Bad Rotenfels

Bad Rotenfels is a district in the city of Gaggenau, district of Rastatt, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located some 8 km northeast of Baden-Baden.HistoryOrigins in the Middle AgesThe township of Rotenfels was first mentioned in a royal transfer letter in 1041. In 1041, Count Heinrich von Calw, aka Emperor Henry III, ceded the Rotenfels estate along with other holdings to the Ufgau as free property as part of a larger transfer of property being made on the behalf of the marriage of his daughter Judit of Backnang-Sulichgau, Countess of Eberstein-Calw, to Hermann I, the Margrave of Verona.In 1102, there were disputes over the land owned by the Knights of Michelbach. Emperor Henry IV authorized the return of lost property, including the Rotenfels area, to the Cathedral chapter of Speyer in a deed dated 15 February 1102. Hermann II and Graf von Eberstein, who dominated the Ufgau at that time, then enforced the deed in the Ufgau. Gaggenau and Rotenfels remained provinces of the Ufgau under the Diocese of Speyer for the next century and a half.In 1112 Hermann II, son of Hermann I (d. 1074) began referring to himself as the Margrave of Baden, and from this time the separate history of Baden dates. Hermann appears to have called himself “Margrave” rather than “Count”, because of the family connection to the Margrave of Verona. Hermann II’s descendants, Hermann III, Hermann IV, and Herman V, added to their territories. Hermann III also served in the Second Crusade, Hermann IV served in the Third Crusade, and Hermann V served in the Fifth Crusade.