page_title: Margraviate of Baden
section_title: Consolidation
hierarchical_section_title: Margraviate of Baden / History / Consolidation
context_page_description: The Margraviate of Baden was a historical territory of the Holy Roman Empire. Spread along the east side of the Upper Rhine River in southwestern Germany, it was named a margraviate in 1112 and existed until 1535, when it was split into the two margraviates of Baden-Durlach and Baden-Baden. The two parts were reunited in 1771 under Margrave Charles Frederick. The restored Margraviate of Baden was elevated to the status of electorate in 1803. In 1806, the Electorate of Baden, receiving territorial additions, became the Grand Duchy of Baden. The rulers of Baden, known as the House of Baden, were a cadet line of the Swabian House of Zähringen.
context_section_description: Bernard I, Margrave of Baden-Baden (reigned 1391–1431) united all of the acquisitions in 1391. A soldier of some renown, Bernard continued the mission of his predecessors, and gained several more districts, including Baden-Pforzheim and Baden-Hochberg. Since 1291, Baden-Pforzheim had its own Margraviate, but in 1361 it ran out of heirs, falling back to the House of Baden-Baden. Baden-Hochberg fared little better. Founded in 1190, it lasted until 1418, when it too died with no male heirs. Bernard, being the closest heir, claimed Baden-Hochberg. Baden-Sausenberg continued its own Margraviate until 1503, when the lack of its own heirs sent it back to the House of Baden-Baden.
  The consolidation of the Margraviate came in 1442. In that year, one-half of the dominions of Lahr and Mahlberg was brought into the fold, creating the link between the two main areas, the Breisgau in the south and Baden-Baden in the north. Throughout the Late Middle Ages, Baden grew its administration, finances and armies until it became one of the biggest and strongest states of the Holy Roman Empire in southwestern Germany, especially after it gained the Habsburg possessions in the rest of the Ortenau and the Breisgau.
caption: Christopher I of Baden, by Hans Baldung Grien, 1515
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