Louis II, Elector of Brandenburg

Louis the Roman (German: Ludwig VI der Römer) (May 7, 1328 – May 17, 1365) was the eldest son of Emperor Louis IV the Bavarian by his second wife, Margaret II, Countess of Hainault, and a member of the House of Wittelsbach. Louis was Duke of Bavaria as Louis VI (1347–1365) and Margrave of Brandenburg (1351–1365) as Louis II. As of 1356, he also served as the first Prince-elector of Brandenburg.

Biography

Louis was born in Rome when his parents travelled there for his father's coronation as Holy Roman Emperor, hence his nickname "the Roman." When his father died in 1347, Louis succeeded him as Duke of Bavaria and Count of Holland and Hainaut together with his five brothers. Louis released Holland and Hainaut for his brothers William I and Albert I in 1349, since he expected to acquire the Polish crown by his marriage with Cunigunde of Poland, a daughter of Casimir III and Aldona Ona of Lithuania. Later claims against Albert were not successful.

In December of 1351 Louis VI received Brandenburg from his older half-brother Louis V in exchange for the sole rule of Upper Bavaria. Less experienced than Louis V, also he was challenged by the "False Waldemar," an impostor who claimed Brandenburg and got support from several cities and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV until the Wittelsbachs came to terms with him. With the Golden Bull of 1356, Louis was invested with the electoral dignity.

After Cunigunde's death in 1357, Louis married Ingeborg of Mecklenburg. She was a daughter of Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg, and Euphemia of Sweden. Louis had no children with her, either, thus his younger brother Otto V succeeded him in Brandenburg.

The childless dukes Louis and Otto had already promised Charles IV the succession in Brandenburg in 1364 as revenge for a conflict with their brother Stephen II over the Bavarian succession after the death of their nephew Meinhard, the son of Louis V. Louis VI died in Berlin in 1365.

Ancestors