Ludwig III of Bavaria

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Ludwig III
King of Bavaria
Reign November 5, 1913 - November 7, 1918
Born January 7, 1845(1845-01-07)
Birthplace Munich
Died October 18, 1921 (aged 76)
Place of death Sárvár, Hungary
Predecessor Otto
Consort Maria Theresia of Austria-Este
Issue Rupprecht, Adelgunde, Maria, Karl, Franz, Mathilde, Wolfgang, Hildegarde, Notburga, Wiltrud, Helmtrud, Dietlinde, Gundelinde
Royal House Wittelsbach
Father Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria
Mother Archduchess Augusta of Austria

Ludwig III (Ludwig Leopold Joseph Maria Aloys Alfred), (January 7, 1845 – October 18, 1921) was the last King of Bavaria, reigning from 1913 to 1918.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Ludwig was born in Munich, the eldest son of Prince Luitpold of Bavaria and of his wife, Archduchess Augusta of Austria (daughter of Grand Duke Leopold II of Tuscany). Ludwig was named for his grandfather King Ludwig I of Bavaria.

Ludwig spent his first years living in the Electoral Rooms of the Munich Residenz and in the Wittelsbacher Palace. When he was ten years old, the family moved to the Leuchtenberg Palace.

In 1861 at the age of sixteen Ludwig began his military career when his uncle King Maximilian II of Bavaria gave him a commission as a lieutenant in the 6th Jägerbattalion. A year later he entered the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich where he studied law and economics. When he was eighteen he automatically became a member of the Senate of the Bavarian Legislature as a prince of the royal house.

In 1866 Bavaria was allied with the Austrian Empire in the Austro-Prussian War. Ludwig held the rank of Oberleutnant; he was wounded at the Battle of Helmstedt, taking a bullet in his thigh. He received the Knight's Cross 1st Class of the Bavarian Military Merit Order

[edit] Marriage and children

King Ludwig III, his consort Maria Theresia and their son crown prince Rupprecht
King Ludwig III, his consort Maria Theresia and their son crown prince Rupprecht

In June 1867, Ludwig visited Vienna to attend the funeral of his cousin, Archduchess Mathilde of Austria (daughter of his father's sister Princess Hildegarde of Bavaria). While there Ludwig met Mathilde's eighteen year old step-cousin Maria Theresia, Archduchess of Austria-Este.

On February 20, 1868, at St. Augustine's Church in Vienna, Ludwig married Maria Theresa. She was the only daughter of the late Archduke Ferdinand Karl Viktor of Austria-Este (1821-1849) and of his wife Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria (1831-1903).

Until 1862 Ludwig's uncle had reigned as King Otto I of Greece. Although Otto had been deposed, Ludwig was still in line of succession to the Greek throne. Had he ever succeeded, this would have required that he renounce his Catholic faith and become Orthodox. Maria Theresa's uncle Duke Francis V of Modena was a staunch Catholic. He required that as part of the marriage agreement Ludwig renounce his rights to the throne of Greece, and so ensure that his children would be raised Catholic. In addition, the 1843 Greek Constitution forbade the Greek sovereign to be simultaneously ruler of another country. Consequently, Ludwig's younger brother Leopold technically succeeded upon their father's death to the rights of the deposed Otto I, King of Greece.

By his marriage, Ludwig became a wealthy man. Maria Teresa had inherited large properties from her father. She owned the estate of Sárvár in Hungary and the estate of Eiwanowitz in Moravia (now Ivanovice na Hané in the Czech Republic). The income from these estates enabled Ludwig to purchase an estate at Leutstetten in Bavaria. Over the years Ludwig expanded the Leutstetten estate until it became one of the largest and most profitable in Bavaria.

Although they maintained a residence in Munich at the Leuchtenberg Palace, Ludwig and Maria Theresa lived mostly at Leutstetten. They had an extremely happy and devoted marriage which resulted in thirteen children:

On the death of her uncle Francis in 1875, Maria Theresa became heir to his Jacobite claim to the throne of England, and is called either Queen Mary IV and III or Queen Mary III by Jacobites.

Throughout his life Ludwig took a great interest in agriculture. From 1868 he was the Honorary President of the Central Committee of the Bavarian Agricultural Society. He was also very interested in technology, particularly water power. In 1891 at his initiation the Bavarian Canal Society was established. As a prince of the royal house he was automatically a member of the Senate of the Bavarian Legislature; there he was a great supporter of the direct right to vote.

[edit] Regent of Bavaria

On December 12, 1912, Ludwig's father Luitpold died. Luitpold had been an active participant in the deposing of his nephew, King Ludwig II of Bavaria and had also acted as Prince Regent for his other nephew, King Otto. King Otto had been judged to be mentally incapable of ruling. Ludwig immediately succeeded his father as Prince Regent.

Caricature by Olaf Gulbransson 1912: "Manoeuvre: Emperor William II explains the enemy's positions to Prince Ludwig of Bavaria"
Caricature by Olaf Gulbransson 1912: "Manoeuvre: Emperor William II explains the enemy's positions to Prince Ludwig of Bavaria"

Almost immediately there were certain elements in the press and other groups in society which called for Ludwig to be installed as King of Bavaria instead of Prince Regent. The Bavarian Legislature was not, however, currently in session, and did not meet until September 29, 1913. On November 4, 1913, the Legislature amended the constitution of Bavaria to include a clause specifying that if a regency for reasons of incapacity had lasted for ten years with no expectation that the king would ever be able to reign, the regent could proclaim the end of the regency and the demise of the crown, with such action to be ratified by the Legislature. The amendment received broad party support in the Lower Chamber where it was carried by a vote of 122 in favour, and 27 against. In the Senate there were only six votes against the amendment. The next day, November 5, 1913, Ludwig announced to the Legislature the end of the regency and deposed his cousin King Otto. The Legislature recognised Ludwig as King Ludwig III of Bavaria.

[edit] King of Bavaria

King Ludwig III
King Ludwig III

Ludwig's short reign was conservative and influenced by the Catholic encyclical Rerum Novarum. Prime Minister Georg von Hertling appointed by Luitpold in 1912 remained in office. Ludwig was sometimes derided as Millibauer (dairy farmer) due to his interest in agriculture and farming.

Accused of showing blind loyalty to Prussia, Ludwig became increasingly unpopular during World War I. As the war drew to a close, the German Revolution broke out in Bavaria. On November 7, 1918 Ludwig fled from the Residenz Palace in Munich with his family. He was the first of the monarchs in the German Empire to be deposed. On November 13 he signed a document releasing both civil and military officers from their oaths; the newly-formed republican government of Kurt Eisner interpreted this as an abdication.

[edit] In exile

In February 1919 Eisner was assassinated; fearing that he might be the victim of a counter-assassination, Ludwig fled to Austria, later moving on to Liechtenstein and Switzerland. He returned to Bavaria in April 1920 and lived at Wildenwart Castle. There he remained until September 1921 when he took a trip to Sárvár in Hungary. He died there October 18.

On November 5, 1921 Ludwig's body was returned to Munich together with that of his wife (who had died in February 1919). They were given a state funeral and were buried in the crypt of the cathedral.

[edit] Ancestry

Ludwig's' ancestors to the third generation
Ludwig III, King of Bavaria Father:
Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria		 Paternal Grandfather:
Ludwig I of Bavaria		 Paternal Great-Grandfather:
Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria
Paternal Great-Grandmother:
Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt
Paternal Grandmother:
Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen		 Paternal Great-Grandfather:
Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg
Paternal Great-Grandmother:
Charlotte Georgine Luise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Mother:
Augusta of Austria		 Maternal Grandfather:
Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany		 Maternal Great-Grandfather:
Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany
Maternal Great-Grandmother:
Luisa Maria Amelia Teresa of the Two Sicilies
Maternal Grandmother:
Maria Anna of Saxony		 Maternal Great-Grandfather:
Maximilian of Saxony
Maternal Great-Grandmother:
Caroline of Bourbon-Parma

[edit] External links

[edit] Bibliography

  • Ludwig III. von Bayern, 1845-1921, Ein König auf der Suche nach seinem Volk, by Alfons Beckenbauer (Regensburg: Friedrich Pustet, 1987). The standard modern biography.
  • Ludwig, Prinz von Bayern, Ein Lebens und Charakterbild, by Hans Reidelbach (München: Eduard Pohls, 1905). Particularly good for Ludwig's early life.
  • Von der Umsturznacht bis zur Totenbahre: Die letzte Leidenszeit König Ludwigs III., by Arthur Achleitner (Dillingen: Veduka, 1922). A detailed work about the last three years of Ludwig's life.
  • Ludwig III. König von Bayern: Skizzen aus seiner Lebensgeschichte, by Hubert Glaser (Prien: Verkerhrsverband Chiemsee, 1995). An illustrated catalogue of an exhibition held in Wildenwart in 1995.
Ludwig III of Bavaria
Born: 7 January 1845 Died: 18 October 1921
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Luitpold		 Regent of Bavaria
December 12, 1912 – November 13, 1918		 Became King
Preceded by
Otto I		 King of Bavaria
November 5, 1913 – November 13, 1918		 Monarchy abolished
Political offices
Preceded by
Otto I
as King of Bavaria		 Bavarian Head of State
November 5, 1913 – November 13, 1918		 Succeeded by
Kurt Eisner
as Prime Minister of Bavaria
Titles in pretence
Loss of title
 — TITULAR —
King of Bavaria
November 13, 1918 – October 18, 1921		 Succeeded by
Crown Prince Rupprecht
Royal coat of Arms of Bavaria
Pretenders to the Bavarian
throne since 1918

King Ludwig III (1918-1921)
Crown Prince Rupprecht (1921-1955)
Duke Albrecht (1955-1996)
Duke Franz (1996-)
See also House of Wittelsbach