Charles II (Margrave of Baden-Durlach)

Karl was the son of Margrave Ernst of Baden-Durlachsky and his second wife Ursula von Rosenfeld. Since the marriage between Ernst and Ursula was morganatic, Karl’s inheritance rights to margrave were controversial. However, he began to rule Upper Baden on behalf of his father in September 1552. His older brother, Margrave Bernhard IV, died on January 20, 1553, and his father died two weeks later, on February 6. After this, Karl inherited the whole country ^[3] , which was then called Baden-Pforzheim. He moved the capital to Durlah , thereby changing the name of his country to Baden-Durlah.

Acceptance of the Reformation in 1556

After the conclusion of the Passau Treaty (1552), the ideas of the Reformation began to be implemented in a number of secular principalities in southwestern Germany. Probably Margrave Ernst of Baden-Durlachsky also had such plans, but he preferred to avoid a possible conflict with Archduke Ferdinand , ruler of Catholic Forward Austria , who again claimed in Upper Baden. ^[four]

Margrave Charles II, like his cousin Margrave Philibert of Baden-Baden , took an active part in the Reichstag during the preparation of the Augsburg religious world in 1555 , which enabled the secular principalities of the Empire to carry out the Reformation. Then, relying on this agreement and at the insistence of the Duke Christoph Württemberg, Karl decided to accept the Reformation in the Baden-Durlach Margrave by publishing a new confession on June 1, 1556.

The preparation for the adoption of the Reformation and the drafting of the confession were entrusted to the commission, chaired by the Chancellor of the Margrave of Baden ( Pforzheim ) Martin Ahtsinite. The commissioners included the Tübingen theologian Jacob Andreé , as well as Saxon theologians Maximilian Merlin and Johann Stössel and the Heidelberg court preacher Michael Diller ^[5] . In addition to theologians, the commission consisted of Margrave advisers Baden Johann Sechel and Georg Renz ^[6] . Ahtsinit also became the first leader of the church council; Karl himself became the bishop of the local Protestant church, replacing the bishops of Strasbourg , Speyer and Constance , who were previously responsible for each part entrusted to him. "Fragmentation in the gospel religion" also influenced the work of the commission ^[7] . Finally, largely for political reasons, the Württemberg Confession, developed by Johann Brenz in 1553, was adopted. For the first service, held already in the fall of 1556, Jacob Heerbrand arrived from Wurttemberg , who also took part in the development of the final version of the confession. General Superintendent Upper Baden Karl appointed Basel theologian Simon Sulzer.

Frequent worship was to ensure that only Lutheran pastors served and the accepted confession was respected. Numerous Catholic clerics were expelled. Ferdinand of Austria officially denied Karl the right to carry out the Reformation in his possessions in Breisgau .

For the zeal that Carl showed during the adoption of the Reformation, he received the nickname of the "Pious."

As a result , the Ernestine (Baden-Durlakh) line soon separated after the separation of the country regarding religion. When, in 1771, both Margraves passed by inheritance to Margrave Karl Friedrich , he possessed sufficient foresight and independence to recognize various faiths and to call for respect and tolerance.

In 1561, the Margrave recognized the original Augsburg Confession in connection with the meeting of Protestants in Naumburg , convened by Augustus, Elector of Saxony .

Like his cousin Margrave Philibert of Baden-Baden, he helped the French king Charles IX in the war against the Huguenots - Calvinists , sending troops to help him.

Conflict with the clergy

The consequence of the Reformation was that only Lutheran pastors were allowed to serve on the territory of the Baden-Durlah Margrave. However, church parishes were often owned by Catholic monasteries and orders , which now had to appoint and support Lutheran pastors, which, of course, could not but cause resistance. Actually, the Augsburg religious world unequivocally regulated such cases. On the one hand, they retained the right to own and use their property in the Protestant territories, but were required to support Protestant pastors. However, due to the Habsburg claims mentioned above in Upper Baden, the prelates believed that they could shirk their responsibilities for supporting Protestant pastors and churches, and they also wanted to keep church tithes - a collection now intended to support pastors. Therefore, Karl confiscated the property of the Catholic clergy and financed the maintenance of pastors and churches from these funds.

Johann Ulrich Tsaziy agreed on a compromise with Baden-Durlach, after which the confiscated property was returned, but Margrave retained the right to levy the funds necessary for the maintenance of pastors. However, the Austrian authorities in Innsbruck did not recognize this agreement and preferred an escalation of the conflict. After some prelates entered into a bilateral agreement with Baden-Durlach, general negotiations were resumed, as a result of which an agreement was concluded on April 24, 1561 in Noenburg am Rhein , which essentially consolidated the agreements already worked out by Tsaziy. ^[eight]

Transfer of the capital in Durlah in 1565

In 1565, the Margrave moved his residence from Pforzheim to Durlach . This was due to a conflict with the inhabitants of Pforzheim, who did not want to act as beaters on a hunt arranged by the Margrave during the shooter competitions. However, the literature indicates that, in all likelihood, the real reasons for this decision were more rational considerations, namely the location of Durlakh in the center of the Baden Lowland ^[9] .

In this regard, the already existing hunting lodge in Durlakh was rebuilt in Carlsburg . The customer personally supervised the progress of construction and paid workers, especially for this purpose, carrying a bag of money on his shoulder. Because of this, he received the good-natured nickname "Karl with a bag." As a result, the city of Durlakh itself was also reconstructed, a garden was built at the castle, the city received new city gates, and, as was customary in the capitals of the Margraves at that time, in 1571 it acquired its own mint .

Sons

Lutheran faith was preserved only by one of his sons, Georg Friedrich ; Ernst Friedrich converted to Calvinism , and Jacob III converted to Catholicism. Since Georg Friedrich outlived his brothers, Margraf ultimately remained Lutheran. After the death of Margrave, until the sons reached the age necessary for the ruler, for seven years their mother ruled over Margrave as part of the Board of Trustees.

• The first wife (from March 10, 1551) is (June 17, 1523 - February 27, 1558), daughter of Margrave Casimir Brandenburg-Kulmbakhsky . The spouses had two children:

1. Mary (January 3, 1553 - November 11, 1561)
2. Albert (June 12, 1555 - May 5, 1574)

• The second wife (from August 1, 1558) is Anna Feldenzskaya (November 12, 1540 - March 30, 1586), daughter of Count Ruprecht von Palatinate-Feldenz . The spouses had six children:

1. Dorothea Ursula (June 20, 1559 - May 19, 1583), husband (from 1575) - Ludwig III of Württemberg
2. Ernst Friedrich (October 17, 1560 - April 14, 1604), Margrave of Baden-Durlach
3. Jacob (May 26, 1562 - August 17, 1590), Margrave of Baden-Hachberg
4. Anna Maria (August 4, 1565 - October 8, 1573)
5. Elizabeth (September 27, 1570 - October 6, 1611)
6. Georg Friedrich (January 30, 1573 - September 24, 1638), Margrave of Baden-Durlach

• Hans Jürgen Rieckenberg (1977, ISBN 3-428-00192-3 ), " Karl II. ", Neue Deutsche Biographie (Berlin: Duncker & Humblot). - T. 11: 220-221 , < http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/0001/bsb00016328/images/index.html?seite=234 >  
• Karl Friedrich Vierordt: Geschichte der evangelischen Kirche in dem Großherzogthum Baden , vol. 1, Karlsruhe, 1847, pp 420-441 in Google Books
• Joseph Elble: Die Einführung der Reformation im Markgräflerland und in Hochberg. 1556-1561 , in: Freiburger Diözesan-Archiv, vol. 42 (1914), pp. 1–110
• Johann Pflüger: Geschichte der Stadt Pforzheim , Pforzheim, 1989 in Google Books
• Ernst Walter Zeeden: Kleine Reformationsgeschichte von Baden-Durlach und Kurpfalz , Karlsruhe, 1956
• Rudolf Burger: Die Reformation im Markgräflerland , Weil am Rhein, 1984