Grand Duchy of Baden: Map & History

Constitution and government

A constitution was adopted on 22 August 1814, and existed with some changes until the end of the duchy. The Grand Duchy of Baden was a hereditary monarchy with executive power vested in the Grand Duke; legislative authority was shared between him and a representative assembly (Landtag) consisting of two chambers.

Legacy

After World War II the French military government created the State of Baden, at first called South Baden, out of the southern half of the former duchy, with Freiburg as its capital; this area was declared in its 1947 constitution to be the true successor of the duchy. The northern half was combined with northern Württemberg, becoming part of the American-occupied zone and forming the state of Württemberg-Baden. Both Baden and Württemberg-Baden became states of West Germany upon the latter's formation in 1949, but in 1952 they merged with each other and with Württemberg-Hohenzollern, which was southern Württemberg and a former Prussian exclave, to form Baden-Württemberg – still the only merger of states to have taken place in the history of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Geography

The grand duchy had an area of 15,081 km2 (5,823 sq mi) and consisted of a considerable portion of the eastern half of the fertile valley of the Rhine and of the mountains which form its boundary.

The mountainous part was by far the most extensive, forming nearly 80% of the whole area. From Lake Constance in the south to the river Neckar in the north is a portion of the Black Forest (German: Schwarzwald), which is divided by the valley of the Kinzig into two districts of different elevation. To the south of the Kinzig the mean height is 945 m (3,100 ft)), and the highest summit, the Feldberg, reaches about 1,493 m (4,898 ft), while to the north the mean height is only 640 metres (2,100 ft), and the Hornisgrinde, the culminating point of the whole, does not exceed 1,164 metres (3,819 ft).