Ludwig I. (Württemberg-Urach)

Tomb of Ludwig I of Württemberg and his wife Mechthild in the collegiate church of Tübingen

Ludwig I (* before October 31, 1412; † September 23, 1450 in Urach ) was Count of Württemberg from 1419 to 1450 .

Life and Political Work

After the death of his father, Count Eberhard IV of Württemberg (1388-1419), he and his brother Ulrich V were placed under guardianship from 1419 to 1426. In addition to his mother Henriette von Mömpelgard , the guardianship of officials, so-called Regency councils, was taken over.

In 1426, Ludwig was declared of legal age at the age of fourteen. At first he ruled Württemberg alone.

One of his first activities was to confirm the agreements of the governors with the imperial cities in Urach on November 4, 1426 both for himself and for his brother Ulrich. Right at the beginning of his reign, the young count enjoyed great popularity. The city of Villingen placed itself under Württemberg protection for ten years on October 31, 1426, and Herrenalb Monastery on August 23, 1427 as its patron. On September 29, 1427, Count Ludwig and his brother Ulrich were officially enfeoffed by King Sigismund with their imperial fiefs and the Bohemian fiefs. On November 26th, 1427 Count Ludwig was taken from the royal court master, Count Ludwig von Oettingen, of the feudal oath.

At the beginning of 1428 Ludwig had with Albrecht III. von Bayern negotiated his marriage to Elisabeth von Württemberg (around 1412–1476), his father's half-sister. In the marriage contract were u. a. Castle and city of Göppingen are set as the bride's heir and a fine is agreed for non-compliance with the contract. Elisabeth, however, evaded the marriage and instead got married to her lover, Count Johann von Werdenberg , so that Ludwig had to pay the agreed fines.

When her mother Elisabeth von Nürnberg, the second wife of Eberhard III., Died heavily in debt in Schorndorf on April 29, 1429, a dispute with Berchtold von Schauenburg developed due to the debt claims , which among other things led to his attack on the Württemberg bailiwick of Nagold . On August 5, 1432, the city of Strasbourg allied itself with Ludwig due to its own disputes with Berchtold. Both moved together to the Schauenburg, and on September 11th a peace was concluded in which all mutual demands were settled.

In 1433, Count Ulrich also came of age and became a co-government; on December 6, 1433, both counts in Basel had the emperor confirm their freedoms.

After Ulrich's marriage with Margarete von Kleve (1416–1444) , the brothers agreed in 1441 to partition Württemberg, which was finally enshrined in the Nürtingen Treaty of January 25, 1442. Ludwig received the Urach part with the areas in the west and south of the country including the areas in Alsace . Mömpelgard was also added to Ludwig after the death of Henriette von Mömpelgard in 1444. Ludwig expanded Urach into a royal seat and pursued an active policy to strengthen the monasteries in his sphere of influence. In terms of alliance politics, he came closer to the Wittelsbachers and the Habsburgs . For example, he supported Duke Albrecht VI. of Austria in the fight against the confederates .

He died of the plague in 1450 and was buried in the Güterstein Charterhouse. Shortly after the 100th anniversary of his death, his grave was transferred to the choir of the collegiate church in Tübingen in 1554 together with his wife Mechthild, who was later buried next to him .

progeny

Ludwig was married to Mechthild von der Pfalz . The wedding took place on October 21, 1436 in Stuttgart . After his death, she married Duke Albrecht VI on August 10, 1452 . of Austria . The following children emerged from the marriage with Ludwig:

• Mechthild (* after 1436; † 1495), married from 1454 to Ludwig II. , Landgrave of Hesse (1438–1471)
• Ludwig II (* 1439; † 1457), from 1450 Count of Württemberg-Urach
• Andreas (* and † 1443)
• Eberhard V. (* 1445; † 1496), from 1457 Count of Württemberg-Urach, from 1495 Duke Eberhard I of Württemberg
• Elisabeth (* 1447; † 1505), married from 1470 to Count Johann III. of Nassau-Saarbrücken (1423–1472), and from 1474 with Heinrich the Elder, Count of Stolberg (1436–1511)

Web links

Commons : Ludwig I.  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Works by and about Ludwig I  in the German Digital Library

literature

• Roland Deigendesch: Ludwig I. In: Sönke Lorenz , Dieter Mertens , Volker Press (Hrsg.): The house of Württemberg. A biographical lexicon. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-17-013605-4 , pp. 80-83.
• 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. 266-274.
• Christoph Friedrich von Stälin : Württemberg history. Volume 3: Swabia and Southern Franconia: End of the Middle Ages, 1269–1496. Stuttgart 1856. Reprint Scientia-Verlag, Aalen 1975, ISBN 3-511-06133-4 , p. 432 ff. Online

predecessor	Office	successor
Eberhard IV.	Count of Württemberg (1419–1426 and 1433–1442 with Ulrich V. ) 1419–1442	Division of Württemberg through the Nürtingen Treaty
Eberhard IV.	Count von Mömpelgard (1419–1426 and 1433–1442 with Ulrich V. ) 1419–1450	Ludwig II.
Division of Württemberg through the Nürtingen Treaty	Count of Württemberg-Urach 1442–1450	Ludwig II.