Ernest Frederick of Baden-Durlach (born 17 October 1560 in

Durlach Durlach is a borough of the German city of Karlsruhe with a population of roughly 30,000. History Durlach was bestowed by emperor Frederick II on the margrave Hermann V of Zähringen as an allodial possession. It was chosen by the margrave Ch ...

– died 14 April 1604 in

Remchingen Remchingen () is a municipality in the Enz district, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, situated on the river Pfinz, 14 km southeast of Karlsruhe, and 12 km northwest of Pforzheim. History Older history * 1st millennium BC: Celtic ...

) ruled the northern part of the Margraviate 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 ...

. He came to power when he came of age in 1584. He founded the first Gymnasium ''Illustrie'' in the margraviate. His conversion from the

Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...

and his

occupation Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

of Upper Baden caused serious conflicts – even with the Emperor – the consequences of which damaged Lower Baden and ultimately also led to losses of territory.

Life

Ernest Frederick was the eldest son of the Margrave Charles II of Baden-Durlach and Anna of Veldenz. From 1577 onwards, he received his education at the court of his guardian, the Lutheran Duke

Louis III Louis III may refer to: * Louis the Younger, sometimes III of Germany (835–882) * Louis III of France (865–882) * Louis the Blind, Louis III, Holy Roman Emperor, (c. 880–928) * Louis the Child, sometimes III of Germany (893–911) * Louis I ...

of Württemberg.

The regency 1577–1584

After his father's death, a regency council was formed, consisting of his mother Anna, Elector Palatine

Louis VI, Elector Palatine Louis VI, Elector Palatine (4 July 1539 in Simmern – 22 October 1583 in Heidelberg), was an Elector from the Palatinate-Simmern branch of the house of Wittelsbach. He was the first-born son of Frederick III, Elector Palatine and Marie of ...

(until 1583), Duke Philip Louis of Neuburg and Duke Louis "the Pious" of Württemberg. The council ruled

Margraviate 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 ...

on his behalf when he inherited it as a minor.

The division of territories

Ernest Frederick and Charles II's second oldest son,

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

, both wanted to own dominions. Charles II's last will and testament forbade that, but it had not been signed and sealed, so the remaining guardians decided to give them their way and divide the country. Ernest Frederick received

Lower Baden Lower may refer to: *Lower (surname) *Lower Township, New Jersey *Lower Receiver (firearms) *Lower Wick Gloucestershire, England See also *Nizhny Nizhny (russian: Ни́жний; masculine), Nizhnyaya (; feminine), or Nizhneye (russian: Ни́� ...

, including the large towns of

and

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") ...

.Baumann, p. 21-22 His younger brothers James and George Frederick also received parts of the country, so that the land was further divided beyond the existing division into Baden-Durlach, Baden-Baden. The Margraviate of Baden-Hachberg fell back to Ernest Frederick in 1590 after James's death. His youngest brother George Frederick was able to reunite the whole Margraviate of Baden-Durlach after's Ernest Frederick's death.

Marriage

Margrave Ernest Frederick married on 21 December 1585 Anna of East Frisia (26 June 1562 – 21 April 1621), the daughter of Count

Edzard II of East Frisia Edzard II (24 June 1532 – 1 March 1599) was Count of East Frisia from 1561 to 1599. He was the son of Enno II of East Frisia and Anna of Oldenburg. During his reign, Edzard came into conflict with the city of Emden. Edzard was a staunch ...

and widow of his guardian. The marriage produced no children.

Ancestors

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ernest Frederick, Margrave Of Baden-Durlach 1560 births 1604 deaths House of Zähringen Margraves of Baden-Durlach 16th-century German people