Prince Ludwig of Bavaria (22 June 1913 – 17 October 2008) was a member of the

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 ...

n Royal

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 ...

Early life

Prince Ludwig was born at

Nymphenburg Palace The Nymphenburg Palace (german: Schloss Nymphenburg, Palace of the Nymphs) is a Baroque palace situated in Munich's western district Neuhausen-Nymphenburg, in Bavaria, southern Germany. Combined with the adjacent Nymphenburg Palace Park it consti ...

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 ...

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German E ...

. He was the eldest son of

Prince Franz of Bavaria A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

, and his wife

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 ...

. After graduating from the Maximilians-Gymnasium (located in

Schwabing Schwabing is a borough in the northern part of Munich, the capital of the German state of Bavaria. It is part of the city borough 4 (Schwabing-West) and the city borough 12 (Schwabing-Freimann). The population of Schwabing is estimated about 100 ...

), Ludwig studied forestry at the university 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 ...

. In 1939, as most young German men of his age, he was drafted into the military, serving as a

Gebirgsjäger ''Gebirgsjäger'' () are the light infantry part of the alpine or mountain troops (''Gebirgstruppe'') of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The word '' Jäger'' (meaning "hunter" or "huntsman") is a characteristic term used for light infantry in ...

. However, his career in the German Army was short lived. In early 1941, Ludwig was relieved from all combat duties as a result of the ''

Prinzenerlass ''Prinzenerlass'' (, "princes decree", also spelled Prinzenerlaß) was the name of a 1940 decree issued by Adolf Hitler that prohibited members of Germany's formerly reigning houses from participating in any military operations in the Wehrmacht ...

'' which prohibited members of Germany's royal houses from participating in military operations. He spent the rest of the war at Sarvar in Hungary where his family owned a castle. In 1945, his family fled Hungary and settled at Leutstetten near

Starnberg Starnberg is a German town in Bavaria, Germany, some southwest of Munich. It is at the north end of Lake Starnberg, in the heart of the " Five Lakes Country", and serves as capital of the district of Starnberg. Recording a disposable per-capi ...

in Bavaria.

Marriage and issue

On 19 July 1950, Ludwig married his first cousin

Princess Irmingard of Bavaria Princess Irmingard of Bavaria (29 May 1923 – 23 October 2010) was the daughter of Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria and his second wife, Princess Antonia of Luxembourg. She was a half-sister of Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria. Life Irmingard was ...

(29 May 1923 in

Berchtesgaden Berchtesgaden () is a municipality in the district Berchtesgadener Land, Bavaria, in southeastern Germany, near the border with Austria, south of Salzburg and southeast of Munich. It lies in the Berchtesgaden Alps, south of Berchtesgaden; the ...

– 23 October 2010 in Leutstetten), daughter of

Crown Prince Rupprecht 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 ...

and

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 c ...

. The civil wedding took place at Leutstetten, and the religious ceremony followed a day later at

Schloss Nymphenburg The Nymphenburg Palace (german: Schloss Nymphenburg, Palace of the Nymphs) is a Baroque palace situated in Munich's western district Neuhausen-Nymphenburg, in Bavaria, southern Germany. Combined with the adjacent Nymphenburg Palace Park it cons ...

. The couple had three children, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren: * Prince Luitpold of Bavaria (born 14 April 1951 in Leutstetten), married on 25 June 1979 in

, morganatic until 13 March 1999 on the condition of their issue marrying dinastically, Katrin Beatrix Wiegand (born 19 September 1951 in Munich), daughter of Gerd Wiegand (

Cottbus Cottbus (; Lower Sorbian: ''Chóśebuz'' ; Polish: Chociebuż) is a university city and the second-largest city in Brandenburg, Germany. Situated around southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree, Cottbus is also a major railway junction with exten ...

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

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 ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, 1922 + Munich, Bavaria, Germany, 1994),

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, married secondly to Frauke Sinjen (

, 1940/1941 - Germany, 4 July 2003),

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

, and first wife Ellen Schumacher, and had: **

Princess Auguste Marie Philippa of Bavaria 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 ...

(born

Landsberg am Lech Landsberg am Lech (Landsberg at the Lech) is a town in southwest Bavaria, Germany, about 65 kilometers west of Munich and 35 kilometers south of Augsburg. It is the capital of the district of Landsberg am Lech. Overview Landsberg is situated o ...

, 11 October 1979), married civilly in

Bourail Bourail is a commune in the South Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. Geography Bourail is a rural town of Grande Terre, New Caledonia's main island. The municipality stretches between the mounta ...

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, on 26 December 2009 and religiously in Kloster Andechs on 5 June 2010 Prince Ferdinand Clemens Christian zur Lippe-Weissenfeld (born

Detmold Detmold () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, with a population of . It was the capital of the small Principality of Lippe from 1468 until 1918 and then of the Free State of Lippe until 1947. Today it is the administrative center of ...

, 5 September 1976), ** Princess Alice Isabelle Marie of Bavaria (born

, 25 June 1981), married civilly in Karlstetten on 20 June 2009 and religiously in Kloster Andechs on 29 August 2009 Prince Lukas Christophe Maria Gubertus of Auersperg (born

St. Pölten ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...

, 27 August 1981), had issue ** Prince Ludwig Heinrich of Bavaria (born

, 14 June 1982) ** Prince Heinrich Rudolf of Bavaria (born

, 23 January 1986), married morganatically in Kloster Andechs on 22 April 2017 Henriette Gruse ** Prince Karl Rupprecht of Bavaria (born Munich, 10 March 1987) * Princess Maria of Bavaria (born and died 3 January 1953 in Leutstetten) * Princess Philippa of Bavaria (born and died 26 June 1954 in Leutstetten)

Later life

After the death of Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria in 1955, Ludwig and Irmingard moved into Schloss Leutstetten, where Irmingard continued to live. Ludwig was a Grand Prior of the Bavarian Order of Saint George, a Knight of the Order of Saint Hubert, and from 1960 a Knight of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriage ...

. Ludwig died of pneumonia at Schloss Leutstetten, 17 October 2008, at the age of 95. On Wednesday, 22 October at 10:00 a.m., a Funeral Liturgy was held in the abbey church at Andechs. After the Mass, his body was buried in the Wittelsbach cemetery on the abbey grounds.

Ancestry

References

* Adalbert Prinz von Bayern. ''Die Wittelsbacher: Geschichte unserer Familie''. München: Prestel Verlag, 1979.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ludwig Of Bavaria, Prince House of Wittelsbach People from the Kingdom of Bavaria Princes of Bavaria Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria 1913 births 2008 deaths Burials at Andechs Abbey