The War of the Succession of Landshut resulted from a dispute between the duchies of Bavaria-Munich (''Bayern-München'' in German) and

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 ...

(''Bayern-Landshut''). An earlier agreement between the different

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 ...

lines, the Treaty of Pavia (1329), concerned the law of succession and stated that if one branch should become extinct in the male line then the other would inherit. This agreement disregarded imperial law, which stipulated that the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

should inherit should a line fail. George, Duke of Bavaria-Landshut, and his wife Hedwig Jagiellon failed to produce a male heir, so George—in a breach of both imperial law and the house treaty—named his daughter Elisabeth as his heir. Because of the agreement, Duke Albert of the Munich line did not accept George's decision, leading to war in 1503. Over the course of this two-year war, many villages surrounding Landshut were reduced to ashes, such as

Ergolding Ergolding (Central Bavarian: ''Erwading'') is a municipality in the district of Landshut, in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the Isar, 5 km northeast of Landshut Landshut (; bar, Landshuad) is a town in Bavaria ...

Haimhausen Haimhausen is a municipality located on the Amper River in the district of Dachau in Bavaria, Germany, about 20 Kilometers north of Munich. Geography Haimhausen borders directly on a marshy area called the Dachauer Moos. The landscape around Hai ...

and Landau an der Isar. The war ended in 1505 with the death of Elisabeth and her husband Ruprecht, Count Palatine of the Rhine, and a decision through arbitration by Emperor Maximilian I on 30 July 1505 at the Diet of

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

. George's two grandsons, Otto Henry (''Otto-Heinrich'') and

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who populariz ...

, retained

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 ...

(''Junge Pfalz''), a fragmented region from the upper

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

extending from above

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 ...

to the northern part of the

Upper Palatinate The Upper Palatinate (german: Oberpfalz, , ) is one of the seven administrative districts of Bavaria, Germany, and is located in the east of Bavaria. Geography The Upper Palatinate is a landscape with low mountains and numerous ponds and lak ...

Neuburg an der Donau Neuburg an der Donau (Central Bavarian: ''Neiburg an da Donau'') is a town which is the capital of the Neuburg-Schrobenhausen district in the state of Bavaria in Germany. Divisions The municipality has 16 divisions: * Altmannstetten * Bergen, ...

was chosen as the capital of the new state. Because the two heirs had not yet reached their majority, Frederick II, Count Palatine of the Rhine, served as regent in a caretaker regime. The rest of the territory went to the Munich line of the House of Wittelsbach. The emperor took the territory around Kufstein for himself as reward for his mediation; the

Imperial City of Nuremberg The Imperial City of Nuremberg (german: Reichsstadt Nürnberg) was a free imperial city — independent city-state — within the Holy Roman Empire. After Nuremberg gained piecemeal independence from the Burgraviate of Nuremberg in the High Mid ...

gained important territories to the east of the city, including Lauf,

Hersbruck Hersbruck () is a small town in Middle Franconia, Bavaria, Germany, belonging to the district Nürnberger Land. It is best known for the late-gothic artwork of the Hersbruck altar, the "Hirtenmuseum" and the landscape of Hersbruck Switzerland. ...

, and Altdorf. As

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 ...

, Otto-Heinrich spent huge sums of money to build a palace at Neuburg an der Donau. Through inheritance, he later became

Elector Palatine The counts palatine of Lotharingia /counts palatine of the Rhine /electors of the Palatinate (german: Kurfürst von der Pfalz) ruled some part of Rhine area in the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire from 915 to 1803. The title was a kin ...

, where his additions to

Heidelberg Castle Heidelberg Castle (german: Heidelberger Schloss) is a ruin in Germany and landmark of Heidelberg. The castle ruins are among the most important Renaissance structures north of the Alps. The castle has only been partially rebuilt since its demoli ...

, known as the ''Ottheinrichsbau'', made him one of the most important builders of the

German Renaissance The German Renaissance, part of the Northern Renaissance, was a cultural and artistic movement that spread among German thinkers in the 15th and 16th centuries, which developed from the Italian Renaissance. Many areas of the arts and scienc ...

.Kölner Schiedsspruch, 30. Juli 1505. https://www.historisches-lexikon-bayerns.de/Lexikon/K%C3%B6lner_Schiedsspruch,_30._Juli_1505

Sources

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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 ...

16th century in Bavaria Electoral Palatinate 1500s conflicts 1500s in Europe 1503 in Europe 1504 in Europe 1505 in Europe 1503 in the Holy Roman Empire 1504 in the Holy Roman Empire 1505 in the Holy Roman Empire Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor