Louis of Ziegenhein (Merveilles des Morte)
| Louis of Ziegenhein | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Apostolic President | |
| Reign | 1549-1563 |
| Coronation | 29 November 1549 in New Jerusalem |
| Predecessor | Henry I |
| Successor | Gabriel I |
| Count of Ziegenhein | |
| Reign | 1499-1563 |
| Coronation | 15 July 1499 in Ziegenhein |
| Predecessor | Elizabeth |
| Successor | Henry II |
| Born |
1 October 1494 Weimar, Thuringia, Kingdom of Germany |
| Died |
15 January 1563 New Jerusalem, Rätian Union, Kingdom of Germany |
| Spouse |
Maria of Hesse |
| Issue | |
| House | House of Jenagotha |
| Father | Henry I |
| Mother | Elizabeth von Hohenlohe-Waldenburg |
| Religion |
Jungism (1506-) |
Louis I (1 October 1494 - 15 January 1563), commonly known as Louis of Ziegenhein was the Apostolic President of the Rätian Union after the death of his father, Henry IX/I, in 1549. He was also Count of Ziegenhein, which he inherited through his mother, Countess Elizabeth von Hohenlohe-Waldenburg (1470-1499).
After the long reign of his father, Louis ascended to the head of the Rätian Union at a time of instability in the Holy Roman Empire, with an imperial civil war breaking out a year later between the supporters of Henry X of Bohemia and Leopold II of Habsburg. Louis outwardly supported neither side; it was not until the War of the Three Henrys and the prospect of a future Jungist Holy Roman Emperor emerged that Louis supported Jungist-claimant Henry the Protector at the behest of fellow president Kurt Eisner.
Louis was a devoutly religious man and a strong, idealistic adherent of Thinwhitedukism. He largely had a hands off approach to rule over the union, hoping to embolden its elected officials instead. Louis instead dedicated his time to the architectural building of New Jerusalem, the Union's capital and the center of his theocratic ideology, and toward the strengthening of religious matters. Unlike his father he was far less tolerant of Catholics and religious dissidents, and he promoted the propagation of Jungist teaching through a robust education and publishing industry. He later became at odds politically with the likes of Marcus Cranach as Louis became against foreign Interventionism, even if in the name of spreading Jungist teachings, as he viewed free will and the right to democratically choose one's path as biblically supported. He cited the Oldenburg Commune as one such failure and likened brutal jingoism to Catholicism. Despite his defense of free will, within his own nation he supported censorship and inquisition.
Louis was a supporter of polygamous relations as his grandfather was, and he married prominent dynasts from Saxony and Hesse to strengthen ties with foreign Jungist nations. Louis died in 1563 and was succeeded by his son Gabriel I as Apostolic President, while the County of Ziegenhein passed to his second eldest son Henry I, who later succeeded Gabriel.