baden

    BADEN HERITAGE

BADEN, History of  
In the 14th century, the Zähringer family, who had been margraves of Baden since 1112, owned counties in Breisgau and in the Ortenau, the stronghold of Baden; Baden (Baden; Baden was formerly called simply "Baden"), plus Backnang and Besigheim. In the 13th century, they had acquired Pforzheim, Durlach, Ettlingen and Alt;Eberstein. Further territorial additions and strict administration turned Baden into a considerable state by the 15th century. The division of 1535 brought about the emergence of two smaller states, Baden; Baden, of the Catholic line, and Baden;Durlach, of the Evangelical line. Karl Friedrich (1738/46;1811) reunited Baden in 1771 and inaugurated countless reforms in accordance with the principles of Enlightened Despotism. In league with France, he achieved expansion of Baden from 3600 square kilometers with about 175,000 inhabitants in 1803 to 15,000 square kilometers and almost a million inhabitants in 1810.  

The new Grand duchy of Baden (after 1806) received a new government and administrative organization and in 1810, land reform after the French model. The constitution of 1818 and elective legislature were models for early German constitutionalism. The lower chamber was virtually a school for the Liberal; Nationalist movement. In April and September of 1848 it came to rebellion under the leadership of the Left (F. Hecker, G. Struve) and in May of 1849, with the installation of a republican regime, it came to revolution, which Prussian troops had to put down. After the period of reaction, the "New Era", 1860;66, brought an attempt to form a liberal, parliamentary regime (Ministers Lamey, Roggenbach). In 1866 Baden turned back to constitutional ways (Ministers Mathey, Jolly), under Friedrich I (1856;1907) and Friedrich II (1907;18), who reigned with the benefit of Nationalist and Liberal support.

 

In 1870;1, Baden actively participated in the founding of the new German Empire. The cultural struggle, which lasted until the First World War, reached its peak in the years 1864;76. The great bloc (1905;17) of Liberals, Democrats and revisionist Socialists rose against the Zentrum (Center, the strongest party after 1905).

The constitution of 1919 resulted in annual election of a member of the regional parliament to the state presidency, at the head of the regime (of Baden). Until 1929 the presidency was held by the Zentrum (strongest party), the Socialists and the Democrats.  1939 brought World War II. In 1940 an administrative union between Baden and Alsace, which had been similarly governed since 1933, was formed. In 1945,  the north half of Baden came under American jurisdiction, the south under French occupation. In the autumn of 1945 followed, based on American arrangements, the formation of Württemberg; Baden. The south constituted itself as Baden. As a result of the referendum of December 6, 1951, Baden was absorbed into the new state of Baden;Württemberg on April 25, 1952.

Thanks to Rick Heli and James Blain.

Sources:  WorldWideWeb: http://www.genealogy.com/gene/reg/BAD-WUE/hist.html #Gesch-B  

Karlsruhe  
or Carlsruhe, an industrial and commercial city, 37 miles northeast of Stuttgart in the broad fertile valley of the Rhine River. Margrave Karl Wilhelm built a hunting castle on the site in 1715; in 1752-1785 Karl Friedrich replaced this with a large fan-shaped castle.  Karlsruhe grew from this center and became a large city with broad streets, well-kept parks and considerable industry.  It was heavily bombed in world War II and only one out of five buildings was undamaged.  

This is the church of our STEPPE ancestors in Busenbach, Karsruhe, Baden, Germany.  
 
Baden 1848 Revolution.  Although our STEPPE family came to the US before this Revolution, it is clear events leading up to the Revolution quite possibly were instrumental in bringing our family to America. 
For instance, on April 3, 1833, a group of students and young citizens tried to storm the Hauptwache and Konstablerwache (police headquarters) in Franfurt to liberate political prisoners..  after that they planned to arrest the delegates to the Bundestag and form a revolutionary government.  The attempt failed, as authorities had been forewarned and the expected support from the citizenry failed to materialize.  Again, ruling aristocrats reacted with tightening restrictions agreed upon at the Wiener Ministerkonferenz of 1834.  An alphabet list - the "black list" was drawn up, which contained the names of all the persons who had been investigated and/or sentenced for revolutionary activities.  Our family left in 1843.
The first war came against Denmark in 1864 and, with the aid of Austria, tiny Demark was easily crushed.  Bismarck crafted the  treaty in such a way that it created a series quarrel with Austria, which led to the Austro;Prussian War in 1866, a war which saw a number of       the lesser Germany states fighting on Austria's side.  Bismarck then orchestrated causus  belli with France, got France's Napoleon III (the great Napoleon's nephew) to declare the    war.  Prussia again won, and Bismarck  arranged for the German Empire  (essentially today's Germany minus Alsace  and Lorraine, which they took from France, and substantial Eastern European territories) and proclaimed it in the Palace of Versailles  in 1871.  The Second Empire lasted until the end of World War I, after which the troubled Weimar Republic ran the few years between the end of World War I and the ascension of Adolph Hitler (all quite legal) in 1933.