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

Duke of Bavaria The following is a list of rulers during the history of Bavaria. Bavaria was ruled by several dukes and Monarch, kings, partitioned and reunited, under several dynasties. Since 1949, Bavaria has been a democratic States of Germany, state in th ...

from 1231 and

Count Palatine of the Rhine The counts palatine of Lotharingia /counts palatine of the Rhine /electors of the Palatinate (german: Kurfürst von der Pfalz) ruled some part of Rhine area in the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire from 915 to 1803. The title was a kind ...

from 1214. He was the son of

Louis I Louis I may refer to: * Louis the Pious, Louis I of France, "the Pious" (778–840), king of France and Holy Roman Emperor * Louis I, Landgrave of Thuringia (ruled 1123–1140) * Ludwig I, Count of Württemberg (c. 1098–1158) * Louis I of Blois ...

and

Ludmilla of Bohemia Ludmilla (Ludmiła) of Bohemia (died 14 August 1240) was a daughter of Frederick, Duke of Bohemia, and his wife, Elizabeth of Hungary. Ludmilla was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty. She was Duchess consort of Bavaria by her marriage to Louis ...

and a member of the

Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a German dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including Bavaria, the Palatinate, Holland and Zeeland, Sweden (with Finland), Denmark, Norway, Hungary (with Romania), Bohemia, the Electorate o ...

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 district Kelheim and is situated at the confluence of the rivers Altmühl and Danube. Kelheim has a population of around 16,750 (2020). History Kelheim is t ...

. At the age of sixteen, he was married to

Agnes of the Palatinate Agnes of the Palatinate (1201–1267) was a daughter of Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine and his first wife Agnes of Hohenstaufen, daughter of Conrad, Count Palatine of the Rhine. Agnes was Duchess of Bavaria by her marriage to Otto II Wittel ...

, a granddaughter of Duke

Henry the Lion Henry the Lion (german: Heinrich der Löwe; 1129/1131 – 6 August 1195) was a member of the Welf dynasty who ruled as the duke of Saxony and Bavaria from 1142 and 1156, respectively, until 1180. Henry was one of the most powerful German p ...

and

Conrad of Hohenstaufen Conrad of Hohenstaufen ( – 8 November 1195) was the first hereditary Count Palatine of the Rhine. His parents were Frederick II of Swabia (1090–1147), Duke of Swabia, and his second wife Agnes of Saarbrücken, daughter of Frederick, Cou ...

. 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 monastery that has brewed beer since 1455. The monastery brewery offers tours to visitors. The 2 ...

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 dynasty ...

party in 1241. His daughter, Elizabeth, was married to Frederick's son

Conrad IV Conrad (25 April 1228 – 21 May 1254), a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was the only son of Emperor Frederick II from his second marriage with Queen Isabella II of Jerusalem. He inherited the title of King of Jerusalem (as Conrad II) up ...

. Because of this, Otto was excommunicated by the pope. He died in

Landshut Landshut (; bar, Landshuad) is a town in Bavaria in the south-east of Germany. Situated on the banks of the River Isar, Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free State of Bavaria. It is also t ...

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

Scheyern Abbey Scheyern Abbey, formerly also Scheyern Priory (german: Kloster Scheyern), 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 founde ...

Family and children

Otto married Agnes, the daughter of

Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine Henry V, the Elder of Brunswick (german: Heinrich der Ältere von Braunschweig; – 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 S ...

(a son of

) and

Agnes of Hohenstaufen Agnes of Hohenstaufen (1176 – 7 or 9 May 1204) was the daughter and heiress of the Hohenstaufen count palatine Conrad of the Rhine. She was Countess of the Palatinate herself from 1195 until her death, as the wife of the Welf count palatine ...

, in

Worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany, a city **Worms (electoral district) *Worms, Nebraska, U.S. *Worms im Veltlintal, the German name for Bormio, Italy Arts and entertainme ...

in 1222. Their children were: #

Louis II, Duke of Bavaria Louis the Strict (german: Ludwig der Strenge) (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, h ...

(13 April 1229,

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

– 2 February 1294, Heidelberg). #

Henry XIII, Duke of Bavaria Henry XIII (19 November 1235 – 3 February 1290 in Burghausen), member of the Wittelsbach dynasty, was Duke of Lower Bavaria. Family He was the younger son of Otto II and Agnes of Brunswick. Biography In 1254, he succeeded his father toge ...

(19 November 1235, Landshut – 3 February 1290, Burghausen. #

Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Germany Elisabeth of Bavaria (, Trausnitz Castle, Landshut, Bavaria – 9 October 1273, Goyen Castle, Schenna, Tyrol), a member of the House of Wittelsbach, was Queen of Germany and Jerusalem from 1246 to 1254 by her marriage to King Conrad IV of Ger ...

(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 Annals are a concise form of historical writing which record events chronologically, year by year. The equivalent word in Latin and French is ''annales'', which is used untranslated in English in various contexts. List of works with titles contai ...

'' 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 temporarily excommunicated by the Catholic Church House of Wittelsbach Counts Palatine of the Rhine German Roman Catholics