Ferdinand Maria (31 October 1636 – 26 May 1679) was a

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, ...

ruler of

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 ...

and a

prince-elector The prince-electors ( pl. , , ) were the members of the Electoral College of the Holy Roman Empire, which elected the Holy Roman Emperor. Usually, half of the electors were archbishops. From the 13th century onwards, a small group of prince- ...

of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

from 1651 to 1679. The Elector modernized the army and introduced Bavaria's first government code. Besides encouraging agriculture and industry, he also improved building and restoration works on churches and monasteries since the damage caused during the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

Electoral Prince of Bavaria

He was born in

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 ...

. He was the eldest son of

Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria Maximilian I (17 April 157327 September 1651), occasionally called the Great, a member of the House of Wittelsbach, ruled as Duke of Bavaria from 1597. His reign was marked by the Thirty Years' War during which he obtained the title of a prince- ...

(whom he succeeded), and his second wife, Maria Anna of Austria, daughter of

Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II (9 July 1578 – 15 February 1637) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Hungary, and List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia from 1619 until his death in 1637. He was the son of Archduke Charles II, Archduke of Austr ...

. Born during the reign of his father, he was known as the Electoral Prince from birth. Through his mother, he was a first cousin of Queen Mariana of Spain as well as

Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; ; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia, and List of Bohemian monarchs, Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Rom ...

. On 8 December 1650, he married Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy, daughter of

Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy Victor Amadeus I (; 8 May 1587 – 7 October 1637) was the Duke of Savoy and ruler of the Savoyard states from 26 July 1630 until his death in 1637. He was also known as the ''Lion of Susa''. He was succeeded by two of his sons; Francis Hya ...

and Christine Marie of France. The couple had seven children, only two of whom would have offspring.

Elector

Still a minor when he succeeded his father in 1651, his mother became his guardian and his uncle, Albert VI of Bavaria served as Prince

Regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

of Bavaria for three years. Ferdinand Maria was crowned on 31 October 1654. His absolutistic style of leadership became a benchmark for the rest of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Though Ferdinand Maria was allied with

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, he made no attempt to oppose the Habsburg candidate at the 1658 imperial election after the death of his uncle

Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III (Ferdinand Ernest; 13 July 1608 – 2 April 1657) was Archduke of Austria, Kingdom of Hungary, King of Hungary and Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg), Croatia from 1625, Kingdom of Bohemia, King of Bohemia from 1627 and Holy Roman Emper ...

to avoid conflict. Ferdinand Maria supported the Habsburgs in the

Austro-Turkish War (1663–1664) The Austro-Turkish War (1663–1664) or fourth Austro-Turkish War was a short war between the Habsburg monarchy and the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman aim was to resume the advance in central Europe, conquer Vienna and subdue Austria. The Ottoman ...

against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, providing Bavarian contingents for the Army of the Holy Roman Empire. Under his leadership, Bavaria was officially neutral during the

Franco-Dutch War The Franco-Dutch War, 1672 to 1678, was primarily fought by Kingdom of France, France and the Dutch Republic, with both sides backed at different times by a variety of allies. Related conflicts include the 1672 to 1674 Third Anglo-Dutch War and ...

(1672–1678). Plans for a Bavarian colony near New York were discussed but soon abandoned. The marriage of his eldest daughter Maria Anna Victoria and her cousin '' le Grand Dauphin'' in 1680 was the outcome of the Bavarian alliance with France. Ferdinand Maria was the great grandfather of the future French monarch

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

. Ferdinand Maria modernized 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 ...

and introduced the first Bavarian local government code. The Elector did much indeed to repair the wounds caused by the

, encouraging agriculture and industries, and building or restoring numerous churches and monasteries. In 1669, moreover, he again called a meeting of the diet, which had been suspended since 1612. At the end of his reign he left the electorate with a very wealthy treasury. He died at the Old Schleissheim Palace and was succeeded by his son Maximilian II Emanuel. He was buried in the crypt of the Theatine Church, Munich.

Cultural legacy

Ferdinand Maria married Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy in 1650; and with her, the

Italian Baroque Italian Baroque (or ''Barocco'') is a stylistic period in Italian history and art that spanned from the late 16th century to the early 18th century. History The early 17th century marked a time of change for those of the Roman Catholic religion ...

was introduced in Bavaria. The Theatine Church, Munich was built from 1663 onwards as a gesture of thanks for the birth of the long-awaited heir to the Bavarian crown, Prince Maximilian II Emanuel. After that in 1664, Ferdinand Maria and his wife commissioned the building of the

Baroque style The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (i ...

Nymphenburg Palace The Nymphenburg Palace (, Palace of the Nymphs) is a Baroque palace situated in Munich's western district Neuhausen-Nymphenburg, in Bavaria, southern Germany. The Nymphenburg served as the main summer residence for the List of rulers of Bavaria, ...

near Munich based on the designs of Italian architect Agostino Barelli.

Lake Starnberg Lake Starnberg, or ''Starnberger See'' ) — called Lake Würm or ''Würmsee'' until 1962 — is Germany's second-largest body of fresh water, having great depth, and fifth-largest lake by area. It and its surroundings lie in three different Bava ...

was purchased by Ferdinand Maria from the Horwarth family and it became the venue of numerous festivities of the court with the famous fleet of Venetian Gondolas. On the lake's shores, he ordered the construction of Berg Castle in 1676. The castle was used for festivities there and later reached its zenith when it became the scene of spectacular entertainments and hunts under the rule of his successors, Maximilian Emanuel and Emperor Charles VII. For the

Munich Residenz The Residenz (, ''Residence'') in central Munich is the former royal palace of the House of Wittelsbach, Wittelsbach List of rulers of Bavaria, monarchs of Bavaria. The Residenz is the largest city palace in Germany and is today open to visitors ...

, Ferdinand Maria ordered the creation of the Papal Rooms.

Issue

* Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria (28 November 1660 – 20 April 1690) married Louis, Dauphin of France, and had issue. *

Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria Maximilian II (11 July 1662 – 26 February 1726), also known as Max Emanuel or Maximilian Emanuel, was a Wittelsbach ruler of Electorate of Bavaria, Bavaria and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire. He was also the last governor of the Spani ...

(11 July 1662 – 26 February 1726); married Maria Antonia of Austria and had issue; married

Theresa Kunegunda Sobieska Theresa Kunegunda (, , ) (4 March 1676 – 27 March 1730) was a Polish people, Polish princess, Electress of Bavaria and of the Electorate of the Palatinate. By birth, she was a member of the House of Sobieski and by marriage, she is also a membe ...

and had issue. * Luise Margarete Antonie of Bavaria (18 September 1663 – 10 November 1665) died in infancy. * Ludwig Amadeus Victor of Bavaria (6 April 1665 – 11 December 1665) died in infancy. * Stillborn son (4 August 1666). * Kajetan Maria Franz of Bavaria (2 May 1670 – 7 December 1670) died in infancy. *

Joseph Clemens of Bavaria Joseph Clemens of Bavaria () (4 December 1671 – 12 November 1723) was a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty of Bavaria and also served as the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne from 1688 to 1723. Biography The third son of Ferdinand Maria, El ...

(5 December 1671 – 12 November 1723) Elector and

Archbishop of Cologne The Archbishop of Cologne governs the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne in western North Rhine-Westphalia. Historically, the archbishop was ''ex officio'' one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and ruled the Electorate of Cologne ...

died unmarried. * Violante Beatrix of Bavaria (3 April 1673 – 3 June 1731) married Ferdinando de' Medici, Grand Prince of Tuscany and died childless. In addition, the Electress suffered three miscarriages: in June 1661, March 1664 and 1674.

Ancestors

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bavaria, Ferdinand Maria, Elector of 1636 births 1679 deaths 17th-century prince-electors of Bavaria Nobility from Munich German Roman Catholics House of Wittelsbach Child monarchs from Europe Burials at the Theatine Church, Munich Imperial vicars