George of Bavaria referred to as ''the Rich'' (15 August 1455 in Burghausen,

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 ...

– 1 December 1503 in

Ingolstadt Ingolstadt (; Austro-Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an Independent city#Germany, independent city on the Danube, in Upper Bavaria, with 142,308 inhabitants (as of 31 December 2023). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan ...

), (German: ''Georg, Herzog von Bayern-Landshut'') was the last duke of

Bavaria-Landshut Bavaria-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 up Louis's empire, his ...

. He was a son of Louis IX the Rich and Amalia of Saxony.

Biography

Together with his cousin Albert IV of Bavaria-Munich George tried to extend his influence in

Further Austria Further Austria, Outer Austria or Anterior Austria (; , formerly ''die Vorlande'' (pl.)) was the collective name for the early (and later) possessions of the House of Habsburg in the former Swabian stem duchy of south-western Germany, includin ...

, but in 1489 he abandoned these plans to settle the difference with

Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III (German language, German: ''Friedrich III,'' 21 September 1415 – 19 August 1493) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1452 until his death in 1493. He was the penultimate emperor to be Coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor, crowned by the p ...

. George later became a strong ally of

Emperor Maximilian I Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death in 1519. He was never crowned by the Pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed hi ...

and supported his campaigns in

Swabia Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Geldern Geldern (; , , ; archaic English: ''Guelder(s)'') is a city in the States of Germany, federal German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is part of the Kleve (district), district of Kleve, which is part of the Düsseldorf (region), Düsseldorf Reg ...

and

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, 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 and ...

. His wedding with the princess Hedwig Jagiellon, a daughter of King

Casimir IV of Poland Casimir IV (Casimir Andrew Jagiellon; ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447 until his death in 1492. He was one of the most active Polish-Lithuanian rulers; under ...

, in 1475 was celebrated in the

Landshut Wedding The Landshut Wedding (), held every four years in Landshut, Bavaria, is one of the largest historical pageants in Europe. It commemorates the wedding between Hedwig Jagiellon, daughter of the King of Poland, and George, the son of the Duke of ...

with one of the most splendid festivals of the Middle Ages. The couple had five children, three sons and two daughters. However, none of their sons survived until George's death, and per the restrictions of the

Salic law The Salic law ( or ; ), also called the was the ancient Frankish Civil law (legal system), civil law code compiled around AD 500 by Clovis I, Clovis, the first Frankish King. The name may refer to the Salii, or "Salian Franks", but this is deba ...

practiced in medieval Germany, their daughters could not inherit the duchy. However, George tried to bequeath the duchy to his daughter Elizabeth and her husband Ruprecht of the Palatinate, third son of

Philip, Elector Palatine Philip the Upright () (14 July 1448 – 28 February 1508) was an Elector Palatine of the Rhine from the house of Wittelsbach from 1476 to 1508. Biography He was the only son of Louis IV, Count Palatine of the Rhine and his wife Margaret ...

. This led to a destructive

war of succession A war of succession is a war prompted by a succession crisis in which two or more individuals claim to be the Order of succession, rightful successor to a demise of the Crown, deceased or deposition (politics), deposed monarch. The rivals are ...

after George's death in 1503–1504. Finally he was succeeded by Albert IV of Bavaria-Munich. Only the new duchy of

Palatinate-Neuburg Palatinate-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 some 100,000. History The Du ...

passed to Ruprecht's sons Otto-Henry, Elector Palatine (''Ottheinrich'') and

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Macedonian Old Koine language, Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominen ...

. The most southern districts of Bavaria-Landshut

Kufstein Kufstein (; ) is a town in the Austrian state of Tyrol, the administrative seat of Kufstein District. With a population of about 20,000 it is the second largest Tyrolean town after the state capital Innsbruck. The greatest landmark is Kufstein For ...

Kitzbühel Kitzbühel (, also: ; ) is a town rights, medieval town situated in the Kitzbühel Alps along the river Kitzbüheler Ache in Tyrol (state), Tyrol, Austria, about east of the state capital Innsbruck and is the administrative centre of the Kitzbüh ...

and

Rattenberg Rattenberg () is a City on the Inn River in the Austrian state of Tyrol near Rattenberg mountain and Innsbruck. With just 400 inhabitants and a surface area of 10 ha, it is the smallest city in the country. Geography The proximity of a mountain ...

passed to Emperor Maximilian and were united with

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

Issue

George and Hedwig had the following children: #Ludwig of Bavaria (1476–1496) #Rupert of Bavaria (1477) # Elisabeth of Bavaria (1478–1504), married Ruprecht of the Palatinate and was mother of

Otto Henry, Elector Palatine Otto-Henry, Elector Palatine, (; 10 April 1502, Amberg – 12 February 1559, Heidelberg) a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty was Count Palatine of Palatinate-Neuburg from 1505 to 1557 and prince elector of the Palatinate from 1556 to 1559 ...

. #Margaret of Bavaria (1480–1531) #Wolfgang of Bavaria (*/† 1482)

Ancestors

References

{{Authority control 1455 births 1503 deaths 15th-century dukes of Bavaria 16th-century dukes of Bavaria People from Burghausen, Altötting House of Wittelsbach