Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria

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Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria
Born	March 12, 1821 (1821-03-12)
Birthplace	Würzburg
Died	December 12, 1912 (aged 91)
Place of death	Munich, Bavaria
Buried	Theatinerkirche, Munich, Bavaria
Consort	Archduchess Auguste of Austria
Royal House	House of Wittelsbach
Father	King Ludwig I of Bavaria
Mother	Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen

Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria (German: Prinzregent Luitpold Karl Joseph Wilhelm Ludwig von Bayern) (12 March 1821–12 December 1912), was the regent and de facto ruler of Bavaria from 1886 to 1912, due to the incapacity of his nephews, Ludwig II and Otto.

[edit] Early Life

Luitpold was born in Würzburg, the third son of King Ludwig I of Bavaria and of his wife Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. He was the younger brother of King Maximilian II of Bavaria and of King Otto of Greece. In addition to being in line to the throne of Bavaria, Luitpold was also heir presumptive to the throne of Greece since his brother Otto had no children. However, the Greek law of succession required that Otto's heir convert to the Eastern Orthodox Church in order to become king; Luitpold was not willing to do this. Otto was deposed in 1862 and replaced by a Danish prince who became King George I of Greece. Otto died in 1867, leaving Luitpold and his descendants as representatives of Otto's claim; however, Luitpold never pursued this.

[edit] Regency

Prince Regent Luitpold celebrating his 90th birthday in 1911

On June 10, 1886, Luitpold's nephew King Ludwig II was declared mentally incompetent and Luitpold was named Regent. Following Ludwig II's mysterious death a few days later, Luitpold continued to serve as regent for the new king, Otto, Ludwig's insane brother. Prince Luitpold was even accused by some people to be the murderer of his nephew, but later the decent and affable prince became one of Bavaria's most popular rulers. One of his first actions (on August 1, 1886) was to open several of the palaces of Ludwig II to the public.

During the regency of Prince-Regent Luitpold relations between Bavarians and Prussians remained cold with Bavarians remembering the anti-Catholic agenda of Bismarck's Kulturkampf as well as Prussia's strategic dominance over the empire.

Luitpold continued to serve as regent until his death of bronchitis in 1912 in Munich, when he was succeeded by his eldest son, Ludwig. He is buried in the crypt of the Theatinerkirche in Munich.

[edit] Cultural legacy

Luitpold's years as regent were marked by tremendous artistic and cultural activity in Bavaria where they are known as the Prinzregentenjahre or the Prinzregentenzeit. Bavaria prospered under a liberal government and Munich became a cultural centre of Europe. Thomas Mann wrote about this period "Munich shone" (1902 Gladius Dei).

There are numerous streets in Bavarian cities and towns called Prinzregentenstrasse or Luitpoldstrasse. Many institutions are named in Luitpold's honour including the Prinzregententheater in Munich and the Luitpoldarena and the Luitpoldhalle in Nürnberg. In 1891 Luitpold established the Luitpold Gymnasium in Munich. Prinzregententorte is a multi-layered cake with chocolate butter cream named in his honour.

Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria with his son Ludwig, his grandson Rupprecht and his great-grandson Luitpold in the park of Nymphenburg Palace

[edit] Family

On April 15, 1844, in Florence, Luitpold married Archduchess Auguste of Austria, second daughter of Grand Duke Leopold II of Tuscany. Luitpold and Auguste had four children:

• Ludwig III, King of Bavaria (1845-1921).
• Leopold Maximilian Joseph Maria Arnulf, Prince of Bavaria (1846-1930).
• Therese Charlotte Marianne Auguste, Princess of Bavaria (1850-1925) (de:Therese von Bayern)
• Franz Joseph Arnulf Adalbert Maria, Prince of Bavaria (1852-1907). Married Princess Therese of Liechtenstein and had a son, Heinrich Luitpold (1884-1916), killed in action during World War I.

[edit] Ancestry

[edit] External links

• The regent's photo