Crown of Baden, also known as the Grand Ducal Crown of Baden (German: die Badische Krone or Großherzoglich badische Krone) is a crown formerly used by the Grand Duke of

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in South Germany, in earlier times on both sides of the Upper Rhine but since the Napoleonic Wars only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Baden originated from the House of Zähringen. Baden i ...

and part of the Crown Jewels of Baden. The crown is 26 cm high and has a diameter of 13,8 cm. Today the crown is kept at the Museum of Baden (German: Badische Landesmuseum), which itself was built within the old walls of the former

Karlsruhe Palace Karlsruhe Palace (german: Karlsruher Schloss) was built in 1715 for Margrave Charles III William of Baden-Durlach after a dispute with the citizens of his previous capital, Durlach. The city of Karlsruhe has since grown around it. The building i ...

. Grand Duke Karl II of Baden was promoted from

margrave Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Em ...

to grand duke by Napoleon I, the cousin by marriage of his wife, Stéphanie Louise Adrienne de Beauharnais. Having come into a large amount of jewels and precious metals during the secularisation of many churches Karl II ordered a crown, befitting his new title on 20 May 1808. The design of the crown follows the general pattern typical of a European royal crown, but is unique in that the circlet and the arches of the crown are made of gold fabric rather than of a precious metal such as gold or silver-gilt. Karl II died in 1811 before the crown was completed; the persons in charge hurried production of the crown in time for the funeral. The rush is evidenced by the relative simplicity of the crown, and the use of cheap materials in the production such as steel and even paper mache. The aforementioned precious stones which ornament this crown are in metal settings which are attached to this circlet and these arches much like brooches pinned to fabric. At the intersection of the four arches of this crown is a blue enameled orb and a cross both set with diamonds. The cap on the inside of the crown is made of the same crimson velvet which also covers the reverse sides of the arches of the crown. The crown was never worn by any of the grand dukes.

References

Crown jewels Grand Duchy of Baden Monarchy in Germany {{germany-hist-stub