Otto II (7 April 1206 – 29 November 1253), called the Illustrious (), was the

Duke of Bavaria The following is a list of monarchs during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by several dukes and kings, partitioned and reunited, under several dynasties. Since 1918, Bavaria has been under a republican form of government, and from 19 ...

from 1231 and

Count Palatine of the Rhine This article lists counts palatine of Lotharingia, counts palatine of the Rhine, and electors of the Palatinate (), the titles of three counts palatine who ruled some part of the Rhine region in the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire b ...

from 1228. He was the son of

Louis I Louis I may refer to: Cardinals * Louis I, Cardinal of Guise (1527–1578) Counts * Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg (c. 1098–1158) * Louis I of Blois (1172–1205) * Louis I of Flanders (1304–1346) * Louis I of Châtillon (died 13 ...

and Ludmilla of Bohemia and a member of the

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, ...

dynasty. The poet Reinbot von Dürne was active at his court.

Life

Otto was born at

Kelheim Kelheim () is a town and municipality in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the Kelheim (district), district Kelheim and is situated at the confluence of the rivers Altmühl and Danube. Kelheim has a population of around 16,750 (2020). His ...

At the age of sixteen, he was married to Agnes of the Palatinate, a granddaughter of Duke Henry the Lion and Conrad of Hohenstaufen. With this marriage, the Wittelsbach inherited the Palatinate and kept it as a Wittelsbach possession until 1918. Since that time also the lion has become a heraldic symbol in the coat of arms for Bavaria and the Palatinate. Otto acquired the rich regions of Bogen in 1240, and

Andechs Andechs is a municipality in the district of Starnberg in Bavaria in Germany. It is renowned in Germany and beyond for Andechs Abbey, a Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB ...

and Ortenburg in 1248 as possessions for the Wittelsbach and extended his power base in Bavaria this way. With the county of Bogen the Wittelsbach acquired also the white and blue coloured lozenge flag which since that time has been the flag of Bavaria (and of the Palatinate). After a dispute with emperor Frederick II was ended, he joined the

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynast ...

party in 1241. His daughter, Elizabeth, was married to Frederick's son Conrad IV. Because of this, Otto was excommunicated by the pope. He died in

Landshut Landshut (; ) is a town in Bavaria, Germany, on the banks of the Isar, River Isar. Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free state (government), Free State of Bavaria, and the seat of the surrou ...

in 1253. Like his forefathers, Otto was buried in the crypt of

Scheyern Abbey Scheyern Abbey, formerly also Scheyern Priory (), is a house of the Benedictine Order in Scheyern in Bavaria. First foundation The monastery at Scheyern was established in 1119 as the final site of the community founded in around 1077 at Ba ...

Family and children

Otto married Agnes, the daughter of

Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine Henry V, the Elder of Brunswick (; – 28 April 1227), a member of the House of Welf, was Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1195 until 1212. Life Henry was the eldest son of Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria and Matilda, the eldest ...

(a son of Henry the Lion) and Agnes of Hohenstaufen, in

Worms The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms. Content The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...

in 1222. Their children were: #

Louis II, Duke of Bavaria Louis the Strict () (13 April 1229 – 2 February 1294) was Duke of Upper Bavaria and Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1253. He is known as Louis II or Louis VI following an alternative numbering. Born in Heidelberg, he was a son of Otto II W ...

(13 April 1229,

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

– 2 February 1294, Heidelberg). # Henry XIII, Duke of Bavaria (19 November 1235, Landshut – 3 February 1290, Burghausen. #

Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Germany Elisabeth of Bavaria ( – 9 October 1273) was Queen of Germany and Jerusalem from 1246 to 1254 by her marriage to King Conrad IV of Germany. Life Elisabeth was born at Trausnitz Castle in Landshut, the eldest daughter of Otto II Wittels ...

(c. 1227, Landshut – 9 October 1273) # Sophie (1236, Landshut – 9 August 1289, Castle Hirschberg), married 1258 to Count Gerhard IV of Sulzbach and Hirschberg. # Agnes (c. 1240–c. 1306), Nun in Segenstal Abbey Otto had a daughter who died young and whose name is not known. The '' Annales sancti Rudberti Salisburgenses'' record her betrothal in 1235 to Conrad, who later married Elisabeth.Alan V. Murray (1986), "Reinbot von Durne's Der heilige Georg as Crusading Literature", ''Forum for Modern Language Studies'' 22 (2): 172–173 and n8.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Otto 2 Wittelsbach 1206 births 1253 deaths 13th-century dukes of Bavaria People from Kelheim People excommunicated by the Catholic Church House of Wittelsbach Counts Palatine of the Rhine German Roman Catholics