in 1831, was in 1832 declared abrogated. A fluctuating con
test between a reactionary Government and a growing opposition was carried on till 1846, when the Constitutionalist Bekk was made min ister of the interior, and liberalism thus placed at the helm. The first efTect was to calm the public mind, and to cause a split between the Liberals and the Radicals. The ninth parliament met (December, 1847) under the most friendly and promising auspices, but the French Revolu tion of February, 1848, suddenly aroused the Radical party to the most violent activity. Not satisfied with a multitude of liberal measures passed by the legislature, the revolutionary lead ers, Hecker and Struve, aimed at establishing a republic, and stirred up an insurrection. The army sided with the insurgents, the Grand Duke fled, and a constituent assembly was called. The Grand Duke had recourse to Prussian aid, and, after several battles, was reinstated on his throne. Upon the whole, the reactionary tendency was less marked in Baden than in most other Ger man States. In 1859 a conflict between the authorities of the State and the Roman Catholic hierarchy ended in favor of the latter: in 1861 the complete independence of the Catholic Church was recognized by a definite settlement, and a like privilege was extended to the Protestant Church of Baden. In the war between Prussia and Austria, in 1866, Baden lent aid to the lat ter, and on the declaration of peace was obliged to pay a heavy indemnity, and to reorganize. her army on the Prussian model. In 1867 Baden entered the North-German Confederation. is 1870-71 the troops of Baden fought with distinc tion in the Franco-German War, and the grand dneby became a part of the new-horn German Empire. The present Grand Duke is Frederick I. (horn September 9, 1826: regent, 1852; Grand Duke, 1856). See GERMANY.
Consult : W6r1 und Bader, Geographic and Rtatistik des Grossherzogthums Baden. (Frei burg, 1880) ; Des Grossherzogthum Baden in geographiseher, nal ririssenscha f t 1 icher, etc., H in sicht dargestent (Ka rlsruhe, 1 SS5 ) ; Weech, Badisehe Gcsehiehte (Karlsruhe. 1890) ; Regesten dry Markgrafen von Baden, and Hochberg (Inns bruck, 1892).