Louis George, Margrave of Baden Baden

Biography

He was born at the Schloss Ettlingen and was the son of Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden and his wife Sibylle of Saxe-Lauenburg. Hereditary Prince of Baden-Baden from birth, at the death of his father in 1707, he succeeded as Margrave of Baden-Baden at the age of four. As such, his mother was regent of Baden-Baden while he was a minor. He reached his majority on 22 October 1727 at the age of 25.

At the age of 16 years, the young prince in love with Marie Leszczynska, daughter of the former king of Poland but the couple were never to unite. Marie was later the consort of Louis XV of France. His sister Johanna was later a resident of the French court and wife of Louis d'Orleans, a grandson of their father's enemy Louis XIV.

As an unmarried prince, in the summer of 1720 he and his mother travelled to Prague where he would meet his future spouse (first of two) at the Schloss Hluboka nad Vltavou.

The chosen bride was Maria Anna of Schwarzenberg, a daughter of Prince Adam Franz of Schwarzenberg and Eleonore of Schwarzenberg. His mother travelled to Vienna in order to seek permission from Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor. Permission was granted and he married Maria Anna on 8 April 1721 at the Cesky Krumlov Castle. The couple were the parents of four children, of whom only one survive infancy. As a wedding gift, his mother gave him her hunting lodge at Fremersberg.

At Maria Anna's death in 1755, he married again to Maria Anna of Bavaria on 10 July 1755. She was the daughter of Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor and his Austrian wife Maria Amalia. The second marriage remained childless.

Thanks to his mother, Baden-Baden was once again a prosperous state, having been ravaged by the French at the time of his parents' marriage in the 1690s.

Due to his mothers careful handling of the state's finances, the state was no longer in debt and had considerably enlarged Louis George's personal fortune. His mother retired to the Schloss Ettlingen where she died in 1733.

The son of a famous military general, Louis George's main passion was for hunting (much like his contemporary Louis XV) and was nicknamed Jagerlouis, the "hunter Louis", a play on his father's nickname Turkenlouis ("Turk Louis") due to his famous efforts again Louis XIV in the field and as part of the Imperial Army.

Louis George, from 1707 till 1731 was the Royal Colonel of the 4th Circle Infantry Regiment (mixt.) of the Swabian Circle but during the War of the Polish Succession, he hunted dear to his possessions in Bohemia. He returned only after 1735 in Vienna closed preliminary peace of the Treaty of Vienna.

He died at the Schloss Rastatt in October 1761 at the age of 59. He was succeeded by his brother George Augustus having no surviving male issue. He was buried at the Stiftskirche in Baden-Baden beside his first wife. Maria Anna Josepha retired to Munich where she died in 1776 and was buried at the Theatine Church.

Issue

1. Elisabeth Augusta (Rastatt, 16 March 1726 – Freiburg, 7 January 1789), married on 2 February 1755 to Michael Wenzel, Count of Althann. No issue.
2. Charles Louis Damian (Rastatt, 25 August 1728 – Carlsbad, 6 July 1734), Hereditary Prince of Baden-Baden.
3. Louis George (Schlackenwerth, 11 August 1736 – Rastatt, 11 March 1737), Hereditary Prince of Baden-Baden.
4. Johanna (Rastatt, 28 April 1737 – Rastatt, 29 April 1737).

Ancestors

Titles and styles