Former state of southwestern Germany, which had Karlsruhe as its capital. Baden was captured from the Romans in 282 by the Alemanni; later it became a margravate and, in 1806, a grand duchy. A state of the German empire 18711918, then a republic, and under Hitler a Gau (province), it was divided between the Länder of Württemberg-Baden and Baden in 1945 and in 1952 made part of Baden-Württemberg.