KING LOUIS /LUDWIG I OF BAVARIA ,GERMANY (1786-1868) WAS FRENCH ROYALTY AND GERMAN PRINCE OF THE HOUSE OF WITTELSBACH.HE TRANSFORMED MUNICH FROM A PROVINCIAL BACKWATER INTO ONE OF THE ARTISTIC CAPITAL OF EUROPE.

Louis, the well-educated eldest son of King Maximilian I, was a fervent German nationalist as a youth and served only reluctantly at Napoleon’s headquarters in the wars against Prussia and Russia (1806–07) and Austria (1809). In Bavaria he came to head the anti-French party, and at the Congress of Vienna (1814–15) he unsuccessfully advocated the return of Alsace and Lorraine to Germany. The liberal Bavarian constitution of 1818 bears his stamp, and he repeatedly resisted the demands of Klemens Metternich, the Austrian statesman, for basic changes in that document.

King Ludwig I was the second king of Bavaria. Although, like his father, King Maximilian I Joseph, he was born outside of Bavaria before the establishment of the Bavarian kingdom, his legacy is still felt to this day with no place being as strongly impacted as his capital city, Munich.Born in the Hôtel des Deux-Ponts in Strasbourg, he was the son of Count Palatine Maximilian Joseph of Zweibrücken (later Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria) by his first wife Princess 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.Ludwig Karl August was born on August 25, 1786 in Strasbourg in modern-day France to Maximilian I. Joseph and Princess Auguste Wilhelmine Maria von Hessen-Darmstadt. His godfather was King Louis XVI of France and his birth coincided with the death of Prussian King Frederick the Great who had died just five days before. He was the uncle of the famous Austrian Empress, Elisabeth, known primarily by her nickname “Sisi”.Instead of spending vast sums on the army and weapons, Ludwig invested his personal funds and those of the Kingdom of Bavaria on works of art and architectural projects. He wanted, he said, to make Munich "an Athens on the Isar."“I want to make Munich a city that should bring such glory to Germany that no one knows Germany when he hasn't seen Munich,” he proclaimed.1 “Ludwig believed in the educative value of art and was instrumental in the evolution of princely art collections into public museums for the benefit of all citizens. Ludwig's eccentric grandson, the so-called "Mad" King Ludwig II, is today more famous than his grandfather thanks to his construction of fantastic palaces  which attract tourists from around the world to Bavaria.  But the transformation of an entire city by Ludwig I is a more impressive achievement and in his day he was recognized as a major cultural force in Europe. The celebration of Ludwig's marriage on October 12, 1810 to Therese Charlotte Luise of Saxony-Hildburghausen was the first Oktoberfest. This is now probably Ludwig's greatest claim to fame, that and his scandalous affair at the age of 60 with the adventuress Lola Montez, which ended in his abdication in 1848. There is no denying that bier has played an important role in the development of Munich. And juicy gossip about the sexual pecadillos of the rich and famous attracts more readers than more erudite subjects. But focusing on these two aspects of his life alone to the neglect of his considerable accomplishments do King Ludwig I an injustice and one goal of this website is to try to correct this.On October 12, 1810, he married Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. Ludwig celebrated the wedding publicly in Munich with a celebration that became the Munich tradition of Oktoberfest. The field where Oktoberfest takes place in Munich every year was named after Ludwig’s wife, Theresienwiese.As Crown Prince, Ludwig became more involved in the day-to-day politics of his father’s government. He attended the Congress of Vienna where he advocated a pro-German nation stance and, in 1817, he even took part in the rising opposition to his father’s prime minister, Maximilian Graf von Montgelas, which led to the prime minister’s dismissal on February 2, 1817.In 1821, the Greek War of Independence (1821-1832) broke out. His official support for the eventually successful revolutionaries and a loan of 1.5 million guilders given to them from his personal fortune led to his second son, Otto, being crowned King of Greece in May, 1832 in London.It was a Free Imperial City for over 500 years and it is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is a district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is the third-largest city in Bavaria with a population of 286,000 citizens, after Neuss and Trier, Augsburg is Germanys third oldest city, being founded by the Romans as Augusta Vindelicorum, named after the Roman emperor Augustus. Augsburg is the only German city with its own legal holiday and this gives Augsburg more legal holidays than any other region or city in Germany. Augsburg was the home of two families that rose to great prominence internationally, replacing the Medicis as Europes leading bankers, the Fugger. Augsburg lies at the convergence of the Alpine rivers Lech and Wertach, in the south extends the Lechfeld, an Outwash plain of the post ice age between the rivers Lech and Wertach, where rare primeval landscapes were preserved. The Augsburg city forest and the Lech valley heaths today rank among the most species-rich middle European habitats, on Augsburg borders the nature park Augsburg Western Woods - a large forestland. The city itself is also heavily greened, as a result, in 1997 Augsburg was the first German city to win the Europe-wide contest Entente Florale for Europes greenest and most livable city. Augsburg is surrounded by the counties Landkreis Augsburg in the west, the neighboring towns and cities are Friedberg, Königsbrunn, Stadtbergen, Neusäß, Gersthofen, Rehling, Affing, Kissing, Mering, Merching, Bobingen, Gessertshausen und Diedorf. Augsburg has a continental climate. The city was founded in 15 BC by Drusus and Tiberius as Augusta Vindelicorum, the name means Augusta of the Vindelici. This garrison camp soon became the capital of the Roman province of Raetia, thus, Augsburg was the intersection of many important European east-west and north-south connections, which later evolved as major trade routes of the Middle Ages. Around 120 AD Augsburg became the capital of the Roman province Raetia, Augsburg was sacked by the Huns in the 5th century AD, by Charlemagne in the 8th century, and by Welf of Bavaria in the 11th century, but arose each time to greater prosperity. Augsburg was granted the status of a Free Imperial City on March 9,1276 and from then until 1803, it was independent of its former overlord, the Prince-Bishop of Augsburg. Frictions between the city-state and the prince-bishops were to remain frequent however, particularly after Augsburg became Protestant and curtailed the rights, with a strategic location as intersection of trade routes to Italy, the Free Imperial City became a major trading center. Augsburg produced large quantities of goods, cloth and textiles. Augsburg became the base of two banking families that rose to prominence, the Fuggers and the Welsers .

The future King Ludwig I of Bavaria married Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen on 12 October 1810 and the citizens of Munich were invited to attend the festivities on the field in front of the city gates. The wedding took place on the name day of the Bavarian King Maximilian I. The fields were named in honour of their new Crown Princess, Theresienwiese (Therese’s Meadows) and they are still called that. The decision was made to repeat the spectacle surrounding the 1810 celebrations and we now know the annual event as Oktoberfest.Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen was born on 8 July 1792 as the daughter of Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, and Duchess Charlotte Georgine of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. On 20 December 1809.

The future King Ludwig I of Bavaria married Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen on 12 October 1810 and the citizens of Munich were invited to attend the festivities on the field in front of the city gates. The wedding took place on the name day of the Bavarian King Maximilian I. The fields were named in honour of their new Crown Princess, Theresienwiese (Therese’s Meadows) and they are still called that. The decision was made to repeat the spectacle surrounding the 1810 celebrations and we now know the annual event as Oktoberfest.Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen was born on 8 July 1792 as the daughter of Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg, and Duchess Charlotte Georgine of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. On 20 December 1809, the future King visited Hildburghausen, where he had the choice between Therese and her sister Louise. He picked the 18-year-old Therese and their engagement was celebrated on 12 February 1810. He wrote to her, “I’ll be happy with you my dear, dear Therese.” At the beginning of October, Therese left home.Therese wore a floor-length empire dress with lace and silk. During the ceremony, she suffered from a terrible toothache. The ceremony took place in the evening and the city was illuminated by lights. The city celebrated with bread rolls, cheese, sausages, wine and beer and even held a horse race. As happy as he claimed he would with her, it was not to be. “Therese is distinguished by her heart, by reason, by beauty. I would not wish for a better woman, but I married without passion as it’s more profitable for the futureTherese of Saxe-Hildburghausen  (1792 – 1854)  is a famous people who is best known as a Royalty. Although it was very small, Saxe-Hildburghausen was an independent duchy from 1680 to 1826. In 1684 the duchy changed its capital from Heldburg to Hildburghausen, and changed its name to Saxe-Hildburghausen.In 1810, a Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen married Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria, who became king of Bavaria 15 years later. The marriage is the reason for the Oktoberfest, held annually in Munich.In 1826, the Ernestine duchies were reorganised after the last ruler of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg died without an heir. The duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen gave up his duchy in return for becoming Duke of Saxe-Altenburg. Hildburghausen was given to Saxe-Meiningen. Hildburghausen was not one of the duchies in the Imperial circle, Altenburg was, so by swapping his land the duke gained in social rank, even though the Holy Roman Empire no longer existedIn 1868, four districts were established in the duchy of Saxe-Meiningen. Hildburghausen was one of these districts, with boundaries very similar to those of the former duchy. It remained almost unchanged until 1993, when the former district of Suhl was dissolved and most of its municipalities joined the district.Crown Prince Ludwig, 24, known for his wandering eye, appeared smitten with his bride, whom he had only met a few days before. (It is also rumoured that she refused his invitations to his bedchamber before the wedding.) He also must have felt some sense of satisfaction for winning the princess, solidifying his position in both Bavaria and Saxony, and irking Napoleon in the process. It is well-known that Ludwig has little love lost for Napoleon, unlike his father, King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, who more than tolerates the French emperor.There was a collective audible gasp of excitement when the princess entered the Kapelle. She epitomized all the things that Germans find attractive. The princess had steely eyes, a regal face and demeanor, and curves which were both beautiful and practical. She was not fragile in appearance – au contraire, she looked strong in shape with a determined countenance. Her beauty is the type that would only increase with age.There was little wonder to those in attendance as to the reasons why she was on Napoleon Bonaparte’s short list for brides last year. He had been searching for an eligible princess to bear him an heir, and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen’s name had often come up. Her court said she had resigned herself to the idea that she would be his empress, but was overjoyed when Napoleon selected for his wife Maria Ludovica Leopoldina Franziska Therese Josepha Lucia von Habsburg-Lothringen, or Maria-Louise of Austria, for short. Either way, Napoleon married a German which he had insisted on, for both political and carnal reasons. (It is widely known that Napoleon suggested to his brother, Lucien, that he should also marry a German, after Napoleon had had an affair with a German dutchess).Update: October 19th, 1810, Munich: The wedding reception of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese, took place this past October 17th, on the meadow southwest of Munich. Ludwig became King of Bavaria upon his father’s death on October 13, 1825. He received the title “King of Bavaria” which he changed to “King of Bavaria, Duke of Franconia, Duke in Swabia and Count Palatine of the Rhine” in 1837. The new titles were a revival of the titles his family, the Wittelsbachers, had held in the Middle Ages and were largely symbolic. All of his successors carried these titles as well.At the opening of his reign, King Ludwig’s policies were overwhelmingly liberal. Just a month and a half after his ascension to the throne, he lifted the censorship of the press and gave them more freedom   a feat none of his predecessors would have dreamed about doing. In 1826, he had the Ludwig-Maximilian University moved from Landshut to its current home in Munich. He was also a strong supporter of the arts and of Bavarian culture. Throughout his reign, he worked to reverse his father’s secularization policies by re-erecting monasteries and returning confiscated property to the Church.With the July Revolution of 1830 in Paris, France, Ludwig’s fortunes and popularity began to wane — albeit primarily from his own doing. He reintroduced censorship of the press which he had abolished just five years previously and his reign became altogether more repressive. In March 1844, the Beer Riots broke out in Munich in protest to the increased price in bread and, as a result, of beer.More fatally, however, was his extramarital affair with Irish dancer Lola Montez which started in 1846. Although he had had many affairs, the intensity of this one caused public outrage. He visited her almost every day and even ennobled her with the title of Duchess of Landsfeld (“Gräfin von Landsfeld“). The affair led to protests at the Ludwig-Maximilian University which the King then ordered shuttered. More riots were the result which forced Ludwig to eventually reopen the university and expel Montez from Munich.On March 4, 1848, in coincidence with other riots in German-speaking lands, a large crowd stormed the Munich Residence with weapons stolen from the King’s armory. Ludwig’s brother, Prince Karl, was able to diffuse the situation, but the Royal Family as well as the King’s Cabinet turned against him. They forced him the sign the “March Proclamation” with substantial concessions.Lola Montez returned to Munich on March 16, 1848 despite her expulsion and a day later, the King was forced the endure the humiliation of allowing her to be searched by police. On March 20, 1848, King Ludwig I abdicated in favor of his oldest son, Maximilian II. He claimed he was not willing to rule under these conditions anymore.Ludwig lived another twenty years as an abdicated monarch. He spent his time continuing to support and enjoy the arts from his private fortune and was still very influential. He died on February 29, 1868 at the age of 81 years old in Nice. He is buried in St. Boniface’s Abbey in Munich which he had had built.

Ludwig  II was born in  August 24, 1845 at Nymphenburg Palace. As was customary at court in those times, he spent most of his time with his nurse. He maintained a good relationship with her throughout his entire life. His relationship to his parents was less harmonious. Ludwig II was already considered to be a dreamer at an early age and was consequently the exact opposite of his father, King Maximilian II, who was regarded as cool and rational. As a man, who had a passion for engineering and science, Maximilian II recognised and appreciated the upcoming age of industrialisation. Ludwig’s mother, a Prussian lady from the House of Hohenzollern, was a little more affectionate. But contrary to offspring from the Prussian dynasty, Ludwig was not educated with military drill, but liberally, Christian and almost a little antimilitaristic. Ludwig’s birth certificate, however, reads August 25. Some suspect this was altered to further associate Ludwig II with his namesake, his grandfather and reigning King of Bavaria, Ludwig I.The plan worked, sort of. Ludwig II was particularly close to his famous grandfather. Like his grandson, Ludwig I was a passionate supporter of the arts, and spent as much time pursuing his own creative interests as he did the matters of the nation. And, less favorably, like his grandson, Ludwig I would also be chased from the throne.Ludwig II was less attached to his parents. His father, the king, although distant and detached, also saw to it that Ludwig had a strict, disciplined upbringing. He hoped, if nothing else, to mold young Ludwig into the ideal successor, a role Ludwig chaffed against. Ludwig summed up his relationship to both parents later in life, when he un-affectionately referred to his own mother as “my predecessor’s consort.”Ludwig was born into the House of Wittelsbach, a royal house that dated back as early as 980 AD, and included Holy Roman Emperors Louis IV and Charles VII. House Wittelsbach survives today under Franz, Duke of Bavaria.Ludwig had a solitary childhood, but he did have one good friend at least, his cousin, Duchess Elizabeth of Bavaria. The two shared a love of nature, poetry, and riding, and referred to each other as “Eagle” and “Dove.” Elizabeth would go on to become Empress of Austria, before her murder at the hands of an anarchist in 1893.When Ludwig was 15 years old, his father took him to a performance of Tannhäuser by Richard Wagner. Ludwig was enthralled. This introduction to the theater, and especially the works of Wagner, would have a profound effect on him for the rest of his life.Ludwig would later meet Wagner, spending nearly two hours with the great composer. The two hit it off, and would meet often after that, but Wagner worried for the young monarch, saying “Alas, he is so handsome and wise, soulful and lovely, that I fear that his life must melt away in this vulgar world like a fleeting dream of the gods.”Ludwig became Wagner’s greatest patron, giving the composer a kind of home base in Munich. However, the Münchners were scandalized by Wagner’s extravagant lifestyle and chased him out of town. Ludwig considered abdicating out of artistic principle, but Wagner talked him out of it.Ludwig continued to lend financial support to the exiled composer and even built him a house in Switzerland where he could stay until he was able to return to Munich.For the rest of his life, Ludwig would be a committed patron of the arts. In addition to his support of Wagner, he would be instrumental in bringing the works of Shakespeare, Ibsen, and Mozart to Munich for the first time.Maximillian II died in 1864, leaving Ludwig II in control of Bavaria. Ludwig was only 18 years old and had little interest in matters of politics or statecraft. His first order of business was to establish a new Court Theater.In addition to serving as King of Bavaria, Ludwig II also held the titles Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria, Duke of Franconia, and Duke of Swabia. These were essentially ceremonial titles dating back the Holy Roman Empire, and most of the regions they referred to had been incorporated into Bavaria by the time Ludwig succeeded to the throne.Four years later, Prussia entered into the Franco-Prussian War. Obligated to support Prussia, Bavaria essentially ceded its status as an independent kingdom, becoming part of the North German Confederacy.n 1867, Ludwig became engaged to his cousin, Duchess Sophia of Bavaria. Sophia was the sister of his beloved friend, Elizabeth. After several postponements, the engagement was finally broken off in October of that year. While no reason was ever announced, Ludwig claimed in a letter to Sophia, “your cruel father has torn us apart!”Though strange Ludwig II stories have shaped modern perceptions about this fairytale king, his life was more complicated than supposed fits of madness. He ruled Bavaria when his kingdom lost its autonomy, thanks to the unification of Germany and the establishment of the German Empire. He was probably unsuited to royal life, preferring to dream up fantastic, storybook castles than go about the practical work of ruling a kingdom in transition.Part of the mystique and tragedy surrounding Ludwig stems from his appearing as a king out of time, in some ways. He was backward-looking, falling hard for the mythical operas of Richard Wagner and conjuring up medieval castles to which he could retreat from the demands of modern life. His untimely, violent death in 1886 anticipated the end of the 19th century, when a world came crashing down a few decades later during World War I.