Ludwig (Württemberg)

Duke Ludwig

Ludwig , also Ludwig the Pious , (born January 1, 1554 in Stuttgart ; † August 28, 1593 there ) was the fifth reigning Duke of Württemberg from 1568 to 1593 .

biography

Ludwig "the pious" of Württemberg

Ludwig was the only surviving son of Duke Christoph (1515–1568) and after his death was initially under the tutelage of his mother Anna Maria von Brandenburg-Ansbach , Duke Wolfgang von Zweibrücken and Margrave Georg Friedrich von Brandenburg-Ansbach and Karl von Baden , in whose name Count Heinrich von Castell led the administration of the country. Gradually the heir to the throne was introduced into the affairs of government and increasingly took on political tasks. In 1577 Duke Ludwig accepted the invitation of Elector Friedrich von der Pfalz to negotiate an alliance of Protestant princes. Although the English Queen Elizabeth I supported this project, the alliance did not materialize. Duke Ludwig, however, signed the concord formula of 1577 and the concord book of 1580 in his own name and as co-guardian for the margraves Ernst Friedrich (1560–1604) and Jakob III. (1562–1590) from Baden. Formally, according to a determination by his father, he did not take over the government until he was 24 years old (1578), after having ruled essentially independently for several years.

Pedigree of Duke Ludwig

Later, Duke Ludwig was critical of a general Protestant alliance in renewed negotiations in 1585. He feared that such an alliance would indirectly support the Calvinists . But he also did not want to burden the relationship with the emperor and the imperial princes. He did not participate in any war during his reign. However, he undertook two smaller campaigns. When Count Ludwig von Löwenstein refused to recognize the duke's lordship in 1579, Duke Ludwig forced him to do so with military pressure. Due to an imperial order, in 1591 he moved against Colonel Konrad von Pappenheim Conrad von Pappenheim , who had illegally occupied properties on Lake Constance. As far as government activity is concerned, Duke Ludwig has long been underestimated. The Tübingen historian Volker Press said: "You can call the time of Duke Ludwig a silver Christophoric age". The Duke undoubtedly gave alcohol to a level that was unusual even for the time. He ignored warnings about this risky lifestyle. But he conscientiously carried out his government affairs and set his own political accents. He was burdened by the fact that his marriages remained childless and that he therefore had no son entitled to the throne. As a staunch Protestant, the Duke promoted the Württemberg regional church and promoted its structural development, which his grandfather Duke Ulrich and his father Duke Christoph had begun. During his reign, German schools were set up in many larger villages. But Duke Ludwig was also interested in theological questions, which he discussed with theologians. As ruler of one of the most important Protestant territories in the empire, he sent embassies to various religious discussions. At the Stuttgarter Hof, a proper representation was maintained. Duke Ludwig organized jousting games and elaborate hunts, but there were also drinking bouts. In addition, like no other sovereign of Württemberg before and after him, he carried out dynastic propaganda. He had stately buildings and churches equipped with family trees and coats of arms. In Stuttgart, at his behest, the New Lusthaus was built near the castle , in which the busts of his ancestors were placed.

Tomb of Ludwig von Württemberg in the collegiate church Tübingen

On August 28, 1593, Duke Ludwig died at the age of 39 without heirs. He was buried in the choir of the Tübingen collegiate church. The magnificent tomb in the burial place of the Württemberg dukes was created by Christoph Jelin . In his first marriage, the Duke married Dorothea Ursula von Baden-Durlach (1559–1583), daughter of Margrave Charles II of Baden-Durlach (1529–1577) in 1575 . After his wife died, he entered into a second marriage in 1585 with Ursula von Pfalz-Veldenz († 1635), daughter of Count Palatine Georg Johann von Lützelstein (1543–1592).

Coinage

• A very rare Güldensthal Duke Ludwig of Würtemberg and Teck, from A. 1574.

literature

• Otto von Alberti:  Ludwig, Duke of Württemberg . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 19, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1884, p. 597 f.
• Gerhard Raff : Hie good Wirtemberg all the way. Volume 1: The House of Württemberg from Count Ulrich the Founder to Duke Ludwig. 6th edition. Landhege, Schwaigern 2014, ISBN 978-3-943066-34-0 , pp. 574-588.
• Manfred Rudersdorf: Ludwig. In: Sönke Lorenz , Dieter Mertens , Volker Press (eds.): Das Haus Württemberg. A biographical lexicon. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-17-013605-4 , pp. 114-116.
• Eberhard Fritz : Monument to secure rule: Dynastic propaganda in the Stuttgart pleasure house . In: Nikolai Ziegler (arr.): "One of the noblest creations of the German Renaissance". The New Lusthaus in Stuttgart. Book accompanying the exhibition in the main state archive in Stuttgart. Stuttgart 2016, pp. 22–32. (concerns Duke Ludwig)

Web links

Commons : Ludwig von Württemberg  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Works by and about Ludwig  in the German Digital Library

Individual evidence

1. ↑ See BSLK , p. 16 and p. 763f.
2. ↑ Volker Press: Duke Christoph von Württemberg (1550–1568) as Imperial Prince. In: Wolfgang Schmierer / Günter Cordes / Rudolf Kiess / Gerhard Taddey (eds.): From South West German History. Festschrift for Hans-Martin Maurer. Stuttgart 1994. p. 382.
3. ↑ Eberhard Fritz : "... such friendship has been renewed and increased". Württemberg family tables as constitutive media in the conflict between Württemberg and Habsburg . In: Mareike Menne / Michael Ströhmer (eds.): Total Regional. Research on early modern economic and social history. Festschrift for Frank Göttmann on his 65th birthday. Regensburg 2011, pp. 115–128.
4. ↑ Details of the picture
5. ↑ Matthäus Heinrich Herold : Ancillary hours dedicated to the pleasure of coins, or description of a hundred pieces of strange and rare gold and silver coins. Illustrations and biographical information on pages 325 to 328

predecessor	Office	successor
Christoph	Duke of Württemberg 1568–1593	Friedrich I.