page_title: History of Baden-Württemberg
section_title: Southwest Germany up to 1918
hierarchical_section_title: History of Baden-Württemberg / Southwest Germany up to 1918
caption_attribution_description: Monument to the Constitution of Baden, in Rondellplatz, Karlsruhe, Germany. Obelisk flanked by seated griffins (heraldic animal of Baden). Tower of Evangelische Stadtkirche in background. Overhead wires are for tram, which goes around this on either side. Inscription is "DEM GRUENDER DIE VERFASSUNG DIE DANKBARE STADT CARLSRUHE" (roughly "To the founder of the Constituition, [from] the grateful city of Karlsruhe"
context_page_description: The history of Baden-Württemberg covers the area included in the historical state of Baden, the former Prussian Hohenzollern, and Württemberg, part of the region of Swabia since the 9th century.
  In the 1st century AD, Württemberg was occupied by the Romans, who defended their control of the territory by constructing a limes. Early in the 3rd century, the Alemanni drove the Romans beyond the Rhine and the Danube, but they in turn succumbed to the Franks under Clovis I, the decisive battle taking place in 496. The area later became part of the Holy Roman Empire.
  The history of Baden as a state began in the 12th century, as a fief of the Holy Roman Empire. As a fairly inconsequential margraviate that was divided between various branches of the ruling family for much of its history, it gained both status and territory during the Napoleonic era, when it was also raised to the status of grand duchy. In 1871, it became one of the founder states of the German Empire. The monarchy came to an end with the end of the First World War, but Baden itself continued in existence as a state of Germany until the end of the Second World War.
context_section_description: In the wars after the French Revolution in 1789, Napoleon, the emperor of the French, rose to be the ruler of the European continent. An enduring result of his policy was a new order of the southwestern German political world. When the French Revolution threatened to be exported throughout Europe in 1792, Baden joined forces against France. Its countryside was devastated in the ensuing battles. In 1796, the margrave was compelled to pay an indemnity and to cede his territories on the left bank of the Rhine to France. Fortune, however, soon returned to his side.
  In 1803, largely owing to the good offices of Alexander I, emperor of Russia, the margrave received the Bishopric of Konstanz, part of the Rhenish Palatinate, and other smaller districts, together with the dignity of a prince-elector. Changing sides in 1805, he fought for Napoleon, with the result that, by the peace of Pressburg in that year, he obtained the Breisgau and other territories at the expense of the Habsburgs (see Further Austria). In 1806, the Baden margrave joined the Confederation of the Rhine, declared himself a sovereign prince, became a grand duke, and received additional territory.
  On 1 January 1806, Duke Frederick II assumed the title of King Frederick I, abrogated the constitution, and united old and new Württemberg. Subsequently, he placed church lands under the control of the state and received some formerly self-governing areas under the "mediatisation" process. In 1806, he joined the Confederation of the Rhine and received further additions of territory containing 160,000 inhabitants. A little later, by the peace of Vienna in October 1809, about 110,000 more persons came under his rule.
  In return for these favors, Frederick joined Napoleon Bonaparte in his campaigns against Prussia, Austria and Russia. Some 16,000 of his subjects marched as soldiers with the French invasion of Russia to take Moscow; only a few hundred survived to return. After the Battle of Leipzig in October 1813, King Frederick deserted the waning fortunes of the French emperor. By a treaty made with Metternich at Fulda in November 1813, he secured the confirmation of his royal title and of his recent acquisitions of territory. He directed his forces to fight with allies in their attack on France.
  In 1815, the king joined the German Confederation, but the Congress of Vienna made no change in the extent of his lands. In the same year, he proposed a new constitution to the representatives of his people, but they rejected it. In the midst of this controversy, Frederick died on 30 October 1816.
  The new king, William I (reigned 1816–1864), at once took up the constitutional question and, after much discussion, granted a new constitution in September 1819. This constitution, with subsequent modifications, remained in force until 1918 (see Württemberg). A period of quiet was established. The condition of the kingdom, its education, agriculture trade and manufactures, began to receive earnest attention. King William I helped to repair the shattered finances of the country. But the people's desire for greater political freedom did not fade away under the 1819 constitution. After 1830, a certain amount of unrest occurred. This, however, soon died. The inclusion of Württemberg in the German Zollverein and the construction of railways fostered trade.
  The revolutionary movement of 1848 did not leave Württemberg untouched, although no associated violence took place within the kingdom. King William had to dismiss Johannes Schlayer (1792–1860) and his other ministers, calling to power men with more liberal ideas and the exponents of the idea of a united Germany. King William did proclaim a democratic constitution but, as soon as the movement had spent its force, he dismissed the liberal ministers. In October 1849, Schlayer and his associates returned to power. In Baden, by contrast, there was a serious uprising that had to be put down by force.
  By interfering with popular electoral rights, the king and his ministers succeeded in assembling a servile diet in 1851, which surrendered all th
caption: Monument to the Constitution of Baden (and the Grand Duke for granting it), in Rondellplatz, Karlsruhe, Germany
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