Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg-Urach (original) (raw)

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Count of Württemberg (died 1450)

Ludwig I
Stained glass window in the Tübingen Collegiate Church depicting Ludwig as a praying knight, c. 1478.
Count of Württemberg with Ulrich V
Reign	2 July 1419 – 25 January 1442
Predecessor	Eberhard IV
Successor	Treaty of Nürtingen
Regent	Henriette of Mömpelgard (1419–1426)
Count of Württemberg-Urach
Reign	25 January 1442 – 23/24 September 1450
Successor	Ludwig II
Born	before 31 October 1412
Died	23/24 September 1450Bad Urach, Württemberg
Spouse	Mechthild of the Palatinate ​ ​(m. )​
Issue	5, including Ludwig II and Eberhard V
House	Württemberg
Father	Eberhard IV
Mother	Henriette of Mömpelgard

Ludwig I (before 31 October 1412 – 23/24 September 1450) was Count of Württemberg from 1419 and then count of Württemberg-Urach until his death in 1450.

Ludwig was born before 31 October 1412, the eldest son of Count Eberhard IV and his wife Henriette, Countess of Mömpelgard.[1] Eberhard died unexpectedly of illness on 2 July 1419, while Ludwig and his younger brother Ulrich were both minors.[2] Consequently, Henriette became their guardian, together with a regency council of 32 Württembergers.[3]

After his coming of age, Ludwig reigned in Württemberg since 1426. He first reigned alone and later, starting in 1433, together with his brother Ulrich V. Ludwig was married to Mechthild of the Palatinate. The wedding was celebrated on 21 October 1436 in Stuttgart. After Ulrich's wedding with Margarethe von Cleve, the two brothers agreed on the partition of Württemberg. This was first limited to four years, but was made permanent by the Treaty of Nürtingen, signed on 25 January 1442.

Ludwig received the part of Urach with the territories in the south and the west of the county, including the territories in Alsace. After the death of Henriette of Montbéliard in 1444, Ludwig also obtained Montbéliard. Ludwig remodeled Urach into his residence and implemented an active policy to strengthen the monasteries in his realm of power.

He tried to align Württemberg more with the Wittelsbach and Habsburg dynasties. For example he supported duke Albert VI of Austria in his fight against the Old Swiss Confederacy.

Ludwig died of the plague on 23 or 24 September 1450 in Bad Urach.[1]

Ludwig I and Mechthild of the Palatinate had the following children:

• Mechthild (aft 1436 – 6 June 1495), married since 1454 with Louis II, Landgrave of Hesse (1438–1471)
• Ludwig II (3 April 1439 – 3 November 1457), since 1450 Count of Württemberg-Urach
• Andreas (* 11.4 und † 19.5.1443)
• Eberhard V (11 December 1445 – 24 February 1496), since 1457 count of Württemberg-Urach, since 1495 Duke Eberhard I. of Württemberg
• Elisabeth (4 October 1447 – 3 June 1505), married since 1470 with Johann II of Nassau-Saarbrücken in Saarbrücken (1423–1472), and since 1474 with Heinrich dem Älteren, Count zu Stolberg (1436–1511)
• History of Baden-Württemberg

1. ^ a b Sönke et al. 1997, pp. 80–83, "Württemberg-Urach, Ludwig I., Graf".
2. ^ Schneider, Eugen (1896). Württembergische Geschichte (in German). Stuttgart: J.B. Metzlerscher Verlag. p. 51. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
3. ^ Fritz, Thomas (19 April 2018). "Graf Ulrich V. von Württemberg, gen. der Vielgeliebte (1413-1480)". stadtlexikon-stuttgart.de (in German). Stadtarchiv Stuttgart. Retrieved 12 March 2024.

• Sönke, Lorenz; Dieter, Mertens; Volker, Press, eds. (1997). Das Haus Württemberg. Ein biographisches Lexikon (in German) (Online ed.). Stuttgart: LEO-BW. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
• Media related to Ludwig I at Wikimedia Commons