Bernhard III, Margrave of Baden-Baden (7 October 1474 – 29 June 1536) inherited in 1515 part of his father's margraviate of

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden is ...

. He ruled his part from 1515 until 1536. His two brothers,

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic languages, Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman ...

and

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

inherited the other parts; after Philip died, he and Ernest each inherited half of Philip's part. This created two lines of rulers: * "Bernhardine line" (Catholic) ruled

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

* "Ernestine line" (Protestant) ruled

Baden-Durlach The Margraviate of Baden-Durlach was an early modern territory of the Holy Roman Empire, in the upper Rhine valley, which existed from 1535 to 1771. It was formed when the Margraviate of Baden was split between the sons of Margrave Christopher ...

The Bernhardine line died out in 1771, allowing Margrave Charles Frederick of the Ernestine line to reunite the Margraviate of Baden. Bernard was brought up at the court of Emperor Maximilian I and went to Spain with his friend, Maximilian's son

Philip I Philip(p) I may refer to: * Philip I of Macedon (7th century BC) * Philip I Philadelphus (between 124 and 109 BC–83 or 75 BC) * Philip the Arab (c. 204–249), Roman Emperor * Philip I of France (1052–1108) * Philip I (archbishop of Cologne) (1 ...

. Philip was appointed

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in 1504. Margrave Bernhard tended in his later years to

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...

and introduced the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

into the upper Margraviate.

Marriage and issue

Bernhard III married in 1535, two years before his death, Franziska of

Luxemburg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small land ...

, Countess of

Brienne The County of Brienne was a medieval county in France centered on Brienne-le-Château. Counts of Brienne * Engelbert I * Engelbert II * Engelbert III * Engelbert IV * Walter I (? – c. 1090) * Erard I (c. 1090 – c. 1120?) * Walter II ...

and Ligny (d. 17 June 1566), the daughter of

Charles I, Count of Ligny Charles I, Count of Ligny, (1488–1530) was the ruling Count of Ligny and Brienne. Early life Born as the son of Anthony I, Count of Ligny, and his second wife, Françoise of Croÿ-Chimay. He belonged to the collateral branch of the House of ...

. They had two sons; the younger, Christopher, was born after Bernard's death: * Philibert (born: 22 January 1536, died: 3 October 1569) *

Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...

(born: 26 February 1537; died: 2 August 1575) Bernhard, however, had numerous extra-marital children, of whom six sons (Bernard, Philip, John, George, Caspar, and Melchior) are known. In 1532, Emperor Charles V declared George, Caspar and Melchior to be legitimate princes, and later, Bernhard and Philip as well. These sons were not entitled to inherit, but they received a maintenance payment after their father's death.Johann Christian Sachs: ''Einleitung in die Geschichte der Marggravschaft und des marggrävlichen altfürstlichen Hauses Baden'', Karlsruhe 1764–1770, vol. 3, p. 214

Ancestors

References and sources

* * Johann Christian Sachs: ''Einleitung in die Geschichte der Marggravschaft und des marggrävlichen altfürstlichen Hauses Baden'', Karlsruhe 1764–1770, vol. 3, p. 195–214

Footnotes

Margraves of Baden-Baden 1474 births 1536 deaths 15th-century German people 16th-century German people House of Zähringen Burials at Stiftskirche, Baden-Baden {{Germany-margrave-stub

Marriage and issue

Ancestors

See also

References and sources

Footnotes