Margrave Philip II of Baden (born 19 February 1559 in

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 ...

– died 7 June 1588 in

) was from 1571 to 1588

Margrave Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Emp ...

of the 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 ...

-Baden. He was the son of the

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

Margrave Philibert of Baden-Baden and the Catholic

Mechthild of Bavaria Mechthild is a female Germanic given name. It is an old form of the first name Mathilde and means "powerful in combat, powerful fighter". Bearers of this name include: People * Mechthild of Bavaria (1532–1565), German noblewoman * Mechthild o ...

Life

Philip's father, Philibert, died in early October 1569 during the Battle of Montcontour. The 10-year-old Philip and his one-year older sister

Jakobea Jakobids are an order of free-living, heterotrophic, flagellar eukaryotes in the supergroup Excavata. They are small (less than 15 μm), and can be found in aerobic and anaerobic environments. The order Jakobida, believed to be monophyletic, con ...

were then raised by their

guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...

, their uncle

Albert V of Bavaria Albert V (German: ''Albrecht V.'') (29 February 1528 – 24 October 1579) was Duke of Bavaria from 1550 until his death. He was born in Munich to William IV and Maria Jacobäa of Baden. Early life Albert was educated at Ingolstadt by Catholic ...

. Albert gave Philip a strictly Catholic education. At the

University of Ingolstadt The University of Ingolstadt was founded in 1472 by Louis the Rich, the Duke of Bavaria at the time, and its first Chancellor was the Bishop of Eichstätt. It consisted of five faculties: humanities, sciences, theology, law, and medicine, all o ...

, Philip was educated in the spirit of the

Counter Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also called the Catholic Reformation () or the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to the Protestant Reformation. It began with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) a ...

. Philibert had promised his subjects freedom of religion, but after his death, this freedom was more and more restricted by his widow and his son, who were strongly influenced by their Catholic upbringing. Even during the

regency A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

of his uncle and

Duke Albert V, the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

rite was reintroduced in Baden-Baden in the years 1570–71. After he took up government, Philip's first

decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...

was that all citizens of Baden-Baden had to visit

church service A church service (or a service of worship) is a formalized period of Christian communal worship, often held in a church building. It often but not exclusively occurs on Sunday, or Saturday in the case of those churches practicing seventh-day Sa ...

s, under threat of severe penalties. Philip dismantled the New Castle at Baden-Baden (the one built in 1579) and built a more magnificent,

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

-style castle on the same spot. This increased his debts considerably. An inventory made in 1582 brought to light, in addition to 218

musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...

s, a debt of . Philip tried to cover these debts by rearranging the commercial sector and increasing taxes. Thus, the economy of the margraviate gradually came to resemble a

planned economy A planned economy is a type of economic system where investment, production and the allocation of capital goods takes place according to economy-wide economic plans and production plans. A planned economy may use centralized, decentralized, part ...

. A dark chapter in the history of Baden-Baden are the

witch-hunts A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America took place in the Early Modern per ...

, that took place during his reign. They began during the Bavarian regency, but their number increased considerably during Philips's reign. The last witch hunt under Philip II took place in 1580; 18 women were burnt at the stake in the districts of

Rastatt Rastatt () is a town with a Baroque core, District of Rastatt, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located in the Upper Rhine Plain on the Murg river, above its junction with the Rhine and has a population of around 50,000 (2011). Rastatt was an ...

, Baden-Baden and

Kuppenheim Kuppenheim is a town in the district of Rastatt, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the river Murg, 5 km southeast of Rastatt, and 8 km north of Baden-Baden. Geography Location Kuppenheim is located at the mouth of the ...

. When Philip died at the age of 29, he left no descendants, and was succeeded by his cousin

Edward Fortunatus Edward Fortunatus (or in German Eduard Fortunat) of Baden (17 September 1565 – 8 June 1600) was Margrave of Baden-Rodemachern and Baden-Baden. Life and work Born in London, Edward was the son of Christopher II, Margrave of Baden-Rodemacher ...

, Margrave of Baden-Rodemachern. Philip was buried in the Collegiate Church in

Ancestors

External links

* http://www.bad-bad.de/gesch/philipp2.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Philip 02 Baden Baden Margraves of Baden-Baden People from Baden-Baden 1559 births 1588 deaths 16th-century German people Burials at Stiftskirche, Baden-Baden