Christopher I of Baden (13 November 1453 – 19 April 1527) was the

Margrave of Baden The Margraviate of Baden (german: Markgrafschaft 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, ...

from 1475 to 1515.

Life

Christopher was the eldest son of

Charles I, Margrave of Baden-Baden Charles I of Baden (1427 – 24 February 1475, Pforzheim) was a Margrave of Baden-Baden during 1454–1475. Charles was the elder son of Jacob, Margrave of Baden-Baden, and his wife Catherine, daughter of Charles II, Duke of Lorraine. In 1462 he ...

and Catherine of Austria, a sister of

Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III (German: ''Friedrich III,'' 21 September 1415 – 19 August 1493) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1452 until his death. He was the fourth king and first emperor of the House of Habsburg. He was the penultimate emperor to be crown ...

. He regained the territories that were lost by his father to the Palatinate and its allies. Christopher maneuvered to keep these territories united under his son and successor Philip I, but his efforts were thwarted by

Louis XII of France Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his 2nd cousin once removed and brother in law at the tim ...

. In 1479, the seat of the Margraviate of Baden was moved from

Hohenbaden Castle Hohenbaden Castle (at the time of its establishment ''Schloss Hohenbaden'', now ''Old castle'' or ''Altes Schloss'') in German Baden-Baden was the residence of the margraves of Baden for almost 400 years. The castle was built around 1100 by Herman ...

to New Castle (') of Baden-Baden which was built by him. In 1489 Christopher became a member of the

Swabian League The Swabian League (''Schwäbischer Bund'') was a mutual defence and peace keeping association of Imperial State, Imperial Estates – free Imperial cities, prelates, principalities and knights – principally in the territory of the early mediev ...

. This was part of his efforts for peaceful coexistence with his neighbors (in particular with Württemberg and the cities of Weil and Strasbourg). Within the protection of this South West German pact, Christopher advanced the internal development of his dominion. Christopher's winegrowing law of 1495 was a major step in improving the quality of wine produced in Baden."... The House of Baden, which has held the title of margrave since 1112, is closely associated with the development of quality winegrowing in Baden. In 1495, the margraves enacted the first wine laws. In the 18th century, they adopted single-variety Riesling cultivation and introduced Chasselas grapes in the southern Baden district of Markgräflerland. Similarly, in 1923 the Müller-Thurgau grape variety was first cultivated at Lake Constance on the family’s estates. Schloss Salem on Lake Constance is the ancestral home of the House of Baden and the headquarters of its vineyard estate. The estate is owned personally by the margraves of Baden and its planted area of 135 hectares makes it one of the largest private winegrowing estates in Germany. It is also a member of the Association of German Prädikat Wine Estates (VDP)...." Press Release - CMS advises House of Baden and Rotkäppchen-Mumm on establishing a joint venture; 23 June 2017; Subject: Advising Markgräflich Badische Verwaltung GmbH & Co. KG and Rotkäppchen Mumm Sektkellereien GmbH; CMS Hasche Sigle Partnerschaft von Rechtsanwälten und Steuerberatern mbB, Public & Media Relations, Lennéstraße 7, 10785 Berlin; https://cms.law/ His wife Ottilie was from a famous wine-making family in the

Kraichgau The Kraichgau () is a hilly region in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Odenwald and the Neckar to the North, the Black Forest to the South, and the Upper Rhine Plain to the West. To the east, its boundary is c ...

, the Counts of

Katzenelnbogen Katzenelnbogen () is the name of a castle and small town in the district of Rhein-Lahn-Kreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Katzenelnbogen is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective municipality") Aar-Einrich. History Katzenelnboge ...

. By 1503, Christopher was responsible for uniting all the Badener lands when the Baden-Sausenberg died without male heirs. In 1515, before his death, he divided the Margraviate among his sons Philipp, Bernhard, and Ernst. However, Philipp who had succeeded him died childless, and his share was passed down to his brothers Bernhard and Ernst. Thus, Bernhard founded the so-called "Bernardine line" of

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 ...

and Ernst founded the "Ernestine line" of

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 ...

Family and children

Margrave Christopher married on 30 January 1469

Ottilie of Katzenelnbogen Ottilie of Katzenelnbogen (c. 1451 – 15 August 1517, Baden-Baden), was by marriage Margravine of Baden-Baden. Life She was the only child of Philipp II ''the Younger'' of Katzenelnbogen (1427 – 27 February 1453) and Ottilie of Nassau-Siegen ...

(ca. 1451 – 15 August 1517), a granddaughter of

Philipp I, Count of Katzenelnbogen Philipp is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: "Philipp" has also been a shortened version of Philippson, a German surname especially prevalent amongst German Jews and Dutch Jews. Surname * Adolf Philipp (1864� ...

. They had the following children: # Ottilie (6 June 1470 – 1490), Abbess in

Pforzheim Pforzheim () is a city of over 125,000 inhabitants in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, in the southwest of Germany. It is known for its jewelry and watch-making industry, and as such has gained the nickname "Goldstadt" ("Golden City") ...

# Jakob (6 June 1471 – 27 April 1511,

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

Archbishop of Trier The Diocese of Trier, in English historically also known as ''Treves'' (IPA "tɾivz") from French ''Trèves'', is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic church in Germany.Lichtenthal Lichtenthal Abbey (german: Kloster Lichtenthal) is a Cistercian nunnery in Lichtenthal in the town of Baden-Baden, Germany. History and buildings The abbey was founded in 1245 by Irmengard bei Rhein, widow of Margrave Hermann V of Baden, whose ...

Bernhard III, Margrave of Baden-Baden Bernhard III, Margrave of Baden-Baden (7 October 1474 – 29 June 1536) inherited in 1515 part of his father's margraviate of Baden. He ruled his part from 1515 until 1536. His two brothers, Ernest and Philip inherited the other parts; after Phi ...

(7 April 1474 – 29 June 1536) # Charles (21 June 1476 – 7 October 1510), canon in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

and

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

# Christopher (21 July 1477 – 29 March 1508), canon in Strasbourg and

Philipp Philipp is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: "Philipp" has also been a shortened version of Philippson, a German surname especially prevalent amongst German Jews and Dutch Jews. Surname * Adolf Philipp (1864� ...

(10 December 1478 – 17 September 1533); Margrave of Baden-Sponheim # Rudolf (16 June 1481 – 23 September 1532), canon in

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main (river), Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-we ...

, Strasbourg and

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

Ernst, Margrave of Baden-Durlach Margrave Ernest I of Baden-Durlach (7 October 1482, Pforzheim – 6 February 1553, Sulzburg) was the founder of the so-called "Ernestine" line of the House of Baden, the line from which the later Grand Dukes descended. He was the ruling Mar ...

(7 October 1482 – 6 February 1553) # Wolfgang (10 May 1484 – 24 June 1522) #

Sibylle Sibylle is a given name. It may refer to: *Anna Sibylle of Hanau-Lichtenberg (1542–1580), eldest surviving daughter of Count Philipp IV and Countess Eleonore of Fürstenberg *Duchess Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia (1586–1659), Electress of Saxony ...

(26 April 1485 – 10 July 1518), married on 24 January 1505 to

Philipp III, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg Philipp III of Hanau-Lichtenberg (18 October 1482 – 15 May 1538, Bouxwiller (german: Buchsweiler)) was the third Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg. Childhood and youth Philipp III was the eldest son of Count Philipp II of Hanau-Lichtenberg and ...

# Rosine (5 March 1487 – 29 October 1554), married: ## in 1503 to Count Franz Wolfgang of Hohenzollern; ## to

Johann von Ow zu Wachendorf Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name ''Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...

# John (d. 19 June 1490) #

Beatrix Beatrix is a Latin feminine given name, most likely derived from ''Viatrix'', a feminine form of the Late Latin name ''Viator'' which meant "voyager, traveller" and later influenced in spelling by association with the Latin word ''beatus'' or "bles ...

(22 January 1492 – 4 April 1535), married in 1508 to

Johann II, Count Palatine of Simmern John II (21 March 1492 – 18 May 1557) was the Count Palatine of Simmern from 1509 until 1557.Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB). Band 10, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1974, ISBN 3-428-00191-5 John II was born in Simmern in 1492 as the eldest surviving ...

# George (1 July 1493 – 16 November 1493)

Ancestors

References

External links

Article in the ADB
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christopher 01, Margrave of Baden-Baden Christopher 01 1453 births 1527 deaths Burials at Stiftskirche, Baden-Baden Medieval Knights of the Holy Sepulchre