Ludwig I of Bavaria

Ludwig I
King of Bavaria
Portrait by Joseph Stieler, 1825
Reign 13 October 1825 – 20 March 1848
Predecessor Maximilian I
Successor Maximilian II
Spouse Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen
Issue
Maximilian II of Bavaria
Mathilde, Grand Duchess of Hesse and by Rhine
Otto, King of Greece
Princess Theodelinde of Bavaria
Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria
Archduchess Adelgunde of Austria-Este
Archduchess Hildegard of Austria
Princess Alexandra of Bavaria
Prince Adalbert of Bavaria
House House of Wittelsbach
Father Maximilian I
Mother Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt
Born 25 August 1786(1786-08-25)
Strasbourg
Died 29 February 1868(1868-02-29) (aged 81)
Nice

Ludwig I (also rendered in English as Louis I; 25 August 1786 – 29 February 1868) was king of Bavaria from 1825 until the 1848 revolutions in the German states.

Contents

Crown prince

Born in Strasbourg, he was the son of Count Palatine Maximilian Joseph of Zweibrücken by his first wife Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt. At the time of his birth, his father was an officer in the French army stationed at Strasbourg. He was the godson and namesake of Louis XVI of France. On 1 April 1795 his father succeeded Ludwig's uncle, Charles II, as duke of Zweibrücken, and on 16 February 1799 became Elector of Bavaria and Count Palatine of the Rhine, the Arch-Steward of the Empire, and Duke of Berg on the extinction of the Sulzbach line with the death of the elector Charles Theodore. His father assumed the title of King of Bavaria on 1 January 1806.

Starting in 1803 Ludwig studied in Landshut where he was taught by Johann Michael Sailer and in Göttingen. In October 1810, he married Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen (1792–1854), the daughter of Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen. The wedding was the occasion of the first ever Oktoberfest.

Ludwig strongly rejected the alliance of his father with Napoleon I of France but in spite of his anti-French politics the crown prince had to join the emperor's wars with allied Bavarian troops in 1806 and under François Joseph Lefebvre in 1809. In 1817 Ludwig was involved in the fall of Prime Minister Count Max Josef von Montgelas. He succeeded his father on the throne in 1825.

Reign

Ludwig I of Bavaria, ca 1830

Ludwig's rule was strongly affected by his enthusiasm for the arts and women and by his overreaching royal assertiveness.

An enthusiast for the German Middle Ages, Ludwig ordered the re-erection of several monasteries in Bavaria which had been closed during the German Mediatisation. He reorganized the administrative regions of Bavaria in 1837 and re-introduced the old names Upper Bavaria, Lower Bavaria, Franconia, Swabia, Upper Palatinate and Palatinate. He changed his royal titles to Ludwig, King of Bavaria, Duke of Franconia, Duke in Swabia and Count Palatinate of the Rhine. His successors kept these titles.

Ludwig's plan to reunite the eastern part of the Palatinate with Bavaria could not be realized. The Electoral Palatinate, a former dominion of the Wittelsbach, had been split up in 1815, the eastern bank of the Rhine with Mannheim and Heidelberg was given to Baden, only the western bank was granted to Bavaria. Here Ludwig founded the city of Ludwigshafen as a Bavarian rival to Mannheim.

Ludwig also encouraged Bavaria's industrialization. He initiated the Ludwig canal between the River Main and the Danube. In 1835 the first German railway was constructed in his domain, between the cities of Fürth and Nuremberg. Bavaria joined the Zollverein in 1834.

Ludwig supported the Greek fight of independence: His second son Otto was elected king of Greece in 1832.

After the July Revolution in France 1830, his previous liberal policy became more and more repressive. The Hambacher Fest in 1832 showed the discontent of the population with high taxes and censorship.

In 1837, the Roman Catholic supported clerical movement, the Ultramontanes, came to power in the Bavarian parliament and began a campaign of change to the constitution, which removed civil rights that had earlier been granted to Protestants, as well as enforcing censorship and forbidding the free discussion of internal politics. This regime was short-lived due to the demands by the Ultramontanes for the naturalization of Ludwig I's Irish-born mistress Eliza Gilbert (better known by her stage name Lola Montez). Ludwig resented this move and the Ultramontanes were pushed out.

In 1844 Ludwig was confronted with the Beer riots in Bavaria.

During the revolutions of 1848 the king faced increasing protests and demonstrations by the students and the middle classes. The Cabinet turned against him. Not willing to rule as a constitutional monarch, Ludwig abdicated on 20 March 1848 in favour of his eldest son, Maximilian.

He died at Nice, and was buried in St. Boniface's Abbey, Munich.

Ludwig I of Bavaria, ca 1860
Arms of the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1835.

Cultural legacy

Bavaria with Ruhmeshalle in Munich.

As admirer of ancient Greece and the Italian renaissance Ludwig patronized the arts as principal of many neoclassical buildings, especially in Munich, and as fanatic collector. Among others he had built were the Walhalla temple, the Befreiungshalle, the Ludwigstrasse, the Bavaria statue, the Glyptothek, the Old and the New Pinakothek. His architects Leo von Klenze and Friedrich von Gärtner also strongly influenced the cityscape of modern Athens. The king collected Greek and Roman sculptures, Early German and Early Dutch paintings, masterpieces of the Italian renaissance, and contemporary art for his museums and galleries. He placed special emphasis on collecting Greek and Roman sculpture. One of his most famous conceptions is the celebrated "Schönheitengalerie" (Gallery of Beauties), in the south pavilion of his Nymphenburg Palace in Munich. A collection of 36 portraits of the beautiful women painted between 1827 and 1850 mostly by Joseph Karl Stieler.

After his abdication, Ludwig remained an important and lavish sponsor for the arts. This caused several conflicts with his son and successor Maximilian. Finally Ludwig financed his projects from his own resources.

He moved the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität from Landshut to Munich in 1826.

Ludwig I of Bavaria, monument in the Walhalla

Because of King Ludwig's passion for everything Hellenic, the German name for Bavaria today is spelled "Bayern", while the language spoken there has retained its original spelling "Bairisch"—note the I versus the "Hellenic" Y.

Ludwig was an eccentric and notoriously bad poet. He would write about anything, no matter how trivial, with strings of rhyming couplets. For this the king was teased by Heinrich Heine who wrote several mockery poems in Ludwig's style. Ironically Ludwig's Walhalla temple added Heine's bust to its collection in 2009.

Private life and issue

In private life Ludwig was, in spite of his royal assertiveness, modest and companionable and was even known for his often shabby attire. Ludwig was hard of hearing and had a birthmark on his forehead which was often concealed in portraits.

Ludwig had several extramarital affairs and was one of the lovers of Lady Jane Digby, an aristocratic English adventuress. Ludwig also became tainted with scandals associated with Lola Montez, another of his mistresses. It seems likely that his relationship with her contributed greatly to the fall from grace of the previously popular king.

Issue by Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen ( 8 July 1792 – 26 October 1854; married on 12 October 1810 in Theresienwiese, Munich)

Name Birth Death Notes
Maximilian Joseph 28 November 1811 10 March 1864 succeeded as King of Bavaria
married, 1842, Princess Marie of Prussia; had issue
Mathilde Karoline Friederike Wilhelmine Charlotte 30 August 1813 25 August 1862 married, 1833, Ludwig III, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine; no issue
Otto Friedrich Ludwig 1 June 1815 26 July 1867 become the 1st King of Greece
married, 1836, Duchess Amalia of Oldenburg; no issue
Theodolinde Charlotte Luise 7 October 1816 12 April 1817 died in infancy
Luitpold Karl Joseph Wilhelm Ludwig 21 March 1821 12 December 1912 Regent of Bavaria
married, 1844, Archduchess Augusta of Austria-Tuscany; had issue
Adelgunde Auguste Charlotte Caroline Elisabeth Amalie Marie Sophie Luise 19 March 1823 28 January 1914 married, 1843, Francis V, Duke of Modena; had issue
Hildegard Luise Charlotte Theresia Friederike 10 June 1825 2 April 1864 married, 1844, Archduke Albert of Austria, Duke of Teschen; had issue
Alexandra Amelie 26 August 1826 21 September 1875 never married; no issue
Adalbert Wilhelm Georg Ludwig 19 July 1828 21 September 1875 married, 1856, Infanta Amalia of Spain; had issue

Ancestry

Ancestors of Ludwig I of Bavaria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 16. Christian II, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 8. Christian III, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 17. Countess Katharina Agathe of Rappoltstein
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4. Count Palatine Frederick Michael of Zweibrücken
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 18. Ludwig Kraft, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 9. Countess Caroline of Nassau-Saarbrücken
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 19. Countess Philippine Henriette of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2. Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 20. Theodore Eustace, Count Palatine of Sulzbach
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 10. Joseph Karl Emanuel August, Count Palatine of Sulzbach
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 21. Marie Eleonore of Hessen-Rheinfels
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 5. Countess Palatine Maria Franziska of Sulzbach
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 22. Charles III Philip, Elector Palatine
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 11. Countess Palatine Elizabeth Augusta Sophie of Neuburg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 23. Ludwika Karolina Radziwiłł
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1. Ludwig I of Bavaria
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 24. Ernest Louis, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12. Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 25. Margravine Dorothea Charlotte of Brandenburg-Ansbach
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 6. Landgrave George William of Hesse-Darmstadt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 26. Johann Reinhard III, Prince of Hanau-Lichtenberg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 13. Countess Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 27. Margravine Dorothea Friederike of Brandenburg-Ansbach
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 3. Landgravine Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 28. Johann Karl August, Count of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Heidesheim
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 14. Christian Karl Reinhard, Count of Leiningen-Dagsburg-Heidesheim
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 29. Countess Johanna Magdalene of Hanau-Lichtenberg
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7. Countess Marie Luise Leiningen-Dagsburg-Heidesheim
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 30. Ludwig, Count of Solms-Rödelheim
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 15. Countess Katherine Polyxene of Solms-Rödelheim-Assenheim
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 31. Countess Charlotte Sibylla of Ahlefeld
 
 
 
 
 
 

Sources

External links

Ludwig I of Bavaria
Born: 25 August, 1786 Died: 29 February, 1868
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Maximilian I Joseph		 Wappen Deutsches Reich - Königreich Bayern (Grosses).jpg
King of Bavaria
1825–1848		 Succeeded by
Maximilian II