Ludwig III (Ludwig Luitpold Josef Maria Aloys Alfried; 7 January 1845 – 18 October 1921) was the last
King of Bavaria
King of Bavaria was a title held by the hereditary House of Wittelsbach, Wittelsbach rulers of Bavaria in the state known as the Kingdom of Bavaria from 1805 until 1918, when the kingdom was abolished. It was the second time Bavaria was a king ...
, reigning from 1913 to 1918. Initially he served in the Bavarian military as a lieutenant and went on to hold the rank of Oberleutnant during the
Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...
. He entered politics at the age of 18 becoming a member of the Bavarian Legislature and was a keen participant in politics, supporting electoral reforms. Later in life he served as regent and ''de facto'' head of state from 1912 to 1913, ruling for his cousin,
Otto. After the Bavarian parliament passed a law allowing him to do so, Ludwig deposed Otto and assumed the throne for himself. He led Bavaria during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. His short reign was seen as championing conservative causes and he was influenced by the Catholic encyclical ''
Rerum novarum
''Rerum novarum'' (from its incipit, with the direct translation of the Latin meaning "of revolutionary change"), or ''Rights and Duties of Capital and Labor'', is an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII on 15 May 1891. It is an open letter, pa ...
''.
After the
German Revolution of 1918
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
, the
German Empire
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
was dissolved and the
Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a Constitutional republic, constitutional federal republic for the first time in ...
was created. As a result of this revolution, the Bavarian throne was abolished along with the other monarchies of the German states, ending the
House of 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 ...
's 738-year reign over Bavaria. Fearing that he might be a victim of an assassination, Ludwig fled to Hungary, Liechtenstein and then Switzerland. He returned to Bavaria in 1920 and lived at Wildenwart Castle. Ludwig would die shortly after, when he was staying at
Nádasdy Mansion in
Sárvár
Sárvár (german: Kotenburg or ; la, Bassiana; sl, Mala Sela) is a town in Vas County, Hungary.
Sárvár lies on the banks of the River Rába at Kemeneshát. The population is nearly 16,000. The town has become a tourist centre of internatio ...
.
Early life
![Ludwig III von Bayern - Jugendbild](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Ludwig_III_von_Bayern_-_Jugendbild.jpg)
Ludwig was born in
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 ...
, the eldest son of Prince
Luitpold of Bavaria and of his wife,
Archduchess Augusta of Austria (daughter of
Grand Duke Leopold II of Tuscany). He was a descendant of both
Louis XIV of France
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of ...
and
William the Conqueror
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...
. Hailing from
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...
, Augusta always spoke in Italian to her four children. Ludwig was named after his grandfather, King
Ludwig I of Bavaria
en, Louis Charles Augustus
, image = Joseph Karl Stieler - King Ludwig I in his Coronation Robes - WGA21796.jpg
, caption = Portrait by Joseph Stieler, 1825
, succession=King of Bavaria
, reign =
, coronation ...
.
Ludwig spent his first years living in the Electoral rooms of the
Munich Residenz
The Residenz (, ''Residence'') in central Munich is the former royal palace of the Wittelsbach monarchs of Bavaria. The Residenz is the largest city palace in Germany and is today open to visitors for its architecture, room decorations, and disp ...
and in the Wittelsbacher Palace. From 1852 to 1863, he was tutored by
Ferdinand von Malaisé
Ferdinand Malaisé, after 1862 Ritter Ferdinand von Malaisé (23 February 1806, Linz on the Rhine, Germany – 29 June 1892, Munich, Germany). Knight of the Order of St. Joseph of Tuscany (III Class), the Iron Crown of Austria (II Class with ...
. When he was ten years old, the family moved to the
Leuchtenberg Palace.
In 1861 at the age of sixteen, Ludwig began his military career when his uncle, King
Maximilian II of Bavaria
Maximilian II (28 November 1811 – 10 March 1864) reigned as King of Bavaria between 1848 and 1864.
Unlike his father, King Ludwig I, "King Max" was very popular and took a greater interest in the business of Government than in personal extra ...
, gave him a commission as a lieutenant in the 6th
Jägerbattalion. A year later, he entered the
Ludwig Maximilian 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 sixth-oldest university in continuous operatio ...
, where he studied law and economics. When he was eighteen, he automatically became a member of the Senate of the Bavarian Legislature as a prince of the royal house.
In 1866,
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 ...
was allied with the
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
in the
Austro-Prussian War
The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...
. Ludwig held the rank of
Oberleutnant
() is the highest lieutenant officer rank in the German-speaking armed forces of Germany (Bundeswehr), the Austrian Armed Forces, and the Swiss Armed Forces.
Austria
Germany
In the German Army, it dates from the early 19th century. Trans ...
. He was wounded at the
Battle of Helmstadt, taking a bullet in his thigh. The incident contributed to the fact that he was rather averse to the military. He received the Knight's Cross 1st Class of the Bavarian
Military Merit Order.
Marriage and children
In June 1867, Ludwig visited
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
to attend the funeral of his cousin,
Archduchess Mathilda of Austria
, house = Habsburg-Lorraine
, father = Archduke Albert, Duke of Teschen
, mother = Princess Hildegard of Bavaria
, religion = Roman Catholic
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Vienna, Austrian Empire
, death_date = ...
(daughter of his father's sister
Princess Hildegard of Bavaria
Princess Hildegard of Bavaria (German: ''Hildegard Luise Charlotte Theresia Friederike von Bayern''; 10 June 1825 – 2 April 1864) was the seventh child and fourth daughter of Ludwig I of Bavaria and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.
Life Marria ...
). While there, Ludwig met Mathilde's eighteen-year-old step-cousin
Maria Theresia, Archduchess of Austria-Este
Maria may refer to:
People
* Mary, mother of Jesus
* Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages
Place names Extraterrestrial
*170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877
*Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, da ...
, the only daughter of the late
Archduke Ferdinand Karl Viktor of Austria-Este
Ferdinand Karl Viktor (20 July 1821 – 15 December 1849) was Archduke of Austria-Este and Prince of Modena.
Biography
Born in Modena, he was the second son of Francis IV of Modena and his niece-consort Maria Beatrice of Savoy. His paternal g ...
(1821–1849) and his wife
Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria
Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska Maria of Austria (17 January 1831 – 14 February 1903) was born in Ofen (Buda), Hungary, the daughter of Palatine Joseph of Hungary (1776–1847) and his third wife Maria Dorothea of Württemberg (1797–185 ...
(1831–1903), and they married on 20 February 1868 at
St. Augustine's Church in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
.
Until 1862, Ludwig's uncle had reigned as King
Otto I of Greece
Otto (, ; 1 June 181526 July 1867) was a Kingdom of Bavaria, Bavarian prince who ruled as King of Greece from the establishment of the monarchy on 27 May 1832, under the London Conference of 1832, Convention of London, until he was deposed on ...
. Although Otto had been deposed, Ludwig was still in line of succession to the Greek throne. Had he ever succeeded, this would have required that he renounce his
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
faith and become
Greek Orthodox
The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek language, Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the Eastern Orthodox Church, entire body of Orthodox (Chalced ...
. Maria Theresa's uncle,
Duke Francis V of Modena, was a staunch Roman Catholic. He required that as part of the marriage agreement Ludwig renounce his rights to the throne of
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
, and so ensure that his children would be raised Roman Catholic. In addition, the 1843 Greek Constitution forbade the Greek sovereign to be simultaneously ruler of another country. Consequently, Ludwig's younger brother Leopold technically succeeded upon their father's death to the rights of the deposed
Otto I, King of Greece.
By his marriage, Ludwig became a wealthy man. Maria Theresa had inherited large properties from her father. She owned the estate of
Sárvár
Sárvár (german: Kotenburg or ; la, Bassiana; sl, Mala Sela) is a town in Vas County, Hungary.
Sárvár lies on the banks of the River Rába at Kemeneshát. The population is nearly 16,000. The town has become a tourist centre of internatio ...
in
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
and the estate of Eiwanowitz in
Moravia
Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.
The me ...
(now
Ivanovice na Hané
Ivanovice na Hané (german: Eiwanowitz in der Hanna) is a town in Vyškov District in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 3,000 inhabitants.
Administrative parts
The village of Chvalkovice na Hané is an administrative pa ...
in the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
). The income from these estates enabled Ludwig to purchase an estate at Leutstetten in Bavaria. Over the years, Ludwig expanded the Leutstetten estate until it became one of the largest and most profitable in Bavaria. Ludwig was sometimes derided as ''Millibauer'' (dairy farmer) due to his interest in agriculture and farming.
Although they maintained a residence in Munich at the Leuchtenberg Palace, Ludwig and Maria Theresa lived mostly at Leutstetten. They had a happy and devoted marriage which resulted in 13 children:
*
Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria
Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria, Duke of Bavaria, Franconia and in Swabia, Count Palatine by (the) Rhine (''Rupprecht Maria Luitpold Ferdinand''; English: ''Robert Maria Leopold Ferdinand''; 18 May 1869 – 2 August 1955), was the last hei ...
(18 May 1869 – 2 August 1955), married
Duchess Marie Gabriele in Bavaria
Marie Gabrielle (german: Marie Gabrielle Mathilde Isabelle Therese Antoinette Sabine Herzogin in Bayern; 9 October 1878 in Tegernsee, Kingdom of Bavaria, Bavaria – 24 October 1912 in Sorrento, Kingdom of Italy, Italy) Duchess in Bavaria, was t ...
on 10 August 1900. They had four children. He remarried
Princess Antonia of Luxembourg
Antoinette Roberte Sophie Wilhelmine (7 October 1899 – 31 July 1954), commonly referred to as Antonia, was the last Crown Princess of Bavaria before World War II. By birth, she was a member of the Luxembourgish House of Nassau-Weilburg as the ...
on 7 April 1921. They had six children.
*
Princess Adelgunde of Bavaria
Princess Adelgunde of Bavaria (german: Adelgunde Auguste Charlotte Caroline Elisabeth Amalie Marie Sophie Luise von Bayern; 19 March 1823 – 28 October 1914) was a daughter of Ludwig I of Bavaria and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. She was Du ...
(17 October 1870 – 4 January 1958) married
Prince Wilhelm of Hohenzollern on 20 January 1915.
*
Maria Ludwiga, Princess of Bavaria (6 July 1872 – 10 June 1954) married
Prince Ferdinand Pius of Bourbon-Two Sicilies on 31 May 1897. They had six children.
*
Karl, Prince of Bavaria (1 April 1874 – 9 May 1927)
*
Franz, Prince of Bavaria (10 October 1875 – 25 January 1957) married
Princess Isabella Antonie of Croÿ
Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince.
Princess as a subst ...
on 12 July 1912
*
Princess Mathilde of Bavaria (17 August 1877 – 6 August 1906) married
Prince Ludwig of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Prince Ludwig Gaston of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Ludwig Gaston Klemens Maria Michael Gabriel Raphael Gonzaga; 15 September 1870 – 23 January 1942), known in Brazil as Dom Luís Gastão, was a German prince of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Goth ...
on 1 May 1900. They had two children.
* Prince Wolfgang Maria Leopold of Bavaria (2 July 1879 – 31 January 1895)
* Princess Hildegard of Bavaria (5 March 1881 – 2 February 1948)
* Princess Notburga of Bavaria (19 March 1883 – 24 March 1883)
* Princess Wiltrud of Bavaria (10 November 1884 – 28 March 1975), married
Wilhelm, Duke of Urach
Count Friedrich Wilhelm Alexander Ferdinand of Württemberg, 1st Duke of Urach (6 July 1810 – 17 July 1869), was the son of Duke Wilhelm of Württemberg (1761–1830), younger brother of King Frederick I of Württemberg, by his morganatic wif ...
on 26 November 1924.
* Princess Helmtrud of Bavaria (22 March 1886 – 23 June 1977)
* Princess Dietlinde of Bavaria (2 January 1888 – 15 February 1889)
* Princess Gundelinde, Princess of Bavaria (26 August 1891 – 16 August 1983), married Count Johann Georg of Preysing-Lichtenegg-Moos on 23 February 1919. They had two children.
** Count Johann Kaspar of Preysing-Lichtenegg-Moos (19 December 1919 – 14 February 1940)
** Countess Maria Theresia of Preysing-Lichtenegg-Moos (23 March 1922 – 14 September 2003), married Ludwig, Count von und zu Arco-Zinneberg on 25 January 1940. They had one son. She remarried to Ludwig's brother, Ulrich Philipp Count von und zu Arco-Zinneberg, on 26 September 1943. They had three sons, two of whom survived to adulthood.
*** Rupprecht-Maximilian Count von und zu Arco-Zinneberg (b. 14 January 1941) married Katharina, Countess Henckel von Donnersmarck on 11 July 1968. They had two children.
**** Alois Maximilian Count von und zu Arco-Zinneberg (b. 5 June 1970)
**** Isabella-Gabriela Countess von und zu Arco-Zinneberg (b. 5 December 1973)
*** Ludwig Count von und zu Arco-Zinneberg (1944–1944)
*** Riprand Count von und zu Arco-Zinneberg (25 July 1955 – 24 August 2021) married Archduchess Maria Beatrice of Austria on 31 March 1980. They had six daughters.
**** Countess Anna Theresa von und zu Arco-Zinneberg (born 1981) married Colin McKenzie on 29 September 2018.
**** Countess Margherita von und zu Arco-Zinneberg (born 1983)
****
Countess Olympia von und zu Arco-Zinneberg (born 1988) married
Jean-Christophe, Prince Napoléon
Jean-Christophe, Prince Napoléon, Prince of Montfort (birth name: ''Jean-Christophe Louis Ferdinand Albéric Napoléon''; born 11 July 1986, France) is the head of the former Imperial House of France, and heir of Napoleon Bonaparte, the First ...
on 17 October 2019.
**** Countess Maximiliana von und zu Arco-Zinneberg (born 1990)
**** Countess Marie Gabrielle von und zu Arco-Zinneberg (born 1992)
**** Countess Giorgiana von und zu Arco-Zinneberg (born 1997)
On the death of her uncle Francis in 1875, Maria Theresa inherited his
Jacobite claim to the thrones of England and Scotland, and is called either ''Queen Mary IV and III'' or ''Queen Mary III'' by Jacobites.
Service and politics
Throughout his life, Ludwig took a great interest in agriculture. From 1868, he was the Honorary President of the Central Committee of the Bavarian Agricultural Society. In 1875, he bought Leutstetten Castle and made it a model farm. He was also very interested in technology, particularly water power. In 1891 at his initiation, the Bavarian Canal Society was established. In 1896 Prince Ludwig was appointed honorary member of the
Bavarian Academy of Sciences
The Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities (german: Bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften) is an independent public institution, located in Munich. It appoints scholars whose research has contributed considerably to the increase of knowledg ...
.
As a prince of the royal house he was automatically a member of the Senate of the Bavarian Legislature; there he was a great supporter of the direct right to vote. Since 23 June 1863 already, Ludwig had been a member of the Chamber of the ''Reichsräte''. In 1870 he voted as a member of the Reichsrat for the acceptance of the November treaties to join the
North German Confederation
The North German Confederation (german: Norddeutscher Bund) was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated st ...
. In 1871 he ran unsuccessfully for the first
Reichstag elections as a candidate of the Bavarian Patriot Party. In 1906 he supported the Bavarian electoral reform, which the SPD founder
August Bebel
Ferdinand August Bebel (22 February 1840 – 13 August 1913) was a German socialist politician, writer, and orator. He is best remembered as one of the founders of the Social Democratic Workers' Party of Germany (SDAP) in 1869, which in 1875 mer ...
praised: "The German people, if the Kaiser were to be chosen from one of the German princes, would presumably elect Wittelsbach Ludwig and not Prussia's Wilhelm."
Regent of Bavaria
On 12 December 1912, Ludwig's father Luitpold died. Luitpold had been an active participant in the deposition of his nephew,
King Ludwig II
Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886) was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He is sometimes called the Swan King or ('the Fairy Tale King'). He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the ...
, and had also acted as
prince regent
A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch regnant, e.g., as a result of the sovereign's incapacity (minority or illness ...
for his other nephew,
King Otto. Although Otto had nominally been king since 1886, he had been under medical supervision since 1883 and it had long been understood that he would never be mentally capable of actively reigning. Ludwig III immediately succeeded his father as regent.
Almost immediately, certain elements in the press and other groups in society called for Ludwig to take the throne himself. The Bavarian Legislature was not, however, currently in session, and did not meet until 29 September 1913. On 4 November 1913, the Legislature amended the constitution of Bavaria to include a clause specifying that if a regency for reasons of incapacity had lasted for ten years with no prospect of the king ever being able to reign, the regent could proclaim the end of the regency and assume the crown himself, with such action to be ratified by the Legislature. The amendment received broad party support in the Lower Chamber where it was carried by a vote of 122 in favour, and 27 against. In the Senate there were only six votes against the amendment. The next day, 5 November 1913, Ludwig proclaimed the end of the regency, deposed his cousin and proclaimed his own reign as Ludwig III. The Legislature duly ratified this action, and Ludwig took his oath on 8 November.
The constitutional amendment of 1913 brought a determining break in the continuity of the king's rule in the opinion of historians, particularly as this change had been granted by the Landtag as a House of Representatives. Historians believe this marked a definitive step from
constitutional monarchy
A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
to
figurehead
In politics, a figurehead is a person who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet ''de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that they ...
. Bavaria had already taken a step toward full parliamentary government a year earlier, when
Georg von Hertling
Georg Friedrich Karl Freiherr von Hertling, from 1914 Count von Hertling, (31 August 1843 – 4 January 1919) was a German politician of the Catholic Centre Party. He was foreign minister and minister president of Bavaria, then chancellor of t ...
headed the first government that depended on a majority in the legislature.
King of Bavaria
Ludwig's short reign was conservative and influenced by the Catholic encyclical ''
Rerum novarum
''Rerum novarum'' (from its incipit, with the direct translation of the Latin meaning "of revolutionary change"), or ''Rights and Duties of Capital and Labor'', is an encyclical issued by Pope Leo XIII on 15 May 1891. It is an open letter, pa ...
''. Prime Minister
Georg von Hertling
Georg Friedrich Karl Freiherr von Hertling, from 1914 Count von Hertling, (31 August 1843 – 4 January 1919) was a German politician of the Catholic Centre Party. He was foreign minister and minister president of Bavaria, then chancellor of t ...
, appointed by Luitpold in 1912, remained in office. Also as King Ludwig lived in the
Wittelsbacher Palais
The Wittelsbacher Palais was located in Munich at the northeast corner of the Brienner Strasse and the Türkenstraße. Today, a building of the BayernLB is located at the site of the palace. A copy of one of two stone lions at the entrance area is ...
rather than in the
Munich Residenz
The Residenz (, ''Residence'') in central Munich is the former royal palace of the Wittelsbach monarchs of Bavaria. The Residenz is the largest city palace in Germany and is today open to visitors for its architecture, room decorations, and displ ...
.
At the outbreak of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
in 1914 Ludwig sent an official dispatch to Berlin to express Bavaria's solidarity. Later Ludwig even claimed annexations for Bavaria (
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
and the city of
Antwerp
Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504, in Belgium, to receive an access to the sea). His hidden agenda was to maintain the balance of power between
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 em ...
and Bavaria within the
German Empire
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
after a victory.
A spurious story holds that, a day or two after Germany's declaration of war, Ludwig received a petition from a 25-year-old Austrian, asking for permission to join the
Bavarian Army
The Bavarian Army was the army of the Electorate (1682–1806) and then Kingdom (1806–1919) of Bavaria. It existed from 1682 as the standing army of Bavaria until the merger of the military sovereignty (''Wehrhoheit'') of Bavaria into that of t ...
. The petition was promptly granted, and
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
thereupon joined the Bavarian Army, eventually settling into the 16th Reserve Bavarian Infantry Regiment, where he served the remainder of the war. However, this account is based on Hitler's recollections in ''
Mein Kampf
(; ''My Struggle'' or ''My Battle'') is a 1925 autobiographical manifesto by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. The work describes the process by which Hitler became antisemitic and outlines his political ideology and future plans for Germ ...
''. Historian
Ian Kershaw
Sir Ian Kershaw (born 29 April 1943) is an English historian whose work has chiefly focused on the social history of 20th-century Germany. He is regarded by many as one of the world's leading experts on Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany, and is pa ...
holds that Hitler's story is simply not credible on its face, due to the remarkable bureaucratic effort it would have required to attend to this minor matter during days of extreme crisis. Kershaw suggests that bureaucratic error, rather than bureaucratic efficiency, was responsible for Hitler's enlistment; indeed, as a national of an allied country, he should have been sent to Austria for service in that army. Based on Bavarian government investigations in 1924, the more likely scenario in Kershaw's view is that Hitler applied for enlistment, along with thousands of other youths, on or about 5 August 1914, was initially turned away because the authorities were overwhelmed with applicants and had no place to assign him, and eventually was recalled to serve in the 2nd Infantry Regiment (2nd Battalion), before being assigned to Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 16 (the List Regiment), which was principally made up of raw recruits.
In 1917, when Germany's situation had gradually worsened due to World War I, Hertling became German Chancellor and Prime Minister of Prussia and
Otto Ritter von Dandl
Otto Ritter von Dandl (13 May 1868 in Straubing – 20 May 1942) was a Bavarian politician and lawyer who was the last Minister-President of the Kingdom of Bavaria.
Life
Otto Ritter von Dandl was born in Straubing, Lower Bavaria, in 1868, hi ...
was made ''Minister of State of the Royal Household and of the Exterior'' and ''President of the Council of Ministers'' on 11 November 1917, a title equivalent to Prime Minister of Bavaria. Accused of showing blind loyalty to Prussia, Ludwig became increasingly unpopular during the war. As the war drew to a close, the
German Revolution
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
broke out in Bavaria.
Already discussed since September 1917, on 2 November 1918, an extensive constitutional reform was established by an agreement between the royal government and all parliamentary groups, which, among other things, envisaged the introduction of
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
. Ludwig III, approved on the same day the transformation of the
constitutional
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princip ...
into a
parliamentary monarchy
A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
. For the first time on November 3, 1918, initiated by the
USPD
The Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Unabhängige Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, USPD) was a short-lived political party in Germany during the German Empire and the Weimar Republic. The organization was establish ...
, a thousand people gathered to protest on the
Theresienwiese
Theresienwiese is an open space in the Munich borough of Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt. It serves as the official ground of the Munich Oktoberfest. A space of , it is bordered in the west by the Ruhmeshalle and the Bavaria statue, symbolizing ...
for peace and demanded the release of detained leaders. On 7 November 1918, Ludwig fled from the Residenz Palace in Munich with his family and took up residence in ''
Schloss Anif'', near
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 ...
, for what he hoped would be a temporary stay. He was the first of the monarchs in the German Empire to be deposed. The next day, the
People's State of Bavaria
The People's State of Bavaria (german: Volksstaat Bayern) was a short-lived socialist state in Bavaria from 1918 to 1919. The People's State of Bavaria was established on 8 November 1918 during the German Revolution, as an attempt at a socialist ...
was proclaimed.
On 12 November 1918, a day after the
Armistice
An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the La ...
,
Prime Minister Dandl went to Schloss Anif to see the king. Ludwig gave Dandl the
Anif declaration ''(Anifer Erklärung)'' in which he released all government officials, soldiers and civil officers from their oath of loyalty to him. He also stated that as a result of recent events, he was "no longer in a position to lead the government." The declaration was published by the newly formed
republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
government of
Kurt Eisner
Kurt Eisner (; 14 May 1867 21 February 1919)"Kurt Eisner – Encyclopædia Britannica" (biography), ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 2006, Britannica.com webpageBritannica-KurtEisner. was a German politician, revolutionary, journalist, and theatre c ...
when Dandl returned to Munich the next day. Ludwig's declaration was not a statement of
abdication
Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of duty, in other societ ...
, as Dandl had demanded. However, Eisner's government interpreted it as such and added a statement that Ludwig and his family were welcome to return to Bavaria as private citizens as long as they did not act against the "people's state." This statement effectively dethroned the
Wittelsbachs
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 ...
and ended the family's 738-year rule over Bavaria.
Final years
Ludwig III returned to Bavaria. His wife, Maria Theresia, died 3 February 1919 at Wildenwart Castle/
Chiemgau
Chiemgau () is the common name of a geographic area in Upper Bavaria. It refers to the foothills of the Alps between the rivers Inn and Traun, with the Chiemsee at its center. The political districts that contain the Chiemgau are Rosenheim and T ...
.
In February 1919, Eisner was assassinated; fearing that he might be the victim of a counter-assassination, Ludwig fled to
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
, later moving on to
Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...
and
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. He returned to Bavaria in April 1920 and lived at Wildenwart Castle again. There he remained until September 1921 when he took a trip to his castle
Nádasdy in
Sárvár
Sárvár (german: Kotenburg or ; la, Bassiana; sl, Mala Sela) is a town in Vas County, Hungary.
Sárvár lies on the banks of the River Rába at Kemeneshát. The population is nearly 16,000. The town has become a tourist centre of internatio ...
in Hungary. He died there on 18 October.
On 5 November 1921, Ludwig's body was returned to Munich together with that of his wife. In spite of fears a state funeral might spark a move to
restore the monarchy, the pair were honored with one in front of the royal family, Bavarian government, military personnel, and an estimated 100,000 spectators. Burial was in the crypt of the
Munich Frauenkirche
, native_name =
, native_name_lang =
, image = Frauenkirche Munich - View from Peterskirche Tower2.jpg
, pushpin map =
, pushpin label position =
, pushpin map alt =
, pushpin mapsize ...
alongside their royal ancestors. Prince
Rupprecht did not wish to use the occasion of the passing of his father to reestablish the monarchy by force, preferring to do so by legal means. Cardinal
Michael von Faulhaber
Michael Cardinal ''Ritter'' von Faulhaber (5 March 1869 – 12 June 1952) was a German Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Munich for 35 years, from 1917 to his death in 1952. Created Cardinal in 1921, von Faulhaber criticized the Weima ...
,
Archbishop of Munich
The following people were bishops, prince-bishops or archbishops of Freising or Munich and Freising in Bavaria:
Bishops of Freising
* St. Corbinian (724–730); founded the Benedictine abbey in Freising, although the diocese was not organ ...
, in his funeral speech, made a clear commitment to the monarchy while Rupprecht only declared that he had stepped into his birthright.
Beisetzung Ludwigs III., München, 5. November 1921
Historisches Lexikon Bayerns – Funeral of Ludwig III, accessed: 1 July 2011
Honours
Ancestry
References
Sources
* ''Ludwig III. von Bayern, 1845–1921, Ein König auf der Suche nach seinem Volk'', by Alfons Beckenbauer (Regensburg: Friedrich Pustet, 1987). The standard modern biography.
* ''Ludwig, Prinz von Bayern, Ein Lebens und Charakterbild'', by Hans Reidelbach (München: Eduard Pohls, 1905). Particularly good for Ludwig's early life.
* ''Von der Umsturznacht bis zur Totenbahre: Die letzte Leidenszeit König Ludwigs III.'', by Arthur Achleitner (Dillingen: Veduka, 1922). A detailed work about the last three years of Ludwig's life.
* ''Ludwig III. König von Bayern: Skizzen aus seiner Lebensgeschichte'', by Hubert Glaser (Prien: Verkerhrsverband Chiemsee, 1995). An illustrated catalogue of an exhibition held in Wildenwart in 1995.
External links
*
The King's photo
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ludwig 03 Of Bavaria
1845 births
1921 deaths
20th-century Kings of Bavaria
Regents of Bavaria
House of Wittelsbach
Princes of Bavaria
People of the Austro-Prussian War
Field marshals of Bavaria
Monarchs who abdicated
Field marshals of the German Empire
Pretenders to the Bavarian throne
Burials at Munich Frauenkirche
Recipients of the Military Merit Order (Bavaria), 1st class
Grand Crosses of the Military Order of Max Joseph
Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (military class)
Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria
Grand Crosses of the Military Order of Maria Theresa
Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary