The Peace of Füssen () was a

peace treaty A peace treaty is an treaty, agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually country, countries or governments, which formally ends a declaration of war, state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an ag ...

signed at Füssen, between the Electorate of Bavaria and Habsburg Austria. Signed on 22 April 1745, it ended the participation 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 ...

on the French side in the

War of the Austrian Succession The War of the Austrian Succession was a European conflict fought between 1740 and 1748, primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italian Peninsula, Italy, the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Related conflicts include King Ge ...

Background

After the conquest of

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

by Bavarian and French troops on 26 November 1741, Elector Charles Albert of Bavaria, with French and Prussian support, declared himself King of

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

and was elected Emperor Charles VII on 24 January 1742. Charles Albert was then crowned on 12 February. On the same day as his coronation in

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, however, Austrian troops occupied Bavaria and Hungarian

hussar A hussar, ; ; ; ; . was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry ...

s plundered

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 ...

and the Bavarians were forced also to evacuate Bohemia which they had occupied for a few months. With French assistance, Charles VII fought Austria for three years, but was unable to secure victory. When Charles VII died in Munich on 20 January 1745, his successor as Elector of Bavaria, Maximilian III Joseph, signed a preliminary peace with Austria. But a strong war-party led by Ignaz von Törring and supported by France wanted to continue the war. After the decisive defeat in the Battle of Pfaffenhofen on 15 April, Maximilian Joseph chose for peace.

Peace treaty

The formal peace treaty signed in Füssen consisted of seventeen articles, two side articles, and a secret additional clause. Maximilian abandoned his father's claim on Bohemia and recognized the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713.Kann, p. 98. Austria did not demand any reparations and recognized the legitimacy of Charles VII's election as

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

. Maximilian III promised to support the imperial candidacy of Maria Theresa's husband and future Habsburgs, Francis Stephen of Lorraine, and to influence the votes of the

Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate was a Imperial State, constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by the Electorate of Baden in 1803. From the end of the 13th century, its ruler was one of the Prince-electors who elected the Holy ...

and the Electorate of Cologne, both ruled by 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, ...

. The treaty was signed by Joseph Fürst zu Fürstenberg for Bavaria and Rudolf Graf von Colloredo for Austria.

References

Fussen Fussen Fussen 1745 treaties 1745 in the Habsburg monarchy 1745 in the Holy Roman Empire 18th century in Bavaria Habsburg monarchy–Holy Roman Empire relations Füssen Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor {{Treaty-stub