Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria (4 December 1808 – 15 November 1888), known informally as Max in Bayern, was a member of a junior branch of the royal

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, ...

who were Kings of Bavaria, and a promoter of Bavarian folk-music. He is most famous today as the father of

Empress Elisabeth of Austria Elisabeth (born Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria; 24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898), nicknamed Sisi or Sissi, was Empress of Austria and List of Hungarian consorts, Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Franz Joseph I of Austri ...

("Sisi") and great-grandfather of King

Leopold III of Belgium Leopold III (3 November 1901 – 25 September 1983) was King of the Belgians from 23 February 1934 until his abdication on 16 July 1951. At the outbreak of World War II, Leopold tried to maintain Belgian neutrality, but after the Battle of Belgi ...

Life

Maximilian Joseph was born on 4 December 1808 at the ''Neue Residenz'' at

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia district in Bavaria, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main (river), Main. Bamberg had 79,000 inhabitants in ...

in 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 ...

, the only son of

Duke Pius August in Bavaria Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ...

(1786–1837) and his wife,

Princess Amélie Louise of Arenberg Princess Amélie Louise Julie of Arenberg, (full German name: ''Amalie Luise Julie, Prinzessin und Herzogin von Arenberg'' and full French name: ''Amélie Louise, princesse et duchesse d'Arenberg'', (born 10 April 1789 in Brussels, Austrian Nethe ...

(1789–1823). His father was a member of the non-reigning ducal line of the widely branched

whose members held the titles of Duke and Duchess in Bavaria. Engagement portrait of Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria and Princess Ludovika of Bavaria

Engagement portrait of Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria and Princess Ludovika of Bavaria

On 9 September 1828, at

Tegernsee Tegernsee () is a Town#Germany, town in the Miesbach (district), Miesbach district of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the banks of Tegernsee (lake), Lake Tegernsee, which is 747 m (2,451 ft) AMSL, above sea level. A spa town, it is su ...

, Maximilian Joseph married his father's cousin, Princess Ludovika of Bavaria, the sixth daughter of King

Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria Maximilian I Joseph (; 27 May 1756 – 13 October 1825) was Duke of Zweibrücken from 1795 to 1799, prince-elector of Bavaria (as Maximilian IV Joseph) from 1799 to 1806, then King of Bavaria (as Maximilian I Joseph) from 1806 to 1825. He was ...

. They had ten children. In 1834, he purchased

Possenhofen Castle Possenhofen Castle () is a condominium complex and former palace located in Possenhofen on the western shore of Lake Starnberg in Bavaria, Germany. It is best known as being the childhood summer residence of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. History ...

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 ...

; this was his major residence for the rest of his life. In 1838 he acquired Unterwittelsbach Castle (today housing a "Sisi" museum) near the site of Burg Wittelsbach, the

ancestral seat A family seat, sometimes just called seat, is the principal residence of the landed gentry and aristocracy. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a given area. Some families to ...

of the

. After suffering two

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

s, Duke Maximilian Joseph died aged 79 on 15 November 1888 in his residence in Munich. He and his wife are buried in the family crypt in

Tegernsee Abbey Tegernsee Abbey ( German ''Kloster Tegernsee'' or ''Abtei Tegernsee'') is a former Benedictine monastery in the town and district of Tegernsee in Bavaria. Both the abbey and the town that grew up around it are named after the Tegernsee, the lake ...

, a former monastery which Ludovika's father, King Maximilian I Joseph, had acquired in 1817. At the same time of the

secularisation In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...

, Duke Maximilian Joseph's grandfather Duke Wilhelm in Bavaria had also purchased a former monastery,

Banz Abbey Banz Abbey (), now known as Banz Castle (), is a former Benedictine monastery, since 1978 a part of the town of Bad Staffelstein north of Bamberg, Bavaria, southern Germany. History The abbey was founded in about 1070 by Countess Alberada o ...

. Both properties, Tegernsee and Banz, are still today owned by

Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria Max-Emanuel Ludwig Maria Herzog in Bayern (sometimes styled Prince Max of Bavaria, Duke in Bavaria; born 21 January 1937) as the younger son of Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria, is the heir presumptive to both the headship of the former Bavarian royal ...

. File:Schloss Possenhofen 2010 2.JPG,

File:Schloss Unterwittelsbach.jpg, Unterwittelsbach Castle File:Schloss Tegernsee.jpg,

File:München Ludwigstraße 13 Bundesbank.jpg, House of Duke Maximilian Joseph in Munich

Middle East trip

In 1838 Maximilian Joseph travelled to

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. He published an account of this trip: (Munich: Georg Franz, 1839; reprinted Pfaffenhofen: Ludwig, 1978). While climbing the

Great Pyramid The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest Egyptian pyramid. It served as the tomb of pharaoh Khufu, who ruled during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. Built , over a period of about 26 years, the pyramid is the oldest of the Seven Wond ...

, he arranged for his servants to yodel as if he were climbing in the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

. He collected a number of antiquities which he brought back to Bavaria and displayed in his father's home,

; they can still be seen there today. Among the items are the mummy of a young woman, three mummies' heads, several animal mummies, shawabtis, and several stones from tombs or temples including one from the

Temple of Dendur The Temple of Dendur (Dendoor in the 19th century) is a Roman Egyptian religious structure originally located in Tuzis (later Dendur), Nubia about south of modern Aswan. Around 23 BCE, Emperor Augustus commissioned the Egyptian temple, temple d ...

. He also bought some children in the

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

slave market and later freed them. When Maximilian Joseph was in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, he paid for the restoration of the

Church of the Flagellation The Church of the Flagellation is a Roman Catholic church and Christian pilgrimage site located in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem, near St. Stephen's Gate (also called Lions' Gate). It is part a Franciscan monastery which als ...

on the

Via Dolorosa The (Latin for 'Sorrowful Way', often translated 'Way of Suffering'; ; ) is a processional route in the Old City of Jerusalem. It represents the path that Jesus took, forced by the Roman soldiers, on the way to his crucifixion. The winding rou ...

Folk-music

Maximilian Joseph was one of the most prominent promoters of Bavarian folk-music in the 19th century. Under his influence the

zither Zither (; , from the Greek ''cithara'') is a class of stringed instruments. The modern instrument has many strings stretched across a thin, flat body. Zithers are typically played by strumming or plucking the strings with the fingers or a ...

started to be used in court circles and eventually became identified as the national musical instrument of Bavaria. Because of his interest he received the nickname . He himself played the zither and also composed music for it. During a visit by his cousin

Ludwig II of Bavaria Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886), also called the Swan King or the Fairy Tale King (), was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke ...

, Ludwig saw some sheet music on Maximilian Joseph's piano by the composer

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

, which led on to Ludwig's financial support for Wagner from 1863. Maximilian Joseph's musical compositions have been collected in the work: ''Die im Druck erschienenen Kompositionen von Herzog Maximilian in Bayern: Ländler, Walzer, Polka, Schottisch, Mazurka, Quadrillen und Märsche für Pianoforte, Zither, Gitarre oder Streichinstrumente'' (Munich: Musikverlag Emil Katzbichler, 1992).

Issue

Honours

He received the following orders and decorations: * : Knight of the

Order of Saint Hubert The Royal Order of Saint Hubert (), or sometimes () is a Roman Catholic dynastic order of knighthood founded in 1444 or 1445 by Gerhard VII, Duke of Jülich-Berg. He sought to commemorate his victory over the House of Egmond at the Battle of ...

* : Grand Cross of the Grand Ducal Hessian Order of Ludwig, ''26 November 1849'' *

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

: Knight of the

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle () was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I of Prussia, Friedrich I, King in Prussia, the ...

, ''20 November 1841'' * : Knight of the

Order of the Rue Crown The Order of the Rue Crown () or Order of the Crown of Saxony was a dynastic order of knighthood of the Kingdom of Saxony. The order takes its name from the green floral crown of rue ('' crancelin'') found in the coat of arms of Saxony. It occup ...

, ''1864'' * : ** Grand Cross of the Royal Hungarian

Order of Saint Stephen The Order of Saint Stephen (officially ''Sacro Militare Ordine di Santo Stefano Papa e Martire'', 'Holy Military Order of St. Stephen Pope and Martyr') is a Roman Catholic Tuscan dynastic military order founded in 1561. The order was created ...

, ''1853'' ** Knight of the Distinguished

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...

, ''1854'' *

Kingdom of Greece The Kingdom of Greece (, Romanization, romanized: ''Vasíleion tis Elládos'', pronounced ) was the Greece, Greek Nation state, nation-state established in 1832 and was the successor state to the First Hellenic Republic. It was internationally ...

: Grand Cross of the

Order of the Redeemer The Order of the Redeemer (), also known as the Order of the Saviour, is an order of merit of Greece. The Order of the Redeemer is the oldest and highest decoration awarded by the modern Greek state. Establishment The establishment of the Orde ...

* : Grand Cross of the Illustrious Royal Order of Saint Ferdinand and Merit

Ancestry

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Damien Bilteryst, Olivier Defrance, Joseph van Loon: ''Les Biederstein, cousins oubliés de la reine Élisabeth, années 1875-1906''. Museum Dynasticum, Bruxelles, XXXIV/1 2022. * * * * * * * See also parts of ''Fürst und Arzt : Dr. med. Herzog Carl Theodor in Bayern : Schicksal zwischen Wittelsbach und Habsburg'' by Richard Sexau, a biography of his son Karl Theodor (Styria Verlag, Graz, 1963)

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maximilian Joseph In Bavaria, Duke 1808 births 1888 deaths 19th-century German nobility People from Bamberg House of Wittelsbach Members of the Bavarian Reichsrat Dukes in Bavaria German hunters Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Great Pyramid of Giza