Frederick I (; 9 September 1826 – 28 September 1907) was the

Grand Duke of Baden The Grand Duchy of Baden () was a German polity on the east bank of the Rhine. It originally existed as a sovereign state from 1806 to 1871 and later as part of the German Empire until 1918. The duchy's 12th-century origins were as a margravi ...

from 1858 to 1907.

Life

Frederick was born in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

, on 9 September 1826. He was the third son of Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden and Princess Sophie of Sweden. He became the

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of a person with a better claim to the position in question. This is in contrast to an heir app ...

to the grand duchy upon the death of his father in 1852 and the accession of his brother as Grand Duke Louis II. Due to his brother's mental ill-health, he was

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

''ad interim'' of Baden in 1852–1855, and took the title of grand duke in 1856. His brother, Louis II, died in 1858. He was considered a relatively liberal supporter of a

constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...

. During his reign the option of

civil marriage A civil marriage is a marriage performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official. Such a marriage may be performed by a religious body and recognized by the state, or it may be entirely secular. History Countries maintaining a popul ...

s was introduced in Baden as well as direct elections to the Lower House of the Parliament of Baden in 1904. In 1856, Frederick married

Princess Louise Princess Louise may refer to: People * Louise of Denmark (disambiguation), various princesses * Louise of Prussia (disambiguation), various princesses * Louise of Saxe-Meiningen (disambiguation), various princesses * Princess Louise of Schleswig-H ...

, daughter of Prince Wilhelm of Prussia and Princess

Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Augusta of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (Born ''Princess'' ''Maria Luise Augusta Katharina of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach''; 30 September 1811 – 7 January 1890), was Queen of Prussia and the first German Empress as the wife of William I, German Emperor. A ...

. The couple had three children. Frederick I had a pivotal role in the history of

Zionism Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

. In 1896 he met

Theodor Herzl Theodor Herzl (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was an Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Jewish journalist and lawyer who was the father of Types of Zionism, modern political Zionism. Herzl formed the World Zionist Organization, Zionist Organizat ...

(the founder of political Zionism) via their mutual acquaintance the reverend William Hechler, and helped Herzl in obtaining an audience with his nephew

Wilhelm II, German Emperor Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as the Hohenzollern dynasty ...

. After some persuasion on the part of the grand duke, the emperor accepted the appeal for an audience. It took place in Palestine on 2 November 1898, during the emperor's visit to inaugurate the Church of the Redeemer, Jerusalem. Frederick I was present at the

proclamation of the German Empire The proclamation of the German Empire, also known as the ''Deutsche Reichsgründung'', took place in January 1871 after the joint victory of the German states in the Franco-Prussian War. As a result of the November Treaties of 1870, the souther ...

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

in 1871, as he was the only son-in-law of Prussian King

Wilhelm I Wilhelm I (Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig; 22 March 1797 – 9 March 1888) was King of Prussia from 1861 and German Emperor from 1871 until his death in 1888. A member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the first head of state of a united Germany. ...

and one of the reigning sovereigns of Germany. He loudly shouted, "His Majesty, Emperor Wilhelm!" He died at his summer residence at the island of Mainau in southern Germany on 28 September 1907. Today, Mainau is owned by the Lennart Bernadotte Foundation, created by Frederick's great-grandson Count Lennart Bernadotte, (1909–2004).

Issue

* Grand Duke Frederick II of Baden (9 July 1857 – 9 August 1928), married Princess Hilda of Luxembourg; no issue * Queen Victoria of Sweden (7 August 1862 – 4 April 1930), married King Gustav V of Sweden; had issue * Prince Louis of Baden (12 June 1865 – 23 February 1888), died unmarried; no issue

Honours

;German honours
Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Baden
' (1902), "Großherzogliches Haus", pp. 26–27 ;Foreign honours

Ancestry

Footnotes

{{Authority control 1826 births 1907 deaths Nobility from Karlsruhe Princes of Baden House of Zähringen Grand dukes of Baden Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Knights Grand Cross of the Military Order of William Extra Knights Companion of the Garter 3 3 3 Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Russia) Recipients of the Order of St. Anna, 1st class Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint-Charles