Charles II, Margrave of Baden-Durlach

Margrave (1529–1577)

Charles II, Margrave of Baden Durlach (born 24 July 1529 in Pforzheim; died 23 March 1577 in Durlach), nicknamed Charles with the bag, governed the Margravate of Baden Durlach from 1552 to 1577. On 1 June 1556 Charles issued a new Church Order, which made Lutheranism the official religion in Baden Durlach.

Charles was the son of Margrave Ernest of Baden Durlach and his second wife Ursula of Rosenfeld. Since the marriage between Ernest and Ursula was morganatic, Charles's ability to succeed was disputed. Nevertheless, he started ruling Upper Baden in his father's name in September 1552. His half brother, older by 12 years, Bernard IV, died on 20 January 1553 and his father died two weeks later, on 6 February. Charles then inherited the entire country, which was called Baden Pforzheim at the time. He moved the capital to Durlach, thereby changing the name of his country to Baden Durlach.

After the Peace of Passau (1552) a number of secular rulers in the south west of Germany introduced the Reformation. Margrave Ernest of Baden Durlach had plans to have had follow suit, but still faced a potential conflict with Archduke Ferdinand, the ruler of the Roman Catholic Further Austria, the who still claimed parts of Upper Baden. Margrave Charles II – like his cousin, Margrave Philibert of Baden Baden – supported the Peace of Augsburg of 1555 in the Reichstag, which gave secular imperial princes freedom to introduce Lutheranism in their territories. With this protection and at the urging of Duke Christopher of Württemberg, Charles II introduced the Reformation into the margraviate of Baden Durlach with the adoption of a new Church Order on 1 June 1556. The preparation of the Reformation and the drafting of church order was entrusted to a Commission chaired by Martin Achtsynit, the Chancellor of the Margraviate of Baden (Pforzheimer part). Members of the Commission were the theologian Jacob Andreae from Tübingen, the court preacher Michael Diller from Heidelberg and the Saxon theologians Max Morlin and John Stossel. In addition to the theologians, the Councillors Johann Georg and Renz Sechele also belonged to the Commission. Achtsynit was also the first director of the Council of Churches; Charles himself was bishop of the Evangelical Church and so became successor to the bishops of Strasbourg, Speyer and Constance, who had been competent for different parts of his territory. The "inner conflict within the Protestant confession" also affected the work of the Commission. or religious orders, which would now have to pay for a Lutheran pastor. This, of course, caused resistance. The Peace of Augsburg had clear rules for this kind of situation. Religious institutions were allowed to keep their possessions in Protestant areas, but they indeed had to for the evangelical pastor. Based on the territorial claims of the House of Habsburg on the Upper Baden lordships mentioned above, the prelates held that the maintenance obligation did not apply to them, and the intended to keep the tithes. Charles then seized their estates and used them to fund the maintenance of churches and pastors. Johann Ulrich Zasius mediated and reached a compromise: the confiscated estates were returned to their owners, but Baden Durlach was allowed to retain the funds necessary to pay the pastors. However, the Austrian authorities in Innsbruck did not accept this compromise and the confrontation escalated. After some prelates made separate agreements with Baden Durlach, the negotiations were resumed and led to the treaty of Neuenburg am Rhein of 24 April 1561, with essentially the same result as the earlier agreement.

The Margrave moved the residence from Liebeneck Castle in Pforzheim to Durlach in 1565. This was allegedly triggered by a dispute with the citizens of Pforzheim, who refused to act as drivers in a drive hunt organized by the Margrave. The literature points out that other, more rational, reasons may have existed; in particular, Durlach was more centrally located within Lower Baden. For this move, the Karlsburg, an existing hunting lodge in Durlach, was expanded into a castle. Charles oversaw the expansion himself and paid the workers personally, using a shoulder bag full of money he brought with him. The affectionate nickname Charles with the Bag refers to this practice. The city of Durlach was also renovated. A garden was added to the castle and several gates were added to the city wall. In 1571, a mint was built, as was usual in princely residences at the time.