Augustus George, Margrave of Baden-Baden

Augustus George, Margrave of Baden-Baden (August Georg Simpert; 14 January 1706, Rastatt, Margraviate of Baden – 21 October 1771) was the ruling Margrave of Baden-Baden from 1761 till his death in 1771. He succeeded his brother Louis George and was the brother of the Duchess of Orléans. He was the son-in-law of Duke Léopold Philippe d'Arenberg.

Augustus George
Margrave of Baden-Baden
Portrait by Joseph Wolfgang Hauwiller
Margrave of Baden-Baden
Predecessor	Louis George, Margrave of Baden-Baden
Successor	Charles Frederick, Margrave of Baden-Durlach
Born	(1706-01-14)14 January 1706 Schloss Rastatt, Germany
Died	21 October 1771(1771-10-21) (aged 65) Schloss Rastatt, Germany
Buried	Stiftskirche, Baden-Baden
Noble family	House of Zähringen
Spouse(s)	Marie Victoire d'Arenburg
Father	Louis William of Baden-Baden
Mother	Sibylle of Saxe-Lauenburg
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Biography

Born at the Schloss Rastatt, he was the youngest son of Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden, a distinguished member of the Imperial Army and his wife Sibylle of Saxe-Lauenburg, sister of the future Grand Duchess of Tuscany[1]

In 1707 his father died and his older brother Louis George, Hereditary prince of Baden-Baden succeeded as the ruler of the state with a regency held by his mother. During his mothers regency, it was decided that he would enter the church. As such, at the age of 20 he took religious vows and was later a canon of Cologne in 1726 and 1728 dean at Augsburg.

In 1727, his brother gained his majority and his mother left the administration of the state to him. His mother died in 1733. She had been a popular ruler.

In 1735, he left the church and married Princess Maria Viktoria von Arenberg, a daughter of Duke Léopold Philippe d'Arenberg and his wife Duchess Maria Lodovica Francesca Pignatelli of Bisaccia. Her brother was Duke Charles Marie Raymond, a member of the Imperial Army like Augustus George's own father. The couple married 7 December 1735 at the Schloss Rastatt but would be childless.

At the death of his brother in 1761 aged 59, Augustus George succeeded him as Louis George had had no male issue, salic law being applicable in Baden-Baden. Childless himself, it became evident that the state would have to pass to the Baden-Durlach line of the House of Zähringen which at the time was headed by his distant cousin Charles Frederick, Margrave of Baden-Durlach.[2]

At his death in 1771 he was succeeded by Charles Frederick and the Catholic rulers of Baden-Baden ended with him uniting the Protestant Baden-Durlach with the catholic Baden-Baden thus allowing free religion. The contract detailing the Baden-Durlach inheritance was signed in 1765, six years before Augustus George died.

He died at the Schloss Rastatt aged 65.

In the reign of the Margrave August Georg a school order, a fire insurance fund was introduced and a widow. He also set up in honor of his father, the Turks Louis, the "Tuerckische chamber in the castle of Rastatt, where the Ottoman spoils were kept.

His wife outlived him till 1793. He was buried at the Stiftskirche in Baden-Baden beside his wife.[3]

Ancestors

Ancestors of Augustus George, Margrave of Baden-Baden[4]

16. Eduard Fortunatus, Margrave of Baden 8. William, Margrave of Baden-Baden 17. Maria of Eicken 4. Ferdinand Maximilian, Hereditary Prince of Baden-Baden 18. John George, Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen 9. Catherine Ursula of Hohenzollern–Hechingen 19. Franziska of Salm-Neufville 2. Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden 20. Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy 10. Thomas Francis, Prince of Carignano 21. Infanta Catherine Michelle of Spain 5. Princess Louise of Savoy, Hereditary Princess of Baden-Baden 22. Charles de Bourbon, Count of Soissons 11. Marie de Bourbon, Countess of Soissons 23. Anne de Montafié 1. Augustus George Simpert of Baden-Baden 24. Francis II of Saxe-Lauenburg 12. Julius Henry of Saxe-Lauenburg 25. Maria of Brunswick-Lüneburg 6. Duke Julius Francis of Saxe-Lauenburg 26. Wilhelm Lobkowicz, Lord of Bilin 13. Anna Magdalene, Lady of Lobkowicz 27. Benigna Katharina Lobkowicz 3. Sibylle of Saxe-Lauenburg 28. Augustus, Count Palatine of Sulzbach 14. Christian Augustus, Count Palatine of Sulzbach 29. Hedwig of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp 7. Hedwig of the Palatinate-Sulzbach 30. John VII, Count of Nassau 15. Amalie of Nassau-Siegen 31. Margaret of Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön

References

1. Duchess Anna Maria Franziska of Saxe-Lauenburg was first the wife of Count Palatine Philip William of Neuburg then Gian Gastone de' Medici, last Medici Grand Duke of Tuscany
2. Later the Margrave of Baden, Elector of Baden then the Grand Duke of Baden
3. "Burial of the Margraves of Baden-Baden". royaltyguide.nl. Archived from the original on 30 May 2010. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
4. Genealogie ascendante jusqu'au quatrieme degre inclusivement de tous les Rois et Princes de maisons souveraines de l'Europe actuellement vivans [Genealogy up to the fourth degree inclusive of all the Kings and Princes of sovereign houses of Europe currently living] (in French). Bourdeaux: Frederic Guillaume Birnstiel. 1768. p. 36.

Augustus George, Margrave of Baden-Baden House of Zähringen Born: 14 January 1706 Died: 21 October 1771
Preceded by Louis George	Margrave of Baden-Baden 1761-1771	Succeeded by Charles Frederick as Margrave of Baden