Albert IV (15 December 1447 – 18 March 1508; german: Albrecht) was

duke of Bavaria The following is a list of rulers during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by several dukes and Monarch, kings, partitioned and reunited, under several dynasties. Since 1949, Bavaria has been a democratic States of Germany, state in th ...

-Munich from 1467, and duke of the reunited

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

from 1503.

Biography

Albert was a son of

Albert III, Duke of Bavaria Albert III the Pious of Bavaria-Munich (; 27 March 1401 – 29 February 1460), since 1438 Duke of Bavaria-Munich. He was born in Wolfratshausen to Ernest, Duke of Bavaria and Elisabetta Visconti, daughter of Bernabò Visconti. Life Albert ...

and

Anna of Brunswick-Grubenhagen-Einbeck Anna of Brunswick-Grubenhagen-Einbeck (1414 – 4 April 1474) was a daughter of Duke Eric I of Brunswick-Grubenhagen and his wife, Elisabeth of Brunswick-Göttingen. Anna's first marriage was with Duke Albert III of Bavaria. They had the foll ...

. He was born in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. After the death of his older brother

John IV, Duke of Bavaria John IV. of Bavaria-Munich (German: Johann IV., Herzog von Bayern), (4 October 1437, in Munich – 18 November 1463, in Munich) was duke of Bavaria-Munich from 1460 until his death. Biography John IV was a son of Albert III, Duke of Bavaria ...

he gave up his spiritual career and returned from

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the capit ...

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 Kunigunde of Austria (16 March 1465 – 6 August 1520), a member of the House of Habsburg, was Duchess of Bavaria from 1487 to 1508, by her marriage to the Wittelsbach duke Albert IV. Biography Early life Kunigunde was born in Wiener Neustadt, ...

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 (; la, feudum) 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 Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...

s and then asked to marry Kunigunde (who lived in

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (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 ...

, 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 or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

, 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. Albert finally decided to return territorial acquisitions in

Swabia Swabia ; german: Schwaben , 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 ...

in 1492 to avoid a war with the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

and the

Swabian League The Swabian League (''Schwäbischer Bund'') was a mutual defence and peace keeping association of Imperial State, Imperial Estates – free Imperial cities, prelates, principalities and knights – principally in the territory of the early mediev ...

. He then also had to release Regensburg, which had been reunited with Bavaria in 1486, and had to reluctantly renounce

Further Austria Further Austria, Outer Austria or Anterior Austria (german: Vorderösterreich, formerly ''die Vorlande'' (pl.)) was the collective name for the early (and later) possessions of the House of Habsburg in the former Swabian stem duchy of south-wes ...

when Archduke Sigismund of Austria tried to make it over to Albert. After the death of the last duke of Bavaria-Landshut,

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

in 1503, Albert managed to reunite the whole of Bavaria in a dreadful

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

against George's heirs, the Palatinate line of his

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate o ...

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 Kufstein (; Central Bavarian: ''Kufstoa'') is a town in the Austrian state of Tyrol, the administrative seat of Kufstein District. With a population of about 19,600 it is the second largest Tyrolean town after the state capital Innsbruck. The great ...

Kitzbühel Kitzbühel (, also: ; ) is a medieval town situated in the Kitzbühel Alps along the river Kitzbüheler Ache in Tyrol, Austria, about east of the state capital Innsbruck and is the administrative centre of the Kitzbühel district (). Kitzbühel ...

and

Rattenberg Rattenberg ( bar, Råttnberg) 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 proximit ...

passed to Maximilian in 1506 and were united with

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

. For the Palatinate branch a new duchy of

Palatinate-Neuburg Palatinate-Neuburg (german: Herzogtum Pfalz-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 ...

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 William IV (german: Wilhelm IV; 13 November 1493 – 7 March 1550) was Duke of Bavaria from 1508 to 1550, until 1545 together with his younger brother Louis X, Duke of Bavaria. He was born in Munich to Albert IV and Kunigunde of Austria, a daug ...

had to share his power from 1516 onwards with his younger brother

Louis X, Duke of Bavaria Louis X (German: Ludwig X, Herzog von Bayern), ( Grünwald, 18 September 1495 – 22 April 1545 in Landshut) was Duke of Bavaria (1516–1545), together with his older brother William IV, Duke of Bavaria. His parents were Albert IV and Kun ...

. 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 he married Archduchess

, daughter of

Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III (German: ''Friedrich III,'' 21 September 1415 – 19 August 1493) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1452 until his death. He was the fourth king and first emperor of the House of Habsburg. He was the penultimate emperor to be crown ...

and his wife Eleonor of Portugal. They had eight children: # Sidonie (1 May 1488 – 27 March 1505) #

Sibylle Sibylle is a given name. It may refer to: *Anna Sibylle of Hanau-Lichtenberg (1542–1580), eldest surviving daughter of Count Philipp IV and Countess Eleonore of Fürstenberg *Duchess Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia (1586–1659), Electress of Saxony ...

(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 was prince elector of the Palatinate. His ...

Sabina Sabina may refer to: Places and jurisdictions * Sabina (region), region and place in Italy, and hence: * the now Suburbicarian Diocese of Sabina (-Poggio Mirteto), Italy * Magliano Sabina, city, Italy * Pozzaglia Sabina, city, Italy *Fara Sab ...

(24 April 1492 – 30 April 1564), married in 1511 to Duke Ulrich I of Württemberg #

(13 November 1493 – 7 March 1550)Peter G. Bietenholz and Thomas Brian Deutscher, ''Contemporaries of Erasmus: A Biographical Register of the Renaissance and Reformation:Volumes 1-3'', (University of Toronto Press, 1995), 101–103. #

(18 September 1495 – 22 April 1545) # Susanne (1499–1500) #

Ernest of Bavaria Ernest of Bavaria (german: Ernst von Bayern) (17 December 1554 – 17 February 1612) was Prince-elector-archbishop of the Archbishopric of Cologne from 1583 to 1612 as successor of the expelled Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg. He was also bishop ...

(13 June 1500 – 1560), an eclassiastical official in

Passau Passau (; bar, label=Central Bavarian, Båssa) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany, also known as the Dreiflüssestadt ("City of Three Rivers") as the river Danube is joined by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's popu ...

(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 ...

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the ...

(1540–1554) and

Eichstädt Eichstädt is a village in Brandenburg, Germany. It is not to be confused with Eichstätt, Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an a ...

, also administrator and owner of the

County of Kladsko The County of Kladsko ( cs, Kladské hrabství, german: Grafschaft Glatz, pl, Hrabstwo kłodzkie) was a historical administrative unit within Bohemia as a part of the Kingdom of Bohemia and later in the Kingdom of Prussia with its capital at Kł ...

(1549–1560) #

Susanne Susanne may refer to: * Susanne (given name), a feminine given name (including a list of people with the name) *, later USS ''SP-411'', a United States Navy patrol boat in commission from 1917 to 1919 *, the proposed name and designation for a ves ...

(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 1559 and prince elector of the Palatinate from 1556 to 1559. H ...

References

{{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 Burials at Munich Frauenkirche