Charles Theodore (german: link=no, Karl Theodor; 11 December 1724 – 16 February 1799) reigned as
Prince-elector
The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, la, Princeps Elector), or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
From the 13th century onwards, the princ ...
and
Count Palatine
A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an ord ...
from 1742, as
Duke of Jülich and
Berg from 1742 and also as prince-elector and Duke of
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 l ...
from 1777 to his death. He was a member of the House of
Palatinate-Sulzbach, a branch of the
House of Wittelsbach.
Family and ascent
Charles Theodore was of the
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 ...
house
Palatinate-Sulzbach.
[ Brockhaus Geschichte Second Edition] His father was
Johann Christian, who later became Count Palatine of Sulzbach. His mother was
Marie-Anne-Henriette-Leopoldine de La Tour d'Auvergne, Margravine of Bergen op Zoom, a grandniece of
Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Viscount of Turenne. Charles Theodore was born in
Drogenbos
Drogenbos (; ) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality only comprises the town of Drogenbos proper. On January 1, 2018, Drogenbos had a total population of 5,599. The total area is 2.49 km² ( ...
near
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
and educated in
Mannheim
Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's ...
.
Charles Theodore was the
Margrave of Bergen op Zoom from 1728 onwards. He then succeeded his father as Count Palatine of Sulzbach in 1733 and inherited the
Electoral Palatinate and the duchies of Jülich and Berg in 1742, with the death of
Charles III Philip, Elector Palatine. To strengthen the union of all lines of the
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 ...
dynasty Charles III Philip had organised a wedding on 17 January 1742 when his granddaughter
Elizabeth Augusta was married to Charles Theodore and her sister Maria Anna to the Bavarian prince
Clement.
As reigning Prince Elector
Palatine, Charles Theodore won the hearts of his subjects by founding an academy of science, stocking up the museums' collections and supporting the arts. When
Maximilian III Joseph
Maximilian III Joseph, "the much beloved", (28 March 1727 – 30 December 1777) was a Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire and Duke of Bavaria from 1745 to 1777.
Biography
Born in Munich, Maximilian was the eldest son of Holy Roman Empero ...
of Bavaria died in 1777, Charles Theodore became also Elector and Duke of Bavaria and moved to
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...
.
Bavarian succession
Charles Theodore did not immediately take up his new title. He had several mistresses and many illegitimate children. However, these children could inherit neither the Electorate of Bavaria nor that of the Palatine; Charles Theodore needed territory that he could bequeath to his illegitimate children. Charles Theodore also dreamed of resurrecting the
Burgundian Empire of the Middle Ages.
On 3 January 1778, shortly after the death of Max Joseph, Charles Theodore signed an agreement with
Emperor Joseph II to exchange southern Bavaria for part of the
Austrian Netherlands.
The plan was strongly opposed by
Maria Anna Sophia of Saxony, the widow of Max Joseph, and Charles Theodore's cousin
Charles II August, Duke of Zweibrücken, the head of the
House of Palatinate-Birkenfeld
The House of Palatinate-Birkenfeld ( German: ''Pfalz-Birkenfeld''), later Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, was the name of a collateral line of the Palatine Wittelsbachs. The Counts Palatine from this line initially ruled over only a relativel ...
and next heir of Bavaria and the Palatinate. They were supported by
Frederick II of Prussia
Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the S ...
, and most of the German minor states.
The ensuing diplomatic crisis led to the
War of the Bavarian Succession, which was ended by the
Peace of Teschen
The Treaty of Teschen (german: Frieden von Teschen, i.e., "Peace of Teschen"; french: Traité de Teschen) was signed on 13 May 1779 in Teschen, then in Austrian Silesia, between the Austrian Habsburg monarchy and the Kingdom of Prussia, which off ...
(1779). Charles Theodore accepted the Bavarian succession, but agreed that his illegitimate descendants could not inherit Bavaria.
Austria acquired the
Innviertel
The Innviertel (literally German for "Inn Quarter"; officially called the ''Innkreis''; ) is a traditional Austrian region southeast of the Inn river. It forms the western part of the state of Upper Austria and borders the German state of Bava ...
, a part of Bavaria in the basin of the
Inn River.
Charles Theodore had only one son with his wife,
Countess Elizabeth Augusta of Sulzbach, who died a day after birth. His wife died in 1794. In 1795, he married
Maria Leopoldine of Austria-Este, Joseph's niece, but they had no children. A second proposal to exchange Bavaria for the Austrian Netherlands in 1784 also failed as Frederick II of Prussia initiated the
Fürstenbund.
When Charles Theodore died, Bavaria and the Electorate passed to his cousin,
Max Joseph, Duke of Zweibrücken, the younger brother of Charles August, who had died in 1795.
In 1989, Marvin E. Thomas argued in '' Karl Theodor and the Bavarian Succession, 1777–1778'' that Charles Theodore wanted to maintain possession of his new territory, as is shown in his diplomatic correspondence.
[Thomas, Marvin E., ''Karl Theodor and the Bavarian Succession, 1777–1778.'' The Edwin Mellen Press: Lewiston/Lampeter/Queenston: 1989.] It is more widely understood that Charles Theodore continued the despotic and expensive habits he had developed as Elector Palatine.
Rule as elector of Bavaria
Charles Theodore never became popular as a ruler in Bavaria according to his critic
Lorenz von Westenrieder. He attempted, without success, to exchange the ducal lands of Bavaria for the
Austrian Netherlands and a royal crown, and he never managed to control the mounting social tensions in Bavaria. After a dispute with Munich's city council, he even moved the electoral residence in 1788 to Mannheim but returned only one year later.
In 1785, he appointed the
American Loyalist
Loyalists were colonists in the Thirteen Colonies who remained loyal to the British Crown during the American Revolutionary War, often referred to as Tories, Royalists or King's Men at the time. They were opposed by the Patriots, who supporte ...
exile
Benjamin Thompson
Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford, FRS (german: Reichsgraf von Rumford; March 26, 1753August 21, 1814) was an American-born British physicist and inventor whose challenges to established physical theory were part of the 19th-century revolut ...
as his aide-de-camp and chamberlain. Over the next 11 years, Thompson reformed the army and many aspects of the state, rising to high ministerial rank with Charles Theodore's backing, and becoming Count von Rumford.
Charles Theodore is also known for disbanding
Adam Weishaupt
Johann Adam Weishaupt (; 6 February 1748 – 18 November 1830)''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'Vol. 41, p. 539Engel, Leopold. ''Geschichte des Illuminaten-ordens''. Berlin: H. Bermühler Verlag, 1906.van Dülmen, Richard. ''Der Geheimbund der Ill ...
's order of the ''
Illuminati
The Illuminati (; plural of Latin ''illuminatus'', 'enlightened') is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on ...
'' in 1785.
In 1794, the armies of revolutionary France occupied the
Duchy of Jülich, in 1795 they invaded the Palatinate, and in 1796 marched towards Bavaria. Charles Theodore begged
Francis II for help that would have made Bavaria a puppet state of Austria. When he died of a stroke in Munich in 1799, the population in Munich celebrated for several days. He is buried in the crypt of the
Theatinerkirche in Munich.
Despite the mutual dislike and distrust between the Duke and his Bavarian subjects, Charles Theodore left a distinctive mark on the city of Munich: it was during his reign that the ''
English Garden'', Munich's largest park, was created, and the city's old fortifications were dismantled to make place for a modern, expanding city. One of Munich's major squares, ''Karlsplatz'', is named after Charles Theodore. Munich natives, however, seldom use that name, calling the square instead ''
Stachus'', after the pub "''Beim Stachus''" that was located there until construction work for Karlsplatz began, mainly because Charles Theodore, as noted above, never enjoyed the popularity in Bavaria that he enjoyed in the Palatinate.
Character
Charles Theodore was more interested in arts and philosophy than in politics. Victorian historian
Thomas Carlyle
Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy.
Born in Ecclefechan, ...
referred to him as a "poor idle creature, of purely egoistical, ornamental, dilettante nature; sunk in theatricals, bastard children and the like; much praised by Voltaire, who sometimes used to visit him; and
Collini, to whom he
harles Theodoreis a kind master."
The French foreign minister,
Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, knew him and described his foibles even more succinctly:
:
Although by nature intelligent, he has never succeeded in ruling by himself; he has always been governed by his ministers or by his father-confessor or (for a time) by the ectress is wife This conduct has increased his natural weakness and apathy to such a degree that for a long time he has had no opinions save those inspired in him by his entourage. The void which this indolence has left in his soul is filled with the amusements of the hunt and of music and by secret liaisons, for which ''His Electoral Majesty'' has at all times had a particular penchant.
In the course of his career, Charles Theodore acquired a celebrated secretary when the
Florentine noble,
Cosimo Alessandro Collini (1727–1806), who had been
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his '' nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—e ...
's secretary, accepted his patronage and remained in the Palatinate. Although Charles Theodore certainly wished to acquire more territory, he had only
illegitimate natural sons, thus he preferred territory that he could dispose of through his
testament, rather than territory encumbered by a legal
entailment that could only pass to a legitimate son.
Cultural legacy
Charles Theodore was a great lover of the arts, including drama and especially music. His Mannheim court orchestra was considered one of the finest in its time. The
Mannheim School (including composer
Christian Cannabich
Johann Christian Innocenz Bonaventura Cannabich (28 December 1731 (bapt.) – 20 January 1798), was a German violinist, composer, and Kapellmeister of the Classical era. A composer of some 200 works, he continued the legacy of Johann Stamitz ...
and conductor
Johann Stamitz) did groundbreaking work that the celebrated
Wiener Klassik would later draw upon.
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...
applied for a position with the Mannheim orchestra in 1777, but was turned down, as the court was about to move to Munich. In 1780, Charles Theodore commissioned ''
Idomeneo'' from the composer. Mozart quotes him as saying "No music has ever made such an impression on me. It is magnificent."
In keeping with the customs of the time, an Italian opera company as well as a troupe of French actors were employed at Mannheim, each performing in their respective tongues. Later, the ''Nationaltheater'' (national theatre) was established, one of the first theatres in Germany to exclusively showcase plays in the native tongue (most notably, the first staging of
Schiller's "Die Räuber" in 1782).
In the visual arts, a massive collection of plaster casts taken from celebrated antique works was assembled at Mannheim. The preexisting
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in ...
gallery, including many works by
Rubens, was first transferred to Mannheim, then to Munich, where it was later incorporated in the
Alte Pinakothek. While none of the Mannheim painters are particularly notable today (with the possible exception of Kobell, primarily a master of landscapes), the elector had several highly talented sculptors at his disposal, among them
Peter Anton von Verschaffelt, Simon Peter Lamine and Konrad Linck. Linck also distinguished himself as a designer of porcelain figurines at
Frankenthal.
Catalogue of the Paintings in the Old Pinakothek, Munich
/ref>
Charles Theodore's chief architect Nicolas de Pigage
Nicolas de Pigage (3 August 1723 – 30 July 1796) was a French builder.
Pigage was born in Lunéville. His father was a stonemason. In 1743 he began his studies at the École Militaire, changing to the Académie Royale d'Architecture after ...
was charged to complete the Mannheim Palace
Mannheim Palace (german: Mannheimer Schloss) is a large Baroque palace in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was originally the main residence of the Prince-electors of the Electorate of the Palatinate of the House of Wittelsbach u ...
, design the Schlosstheater and the gardens at Schwetzingen Palace (including numerous pavilions, among them several artificial "Roman" ruins and a "mosque") as well as Benrath palace. While these works are in a pure contemporary French style (marked by the transition from late Baroque to early classicism), some of the other architects employed by Charles Theodore were proponents of a more Italianate style. This mixture of influences is, in fact, typical of many German courts of the period. Charles Theodore was also responsible for the construction of the Old Bridge in Heidelberg, which bears his name as the ''Karl-Theodor-Brücke''.
Charles Theodore liked to style himself as a prince of peace, in contrast to other princes like his chief political opponent, the great warrior Frederick the Great
Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the Sil ...
of Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...
. Allegorically, Minerva
Minerva (; ett, Menrva) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Minerva is not a patron of violence such as Mars, but of strategic war. From the second century BC onward, the R ...
, the Roman goddess of wisdom and protectress of the arts, is often depicted as a stand-in for the elector himself. This self-view is best summed up in the inscription of a small monument at Schwetzingen:
''"A field of war and death of Romans and Germans has been discovered, through the unearthing of weapons, urns and bones, in the year 1765. – To the arts of peace, which are the sole joys of his life, the elector Charles Theodore has dedicated this spot, excavated to the height of seven feet, and had this monument erected in 1768."''
Family
Marriages and children
On 17 January 1742, in Mannheim, he married Elisabeth Auguste, daughter of Count Palatine Joseph Charles of Sulzbach
Joseph Charles, Hereditary Prince of Sulzbach (German: ''Joseph Karl''; Sulzbach, 2 November 1694 – Oggersheim, 18 July 1729) was the eldest son of Theodore Eustace, Count Palatine of Sulzbach.
Life
The Sulzbach line was related to the Pal ...
and his consort Countess Palatine Elizabeth Augusta Sophie of Neuburg. There was one child of this marriage who died in infancy, Francis Louis Joseph (28 – 29 June 1761).
On 15 February 1795, in Innsbruck
Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol and the fifth-largest city in Austria. On the River Inn, at its junction with the Wipp Valley, which provides access to the Brenner Pass to the south, it had a p ...
, he married Archduchess Maria Leopoldine of Austria-Este. There were no children of this marriage.
Illegitimate children
From his liaison with the actress Françoise Després-Verneuil, later Countess von Parkstein (died 1765):
# Karoline Franziska Dorothea, Countess von Parkstein (1762 – 7 September 1816, Ickelheim); married Prince Friedrich Wilhelm zu Isenburg-Büdingen-Birstein
Isenburg-Büdingen-Birstein was a County of southern Hesse, Germany, located to the north of Gelnhausen. Isenburg-Büdingen-Birstein was created as a partition of Isenburg-Büdingen in 1511, and was partitioned into Isenburg-Birstein, Isenburg- ...
(13 December 1730, Birstein – 12 October 1804, Mannheim)
# son (1764–1765)
From his liaison with Maria Josefa Seyfert, Countess von Heydeck (17481771):
# Karoline Josepha von Bretzenheim (27 January 1768 – 27 April 1786); married Count Maximilian Josef von Holnstein (20 May 1760 – 1838) in 1784
# Karl August, Count of Heydeck and Reichsfürst von Bretzenheim, (24 December 1769 – 27 February 1823) married Maria Walburga von Oettingen-Spielberg
The House of Oettingen was a high-rank noble Franconian and Swabian family. It ruled various estates that composed the County of Oettingen between the 12th century and the beginning of the 19th century. In 1674 the house was raised to the rank of p ...
(29 August 1766 – 8 May 1833) on 27 April 1788, Oettingen
# Eleonore Karoline von Bretzenheim (9 December 1771 – 23 December 1832); married Prince Wilhelm Karl von Leiningen (5 July 1737 – 26 January 1809) on 21 November 1787 (divorced 1801)
# Friederike Karoline von Bretzenheim (9 December 1771 – 2 March 1816), twin with Eleonore; married Count Maximilian von Westerholt-Gysenberg (1772 – 19 April 1854) in 1796
From his liaison with Countess Maria Anna zu Leiningen-Westerburg-Neuleiningen (1741–1835), widow of Count Franz Friedrich von Sayn-Wittgenstein-Vallendar
Sayn-Wittgenstein-Vallendar was a County of the Holy Roman Empire in Germany. It was created as a partition of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Wittgenstein, and was inherited by Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein
Sayn-Wittgenstein-Hohenstein was a county and lat ...
(1702–1769):
# Karoline von Ezenried (31 August 1771 Münstereifel – 24 September 1828, Schloss Laim bei München, married with Dr. Joseph Reubel, Professor of Medicine, University of München)
Ancestry
See also
* History of Bavaria
The history of Bavaria stretches from its earliest settlement and its formation as a stem duchy in the 6th century through its inclusion in the Holy Roman Empire to its status as an independent kingdom and finally as a large '' Bundesland'' (sta ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles Theodore Of Bavaria, Elector
1724 births
1799 deaths
18th-century prince-electors of Bavaria
Imperial vicars
House of Wittelsbach
Prince-electors of the Palatinate
Counts Palatine of Sulzbach
German art collectors
18th-century art collectors
Dukes of Jülich
Dukes of Berg
Counts Palatine of Neuburg
Charles Theodore
German hunters
Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria
Fellows of the Royal Society
Hereditary Princes of Sulzbach
Burials at the Theatine Church, Munich
People from Drogenbos
People of the War of the Bavarian Succession