Bavaria's Royal Family: A Historical Overview

The House of Wittelsbach is a former Bavarian dynasty that ruled over Bavaria from 1180 until 1918. The family also ruled over other territories, including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, Holland, Zeeland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Hungary, Bohemia, and Greece.

The first King of Bavaria was Maximilian I Joseph, who ruled from 1806 until his death in 1825. He was succeeded by his son, King Ludwig I, who was forced to abdicate in 1848. The last King of Bavaria was Ludwig III, who reigned from 1913 until he was deposed in 1918.

The House of Wittelsbach ruled Bavaria for 738 years

The House of Wittelsbach is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, Holland, Zeeland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Hungary, Bohemia, and Greece.

The family provided two Holy Roman Emperors, Louis IV and Charles VII, both members of the Bavarian branch of the family, and one German King, Rupert of the Palatinate.

The first step toward extending their authority outside Bavaria was made in 1214, when Otto II, through marriage, obtained the Palatinate of the Rhine. A descendant, Louis, became Duke of Bavaria in 1294 and Holy Roman Emperor, as Louis IV, in 1328. In 1329, by the Treaty of Pavia, Louis IV made the first important division of the Wittelsbach lands by granting the Palatinate of the Rhine and the Upper Palatinate of Bavaria to his brother’s sons, Rudolf II and Rupert I.

The Bavarian branch kept the duchy of Bavaria until its extinction in 1777. The Electorate of Bavaria was elevated to the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1806 by Napoleon. The Kingdom of Bavaria was ruled by the House of Wittelsbach until 1918.

Bavaria was a kingdom for only the last 112 years of Wittelsbach rule

The Wittelsbachs, one of the oldest Catholic dynasties in Germany, ruled Bavaria from 1180 to 1918. The Kingdom of Bavaria was created in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918.

In 1805, Elector Maximilian IV Joseph elevated Bavaria from an electorate to a kingdom, and he served as King of Bavaria from 1 January to 1 August 1806 when Bavaria seceded from the Holy Roman Empire. He then became known as Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria. Maximilian was King until his death in 1825.

Maximilian was succeeded by his son, King Ludwig I, who ruled from 1825 to 1848. Ludwig was a dedicated patron of the arts, particularly classical design, and several neoclassical buildings were constructed during his reign. He was forced to abdicate in 1848 in favour of his son, King Maximilian II, due to his repeated attempts to assert royal authority when the government and citizens would not accept it.

Maximilian II, who ruled from 1848 to 1864, was a popular and stable ruler. He was an academic and sought to engage with philosophers, historians, playwrights, and scientists. He also worked to maintain Bavaria's independence.

Maximilian II was succeeded by his cousin and friend, King Ludwig II, who ruled from 1864 to 1886. Ludwig had little interest in ruling and spent much of his time on the arts and architecture. He is known for building Neuschwanstein Castle, a Romanesque castle in the Alps. Ludwig suffered from serious mental health issues and spent the last decade of his life in relative seclusion. He was declared insane in 1886 and died under mysterious circumstances.

Ludwig was succeeded by his younger brother, King Otto I, in 1886. Otto never ruled in his own right due to his own mental health issues, and his functions were carried out by his uncle, Luitpold, and cousin, Ludwig, who served as regents. In 1913, Ludwig deposed Otto and took the throne for himself.

The last King of Bavaria, Ludwig III, ruled from 1913 to 1918. He declared Bavaria's allegiance with Germany in World War I, and in 1918, the German Revolution saw the end of the Bavarian monarchy. Ludwig was deposed in 1918 and died in 1921 while in Hungary.

Thus, Bavaria was a kingdom for only the last 112 years of Wittelsbach rule, from 1805 to 1918.

The last King of Bavaria was Ludwig III

Ludwig III was born on January 7, 1845, in Munich, as the eldest son of the future King Ludwig II of Bavaria. He became the heir apparent to the Bavarian throne upon his father's accession in 1864. Ludwig III had a military career and served in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, achieving the rank of lieutenant general.

In 1868, Ludwig III married Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria-Este, with whom he had thirteen children. He became king in 1913 upon the death of his cousin, King Otto I. Bavaria was still a kingdom at the time, but the power of the monarch had been greatly reduced due to the rise of democratic and republican movements.

Ludwig III's reign was marked by World War I, during which he supported the Central Powers. However, towards the end of the war, he attempted to negotiate a separate peace with the Allies, which failed. In the aftermath of Germany's defeat, the Bavarian Socialist Republic was proclaimed in 1918, and Ludwig III was forced to abdicate on November 13, 1918, bringing an end to the Wittelsbach dynasty's rule in Bavaria.

After his abdication, Ludwig III retired to his property in Sárvár, Hungary, where he lived with his family until the end of World War II. He died on October 18, 1921, in Sárvár, and was buried in the crypt of the Abbey of St. Bonifaz in Munich, the traditional burial place of the Wittelsbach dynasty. Despite the end of the monarchy, the descendants of Ludwig III continue to play a role in Bavarian culture and are considered cultural ambassadors of the state.

Ludwig III was deposed in the German Revolution of 1918-1919

Ludwig III was the last King of Bavaria, reigning from 1913 to 1918. He was deposed in November 1918, when the German Revolution saw the end of the 22 constituent monarchies in Germany, including the Bavarian monarchy. The German Empire was dissolved, and the Weimar Republic was created.

Ludwig III's short reign was conservative and influenced by the Catholic encyclical Rerum novarum. He was a keen supporter of electoral reforms and was initially a member of the Bavarian parliament at the age of 18. He was also a regent and de facto head of state from 1912 to 1913, ruling for his cousin, Otto. After the Bavarian parliament passed a law allowing him to do so, Ludwig deposed Otto and assumed the throne for himself.

Ludwig III led Bavaria during World War I. He was the first of the monarchs in the German Empire to be deposed. He fled to Hungary, Liechtenstein, and then Switzerland, before returning to Bavaria in 1920. He died in 1921 while in Hungary.

The current head of the House of Wittelsbach is Franz, Duke of Bavaria

Franz's family left Bavaria in 1937 and eventually settled in Hungary by 1940. In 1944, they were arrested after the German occupation and held in several concentration camps before being freed by American forces in April 1945. After the war, Franz finished his secondary education at the Benedictine Abbey in Ettal and then studied business at the Universities of Munich and Zurich.

Franz has a strong interest in art, amassing a large personal collection and holding numerous positions on boards and associations of museums and art-related organisations—he is the chairman of the Association for the Promotion of the Alte Pinakothek, an art museum in Munich, and the deputy chairman of the Munich Gallery Association. He is also a member of the board of trustees of the University of Munich and the Munich University of Philosophy, among others.

Upon his father's death in 1996, Franz became the head of the House of Wittelsbach and took the title Duke of Bavaria. Franz never married, so his heir is his younger brother, Max, Duke in Bavaria. Franz currently lives in a wing of Nymphenburg Palace in Munich, Germany, and uses Berg Castle in Starnberg, Germany, as his country home.

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