The Anif declaration () was issued by Ludwig III,

King of Bavaria The King of Bavaria () was a title held by the hereditary 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 kingdom, almost a t ...

, on 12 November 1918 at Anif Palace,

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. It was a declaration in which the monarch relieved all civil servants and military personnel from their oath of loyalty to him. Although he never used the word "

abdication Abdication is the act of formally relinquishing monarchical authority. Abdications have played various roles in the Order of succession, succession procedures of monarchies. While some cultures have viewed abdication as an extreme abandonment of ...

," the new socialist 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 ...

deemed it as such and declared Ludwig deposed. This effectively ended the 738-year dynasty of the

House of Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Historical background

With the imminent collapse of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

at the end of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in November 1918, the

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

, like all other states of the Empire, was in a state of transition from a

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

to a

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

. Max von Speidel,

Minister of War A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

in the Bavarian government, under orders from

, tried to persuade King Ludwig on 10 November (the day before 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 t ...

) to issue a declaration in which he would release all officers of the

Bavarian Army The Bavarian Army () was the army of the Electorate of Bavaria, Electorate (1682–1806) and then Kingdom of Bavaria, Kingdom (1806–1918) of Bavaria. It existed from 1682 as the standing army of Bavaria until the merger of the military sovereig ...

of their oath. Speidel however arrived at the King's residence at Schloss Wildenwart, near

Rosenheim Rosenheim () is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is an independent city located in the centre of the Rosenheim (district), district of Rosenheim (Upper Bavaria), and is also the seat of its administration. It is located on the west bank of the Inn ...

, after Ludwig had already left for Austria. Ludwig III decided to leave Bavaria temporarily for Austria, and, following an invitation of Ernst Graf von Moy, decided to take up residence at Anif Palace, near

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

. There, he ordered Otto Ritter von Dandl, the last prime minister of the Kingdom of Bavaria, to issue a declaration. Dandl demanded an

but the King was only willing to issue a statement absolving all officers, soldiers and government officials of the Kingdom of their oath.Verfassungsurkunde für das Königreich Bayern - Titel X. Von der Gewähr der Verfassung - § 3
(in German) Bavarian constitution from 26 May 1818, Oath of loyalty for government servant, accessed: 21 June 2008 With this, the Anif declaration, Dandl returned to the Bavarian capital,

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

The declaration

The original document of the declaration has been lost. It was in the possession of the then interior minister of Bavaria, Erhard Auer, but was lost during the Hitler Putsch in 1923. Only typed copies exist now, bearing handwritten additions by Kurt Eisner.

Publication

Dandl returned to Munich the same day and the government under Eisner published the declaration as the abdication of Ludwig III. Eisner had the declaration published word by word, adding a postscript stating that the ''People's State of Bavaria'' () accepted Ludwig's abdication and assured him and his family that they were free to return to Bavaria, provided they took no steps against the people's state and accepted the status of private citizens.Historisches lexikon Bayerns - Thronverzicht König Ludwig III.
(in German), accessed: 14 June 2008 While some, even conservative politicians, shared the government's interpretation of the declaration as an abdication, others pointed out the discrepancy between its wording and its use by the government as a declaration of abdication. Nevertheless, the declaration effectively ended Wittelsbach rule. After the death of Ludwig III in 1921, his son, Crown Prince Rupprecht, asserted his rights to the Bavarian crown,Historisches Lexikon Bayerns - Die Wittelsbacher nach 1918
(in German) accessed: 14 June 2008 claiming it to be his birthright to be King of Bavaria unless the people decided on a different form of government after free elections.Historisches Lexikon Bayerns - Monarchismus
(in German) accessed: 28 September 2010 Until his death in 1955, Rupprecht continued to demand that the question of whether Bavaria would be a republic or a monarchy should be decided by a

constituent assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

chosen in a democratic election.

References

External links

History of war: Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria, 1869-1955

Historisches Lexikon Bayerns - Anifer Erklärung, 12./13. November 1918
(in German) {{Authority control Monarchy in Germany 20th century in Bavaria House of Wittelsbach 1918 in Germany German Revolution of 1918–1919 1918 documents