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Albert IV (15 December 1447 – 18 March 1508; ) was
Duke of Bavaria The following is a list of monarchs during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by several dukes and kings, partitioned and reunited, under several dynasties. Since 1918, Bavaria has been under a republican form of government, and from 19 ...
-Munich from 1467, and duke of the reunited
Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
from 1503.


Biography

Albert was a son of Albert III, Duke of Bavaria and Anna of Brunswick-Grubenhagen-Einbeck. He was born in
Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...
. After the death of his older brother John IV, Duke of Bavaria he gave up his spiritual career and returned from
Pavia Pavia ( , ; ; ; ; ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, in Northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino (river), Ticino near its confluence with the Po (river), Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was a major polit ...
to Munich. When his brothers Christoph and Wolfgang had resigned Albert became sole duke, but a new duchy Bavaria- Dachau was created from Bavaria-Munich for his brother Duke
Sigismund Sigismund (variants: Sigmund, Siegmund) is a German proper name, meaning "protection through victory", from Old High German ''sigu'' "victory" + ''munt'' "hand, protection". Tacitus latinises it ''Segimundus''. There appears to be an older form of ...
in 1467. After Sigismund's death in 1501, it reverted to Bavaria-Munich. The marriage of Kunigunde of Austria to Albert IV was a result of intrigues and deception, but must be counted as a defeat for Emperor Frederick III. Albert illegally took control of some imperial
fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...
s and then asked to marry Kunigunde (who lived in
Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...
, far from her father), offering to give her the fiefs as a dowry. The Emperor agreed at first, but after Albert took over yet another fief,
Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...
, Emperor Frederick III withdrew his consent. On January 2, 1487, however, before the Emperor's change of heart could be communicated to his daughter, Kunigunde married Albert. A war was prevented only by intermediation by the Emperor's son, Maximilian I. For Albert's wedding, Grünwald Castle was extended in 1486/87 under the direction of Jörg von Weikertshausen. In 1491–1492, Albert fought the rebellious '' Löwlerbund''. Albert finally decided to return territorial acquisitions in
Swabia Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...
in 1492 to avoid a war with the
Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...
and the
Swabian League The Swabian League () was a military alliance of Imperial State, imperial estates – Free imperial city, imperial cities, prelates, principalities and knights – principally in the territory of the early Middle Ages, medieval stem duchy of S ...
. He then also had to release Regensburg, which had been reunited with Bavaria in 1486, and had to reluctantly renounce Further Austria when Archduke Sigismund of Austria tried to make it over to Albert. After the death of the last duke of
Bavaria-Landshut Bavaria-Landshut () was a duchy in the Holy Roman Empire from 1353 to 1503. History The creation of the duchy was the result of the death of Emperor Louis IV the Bavarian. In the Treaty of Landsberg 1349, which divided up Louis's empire, his ...
, George in 1503, Albert managed to reunite the whole of Bavaria in a dreadful
war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...
against George's heirs, the Palatinate line of his
Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...
family but had to transfer the most southern districts of Bavaria-Landshut to his brother-in-law Emperor Maximilian as compensation for his support: Kufstein,
Kitzbühel Kitzbühel (, also: ; ) is a town rights, medieval town situated in the Kitzbühel Alps along the river Kitzbüheler Ache in Tyrol (state), Tyrol, Austria, about east of the state capital Innsbruck and is the administrative centre of the Kitzbüh ...
and
Rattenberg Rattenberg () is a City on the Inn River in the Austrian state of Tyrol near Rattenberg mountain and Innsbruck. With just 400 inhabitants and a surface area of 10 ha, it is the smallest city in the country. Geography The proximity of a mountain ...
passed to Maximilian in 1506 and were united with
Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...
. For the Palatinate branch a new duchy of
Palatinate-Neuburg Palatinate-Neuburg () was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire, founded in 1505 by a branch of the House of Wittelsbach. Its capital was Neuburg an der Donau. Its area was about 2,750 km2, with a population of some 100,000. History The Du ...
was created. To avoid any future division of Bavaria, Albert decreed the everlasting succession of the firstborn prince in 1506. Nevertheless, his oldest son and successor William IV, Duke of Bavaria had to share his power from 1516 onwards with his younger brother Louis X, Duke of Bavaria. After the death of Louis X in 1545, the edict became effective until the end of Bavarian monarchy in 1918. Albert is buried in the Frauenkirche in Munich.


Family and children

On 3 January 1487, Albert married Archduchess Kunigunde of Austria, daughter of
Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III (German language, German: ''Friedrich III,'' 21 September 1415 – 19 August 1493) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1452 until his death in 1493. He was the penultimate emperor to be Coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor, crowned by the p ...
and his wife Eleonor of Portugal. They had eight children: # Sidonie (1 May 1488 – 27 March 1505) # Sibylle (16 June 1489 – 18 April 1519), married in 1511 to
Louis V, Elector Palatine Louis V, Count Palatine of the Rhine ( German: ''Ludwig V. von der Pfalz'') (2 July 1478, in Heidelberg – 16 March 1544, in Heidelberg), also Louis the Pacific, was a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty. He was prince elector of the Palatinat ...
# Sabina (24 April 1492 – 30 April 1564), married in 1511 to Duke Ulrich I of Württemberg # William IV, Duke of Bavaria (13 November 1493 – 7 March 1550) # Louis X, Duke of Bavaria (18 September 1495 – 22 April 1545) # Susanne (1499–1500) # Ernest of Bavaria (13 June 1500 – 1560), an eclassiastical official in
Passau Passau (; ) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the ("City of Three Rivers"), as the river Danube is joined by the Inn (river), Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's population is about 50,000, of whom ...
(1517–1540), Cologne,
Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...
in
Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...
(1540–1554) and Eichstädt, also administrator and owner of the County of Kladsko (1549–1560) # Susanne (2 April 1502 – 23 April 1543), married: ## in 1518 to Casimir, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth ## in 1529 to
Otto Henry, Elector Palatine Otto-Henry, Elector Palatine, (; 10 April 1502, Amberg – 12 February 1559, Heidelberg) a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty was Count Palatine of Palatinate-Neuburg from 1505 to 1557 and prince elector of the Palatinate from 1556 to 1559 ...


References


Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Albert Iv, Duke Of Bavaria 1447 births 1508 deaths 15th-century dukes of Bavaria 16th-century dukes of Bavaria House of Wittelsbach Nobility from Munich German Roman Catholics Burials at Munich Frauenkirche