Frederick II (9 July 1857 – 9 August 1928; german: Großherzog von Baden Friedrich II.) was the last sovereign

Grand Duke of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden (german: Großherzogtum Baden) was a state in the southwest German Empire on the east bank of the Rhine. It existed between 1806 and 1918. It came into existence in the 12th century as the Margraviate of Baden and subse ...

, reigning from 1907 until the abolition of the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

monarchies in 1918. The state of Baden originated from the area of the

Grand Duchy A grand duchy is a sovereign state, country or territory whose official head of state or ruler is a monarch bearing the title of grand duke or grand duchess. Relatively rare until the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the term was oft ...

. In 1951–1952, it became part of the new state of

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

Life

''Friedrich "Fritz" Wilhelm Ludwig Leopold August Prinz von Baden'' was born on 9 July 1857, in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

in the state of

Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden Frederick I (german: Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig; 9 September 1826 – 28 September 1907) was the Grand Duke of Baden from 1858 to 1907. Life Frederick was born in Karlsruhe, Baden, on 9 September 1826. He was the third son of Leopold, Gra ...

and

Princess Louise of Prussia Princess Louise Marie Elisabeth of Prussia (; 3 December 1838 – 23 April 1923) was Grand Duchess of Baden from 1856 to 1907 as the wife of Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden, Grand Duke Frederick I. Princess Louise was the second child and on ...

. As a student at the

University of Heidelberg } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, ...

, Frederick was a member of the Suevia Corps, a student fraternal organization. Frederick became the head of the

House of Zähringen The House of Zähringen (german: Zähringer) was a dynasty of Swabian nobility. The family's name derived from Zähringen Castle near Freiburg im Breisgau. The Zähringer in the 12th century used the title of Duke of Zähringen, in compensation ...

on 28 September 1907, after the death of his father

Frederick I Frederick I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I, Count of Zoller ...

, who was the sovereign Grand Duke 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 ...

reigning from 1856 to 1907. He abdicated on 22 November 1918, amidst the tumults of the

German Revolution of 1918–19 German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

which resulted in the abolition of the

. After the death of his cousin

Carola of Vasa Carola of Vasa-Holstein-Gottorp (''Caroline Friederike Franziska Stephanie Amalie Cäcilie''; 5 August 1833 – 15 December 1907), was by birth a titular Princess of Sweden and styled ''Princess of Vasa'' as member of the House of Holstein-Got ...

, he became the representative of the descent of the

Kings of Sweden This is a list of Swedish kings, queens, regents and viceroys of the Kalmar Union. History The earliest record of what is generally considered to be a Swedish king appears in Tacitus' work ''Germania'', c. 100 AD (the king of the Suiones). Howe ...

of the

House of Holstein-Gottorp Holstein-Gottorp or Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp () is the historiographical name, as well as contemporary shorthand name, for the parts of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein, also known as Ducal Holstein, that were ruled by the dukes of Schlesw ...

. On 20 September 1885 in

Schloss Hohenburg Schloss Hohenburg is a Baroque ''schloss'' (palace) in Lenggries, Bavaria, Germany. History Construction by the Herwarth family Count Ferdinand Joseph von Herwarth had the palace built in classical Baroque style in 1712–18 to replace the ...

, he married

Princess Hilda of Nassau Princess Hilda Charlotte Wilhelmine of Nassau (5 November 1864 – 8 February 1952) was Grand Duchess of Baden from 28 September 1907 to 22 November 1918 as the consort of Grand Duke Frederick II. Hilda and Frederick were the last grand ducal co ...

, the only daughter of the exiled Duke Adolphe of Nassau who later succeeded as Grand Duke of Luxembourg. There was no surviving issue from the marriage. He was ''

à la suite À la suite (, ''in the entourage f') was a military title given to those who were allotted to the army or a particular unit for honour's sake, and entitled to wear a regimental uniform but otherwise had no official position. In Prussia, these w ...

'' the Royal Prussian Regiments ''Erstes Garde-Regiment zu Fuß'' (1st Guard Foot Regiment) and ''1. Garde-Ulanen-Regiment'' and à la suite the Imperial 1st ''

Seebataillon ''Seebataillon'' (plural ''Seebataillone''), literally "sea battalion", is a German term for certain troops of naval infantry or marines. It was used by the Prussian Navy, the North German Federal Navy, the Imperial German Navy, the Austro-Hungar ...

''. He was also ''Regimentschef'' of the ''4. Königlich Sächsisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 103'', which was also known as ''Infanterie-Regiment „Großherzog Friedrich II. von Baden“ (4. Königlich Sächsisches) Nr. 103''.

Promotions

Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany with the Grand Duke Friedrich II of Baden

* 1875 : ''Sekondeleutnant'' (=

Leutnant () is the lowest Junior officer rank in the armed forces the German (language), German-speaking of Germany (Bundeswehr), Austrian Armed Forces, and military of Switzerland. History The German noun (with the meaning "" (in English "deputy") fro ...

) * 1881 : ''Premierleutnant'' (=

Oberleutnant () is the highest lieutenant officer rank in the German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces. Austria Germany In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Trans ...

) * 1882 : ''

Hauptmann is a German word usually translated as captain when it is used as an officer's rank in the German, Austrian, and Swiss armies. While in contemporary German means 'main', it also has and originally had the meaning of 'head', i.e. ' literally ...

'' * 1884 : ''

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

'' * 1889 : ''

Oberst ''Oberst'' () is a senior field officer rank in several German-speaking and Scandinavian countries, equivalent to colonel. It is currently used by both the ground and air forces of Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, and Norway. The Swedish ...

'' * 1891 : ''

Generalmajor is the Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central and Northern European countries. Austria Belgium Denmark is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and Royal Danish Air Force. As a two-star ...

'' * 1893 : ''

Generalleutnant is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries. Austria Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of O ...

'' * 1897 : ''

General der Infanterie General of the Infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Imper ...

'' * 1905 : ''

Generaloberst A ("colonel general") was the second-highest general officer rank in the German ''Reichswehr'' and ''Wehrmacht'', the Austro-Hungarian Common Army, the East Germany, East German National People's Army and in their respective police services. ...

with the rank of

Generalfeldmarschall ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (from Old High German ''marahscalc'', "marshal, stable master, groom"; en, general field marshal, field marshal general, or field marshal; ; often abbreviated to ''Feldmarschall'') was a rank in the armies of several ...

Death

After his death in 1928, the headship of the house was transferred over to his first cousin who was the last Chancellor of

Imperial Germany The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

Prince Maximilian of Baden Maximilian, Margrave of Baden (''Maximilian Alexander Friedrich Wilhelm''; 10 July 1867 – 6 November 1929),Almanach de Gotha. ''Haus Baden (Maison de Bade)''. Justus Perthes (publishing company), Justus Perthes, Gotha, 1944, p. 18, (French). a ...

Honours and awards

;German orders and decorations
Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden
' (1910), "Großherzogliches Haus", pp. 1-2 ;Foreign orders and decorations *

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

: ** Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian Order of St. Stephen, ''1885'' ** Military Jubilee Cross, ''14 August 1908'' * : Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold * : Grand Cross of the Southern Cross * :

Knight of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant ( da, Elefantordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional ...

, ''13 October 1897'' * : Knight of the Annunciation, ''10 September 1897'' * : Grand Cross of the Netherlands Lion * : ** Grand Cross of the

Order of Carol I The Order of Carol I (Romanian: Ordinul Carol I) was the highest ranking of the Romanian honours of the Kingdom of Romania until the abolition of the monarchy in 1947. It was instituted on 10 May 1906 by King Carol I to celebrate the Ruby Jubilee ...

, with Collar ** Grand Cross of the Star of Romania * : Knight of St. Andrew *

Sweden-Norway Sweden and Norway or Sweden–Norway ( sv, Svensk-norska unionen; no, Den svensk-norske union(en)), officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, and known as the United Kingdoms, was a personal union of the separate kingdoms of Sweden ...

: ** Knight of the Seraphim, with Collar, ''20 September 1881'' ** Grand Cross of St. Olav, ''27 September 1897'' * : Honorary Grand Cross of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

, ''16 June 1905'' ;Honorary military appointments * Honorary General of the

Swedish Army The Swedish Army ( sv, svenska armén) is the land force of the Swedish Armed Forces. History Svea Life Guards dates back to the year 1521, when the men of Dalarna chose 16 young able men as body guards for the insurgent nobleman Gustav Vas ...

, ''1906''

Ancestry

References

External links

Frederick II, Grand Duke of Baden
in ''

Stadtwiki Karlsruhe The Stadtwiki Karlsruhe is a city wiki of the German town Karlsruhe and its surroundings, which is the largest in the world. History It was founded by the former pupil Hauke Löffler on 22 July 2004. The first version was running PmWiki; lat ...

'' (

City wiki A wiki ( ) is an online hypertext publication collaboratively edited and managed by its own audience, using a web browser. A typical wiki contains multiple pages for the subjects or scope of the project, and could be either open to the pub ...

of Karlsruhe), German {{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick 02 Of Baden, Grand Duke House of Zähringen Protestant monarchs Nobility from Karlsruhe 1857 births 1928 deaths Heidelberg University alumni Grand Dukes of Baden Hereditary Princes of Baden Monarchs who abdicated Colonel generals of Prussia 19th-century Prussian military personnel Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Annulled Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order