Louis IX (german: Ludwig IX, Herzog von Bayern-Landshut, also known as Louis the Rich; 23 February 1417 – 18 January 1479) was Duke of
Bavaria-Landshut
Bavaria-Landshut (german: Bayern-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 u ...
from 1450. He was a son of
Henry XVI the Rich and Margaret of Austria. Louis was the founder of the
University of Ingolstadt
The University of Ingolstadt was founded in 1472 by Louis the Rich, the Duke of Bavaria at the time, and its first Chancellor was the Bishop of Eichstätt. It consisted of five faculties: humanities, sciences, theology, law, and medicine, all o ...
(now the
University of Munich
The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's List of universities in Germany, sixth-oldest u ...
).
Biography
Louis succeeded his father in 1450. He was the second of the three famous rich dukes, who reigned Bavaria-Landshut in the 15th century. Their residence was
Trausnitz Castle
Trausnitz Castle is a medieval castle situated in Landshut, Bavaria in Germany.
It was the home of the Wittelsbach dynasty, and it served as their ducal residence for Lower Bavaria from 1255–1503, and later as the seat of the hereditary r ...
in Landshut, a fortification which attained enormous dimensions.
Since Louis invaded the imperial free cities of
Dinkelsbühl
Dinkelsbühl () is a historic town in Central Franconia, a region of Germany that is now part of the state of Bavaria, in southern Germany. Dinkelsbühl is a former free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire. In local government terms, Dinkelsb ...
and
Donauwörth
Donauwörth () is a town and the capital of the Donau-Ries district in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It is said to have been founded by two fishermen where the rivers Danube (Donau) and Wörnitz meet. The city is part of the scenic route called "Roman ...
in 1458 he disputed with
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 ...
, until peace was made in Prague in 1463. In 1462 Louis defeated his enemy
Albert III, Margrave of Brandenburg, who tried to extend his influence in
Franconia
Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch'').
The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper Fr ...
in the battle of
Giengen
Giengen (; full name: Giengen an der Brenz; Swabian: ''Gẽänge'') is a former Free Imperial City in eastern Baden-Württemberg near the border with Bavaria in southern Germany. The town is located in the district of Heidenheim at the eastern ed ...
. Louis expelled all Jews who rejected baptism from his duchy.
In 1472 Louis founded the
Ludwig-Maximilians-University in
Ingolstadt
Ingolstadt (, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an independent city on the Danube in Upper Bavaria with 139,553 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2022). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan area. Ingolstadt is the second largest city in Upper Bav ...
, which was moved to
Landshut
Landshut (; bar, Landshuad) is a town in Bavaria in the south-east of Germany. Situated on the banks of the River Isar, Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free State of Bavaria. It is also t ...
in 1800 and finally to
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 ...
. In 1475 he organized the
Landshut Wedding
The Landshut Wedding (german: Landshuter Hochzeit) is one of the largest historical pageants in Europe. Countless visitors from all over the world have taken part, or have been spectators of the "Landshuter Hochzeit 1475", a pageant held in the ci ...
of his son George with the princess
Hedwig Jagiellon, a daughter of King
Casimir IV of Poland
Casimir is classically an English, French and Latin form of the Polish name Kazimierz. Feminine forms are Casimira and Kazimiera. It means "proclaimer (from ''kazać'' to preach) of peace (''mir'')."
List of variations
*Belarusian: Казі ...
, one of the most splendid festivals of the Middle Age.
Family and children
On 21 March 1452 Louis was married with Princess
Amalia of Saxony (4 April 1436 – 19 October 1501), daughter of
Frederick II, Elector of Saxony
Frederick II, The Gentle (''Friedrich, der Sanftmütige''; Frederick the Gentle) (22 August 1412 – 7 September 1464) was Elector of Saxony (1428–1464) and was Landgrave of Thuringia (1440–1445).
Biography
Frederick was born in Leipzig ...
. They had four children:
# Elisabeth (c. 1453 – 1457)
#
George, Duke of Bavaria
George of Bavaria referred to as ''the Rich'' (15 August 1455 in Burghausen, Bavaria – 1 December 1503 in Ingolstadt), (German: ''Georg, Herzog von Bayern-Landshut'') was the last Duke of Bavaria-Landshut. He was a son of Louis IX the R ...
(15 August 1455 – 1 December 1503)
#
Margaret
Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian.
Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...
(7 November 1456 – 25 February 1501), married on 21 February 1474 to
Philip, Elector Palatine
Philip the Upright (german: Philipp der Aufrichtige) (14 July 1448 – 28 February 1508) was an Elector Palatine of the Rhine from the house of Wittelsbach from 1476 to 1508.
Biography
He was the only son of Louis IV, Count Palatine of the R ...
# Anna (c. 1462–1462)
Ancestors
The wedding of his son George with the Polish princess
Hedwig Jagiellon in 1475 was celebrated in Landshut with one of the most splendid festivals of the Middle Age.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Louis IX, Duke of Bavaria
1417 births
1479 deaths
15th-century dukes of Bavaria
People from Burghausen, Altötting
House of Wittelsbach