Category Archives: Bavarian Royals

Elisabeth of Bavaria, Empress of Austria

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2016

Photo Credit – Wikipedia

Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie, Duchess in Bavaria, known as Sisi, was born on December 24, 1837, at Herzog-Max-Palais (Duke Max Palace) in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in Bavaria, Germany. Today the palace is the Munich headquarters of the Deutsche Bundesbank, formerly the State Central Bank of Bavaria, and there is a plaque on the building commemorating Sisi’s birth.

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Plaque on the Deutsche Bundesbank in Munich commemorating the birth of Elisabeth, Empress of Austria; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

Sisi’s father was Maximilian Joseph, Duke in Bavaria, from a junior branch of the House of Wittelsbach.  Maximilian Joseph did much to promote Bavarian folk music. He played the zither, which is the national instrument of Bavaria, and composed music for it.

Maximilian Joseph, Duke in Bavaria playing the zither; Credit – Wikipedia

Sisi’s mother was Princess Ludovika of Bavaria, the daughter of Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria and his second wife Caroline of Baden.

Ludovika of Bavaria; Credit – Wikipedia

Although the family had a home in Munich, Herzog-Max-Palais (Duke Max Palace), Sisi’s parents had no obligations with the Bavarian royal court and their nine children spent much time living a carefree, unstructured, unrestrained childhood at Schloss Possenhofen on Lake Starnberg.  Sisi had a close relationship with her father, and he allowed her to stay away from classes to spend time with him. Her hobbies included horseback riding, drawing, and writing poems.

Equestrian portrait of Sisi at Schloss Possenhofen, 1853; Credit – Wikipedia

Sisi’s eight siblings:

The painting below is a group portrait of Sisi’s siblings given to her by her brother Karl Theodor on the occasion of her wedding.

(left to right) Sophie, Maximilian Emanuel, Karl Theodor, Helene, Ludwig Wilhelm, Mathilde and Marie; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1848, Emperor Ferdinand of Austria abdicated and his 18-year-old nephew Franz Joseph succeeded him. The feeling in the Imperial Court was that the young emperor should marry and produce heirs as soon as possible. Franz Joseph’s domineering mother, Princess Sophie of Bavaria was the sister of Sisi’s mother. Sophie considered several princesses as the future empress, however, Sophie wanted to forge a relationship with her familial House of Wittelsbach of Bavaria and the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. She arranged for a match between Franz Joseph and Helene, Duchess in Bavaria, Sisi’s eldest sister. In 1853, Helene traveled with her mother and her younger sister Sisi to the resort of Bad Ischl, Upper Austria to meet her first cousin Franz Joseph with the hopes that she would become his bride. Instead, Franz Joseph fell in love with the 15-year-old Sisi. Franz Joseph told his mother that if he could not marry Sisi, he would not marry at all. Five days later their engagement was officially announced.

Franz Joseph in 1853; Credit – Wikipedia

Sisi in 1855; Credit – Wikipedia

Franz Joseph and Sisi were married at 4 PM on April 24, 1854, at the Augustinerkirche, the parish church of the Imperial Court of the Habsburgs, a short walk from Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria. It had taken an hour for the wedding procession to walk through the palace corridors and courtyards and down the street to the church. The ceremony was conducted by Cardinal Joseph Othmar Rauscher, Archbishop of Vienna with 1,000 guests in attendance including 70 bishops.

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Augustinerkirche in Vienna, Austria; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

Wedding of Franz Joseph and Sisi; Credit – Wikipedia

Sisi, who had been brought up in a relaxed atmosphere, was bored and tired after the wedding, but her duties were not yet done. After the wedding, the newlyweds proceeded down a 50-yard carpet back to the Hofburg Palace where for two hours they received their wedding guests. When dinner was finally served at 10 PM, Sisi had no appetite. The strict and formal reality of the Habsburg court’s protocol had astonished her. When her family left Vienna to return to Bavaria, Sisi’s father told her that he could not tolerate the Vienna court etiquette and that she would have to visit him at Schloss Possenhofen. Her sister Helene expressed her relief that Franz Joseph had not chosen her as his bride.

The couple had four children:

Sisi with her two eldest surviving children, Gisela and Rudolf in 1858; Credit – Wikipedia

Sisi’s youngest child, Marie Valerie in 1870; Credit – Wikipedia

The marriage was not a happy one for Sisi. Although her husband loved her, Sisi had difficulties adjusting to the Austrian court and did not get along with Imperial family members, especially her mother-in-law. Sisi felt emotionally distant from her husband and fled from him as well as her duties at court, by frequent traveling.  In 1885, Franz Joseph began a long-standing private relationship with actress Katharina Schratt that would last the rest of his life. The exact nature of their relationship is unclear. Some believe that Katharina and Franz Joseph were lovers while others believe that their relationship was platonic. Katharina always maintained the strictest discretion regarding her relationship with Franz Joseph. Sisi tolerated the relationship and even seemed to encourage it.

Empress Elisabeth of Austria in Courtly Gala Dress with Diamond Stars by Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1865; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1860, Sisi suffered from severe coughing. The diagnosis of lung disease and the recommendation of a cure in Madeira, Portugal was used by Sisi as a pretext to escape from court life and take her first trip alone away from Vienna. When Sisi returned to Vienna, she suffered a severe relapse. The doctors diagnosed pulmonary consumption and Sisi escaped to the Greek island of Corfu in the Ionian Sea. Sisi quite liked Corfu and in 1889-1891, she had the Achilleion Palace built there. Sisi’s travels to escape life at court continued for the rest of her life.

Achilleion Palace in Corfu, Greece; By Marc Ryckaert (MJJR) – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23107846

Sisi had very rigorous exercise habits. Besides riding every day for hours, she had a gymnasium with wall bars, a high bar, and rings in the frame of a door. When she was in her 40s, Sisi began to suffer from sciatica and could not ride anymore. She then increased her gymnastic routines and began fencing lessons. In addition, she took long walks, sometimes walking 20 miles a day.

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Sisi’s dressing and exercise room at Hofburg Palace; Photo Credit – http://www.hofburg-wien.at

Franz Joseph kept his heir Crown Prince Rudolf away from all state affairs. Under pressure from his father, Rudolf married Princess Stephanie of Belgium, daughter of King Leopold II of the Belgians. The couple had one child, Elisabeth Marie. On January 30, 1889, at Mayerling, a hunting lodge in the Vienna Woods which Rudolf had purchased, in an apparent suicide plot, Rudolf shot his 17-year-old mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera and then shot himself. Crown Prince Rudolf had no sons, so the succession would pass to Emperor Franz Joseph’s brother, Archduke Karl Ludwig and his eldest son, Archduke Franz Ferdinand. In a matter of days, Archduke Karl Ludwig renounced his succession rights in favor of his son Archduke Franz Ferdinand, whose assassination in 1914 sparked World War I.

Crown Prince Rudolf; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

After Rudolf’s death, Sisi spent little time with her husband, preferring to travel. However, a warm and friendly correspondence between the couple existed. In 1898, despite being warned about possible assassination attempts, Sisi traveled incognito to Geneva, Switzerland. She stayed at the Hotel Beau-Rivage, where she enjoyed a meal of timbale de volaille, crème glacèe à l’Hongroise, and iced champagne. She asked her lady-in-waiting Irma, Countess Sztáray to send the menu to Franz Joseph because she had enjoyed the meal so much. Afterward, Sisi visited the aviaries, aquarium, and conservatories, and bought presents for her grandchildren.

Last photograph of Sisi and her lady-in-waiting shortly before her death; Credit – Wikipedia

The next day, September 10, 1898, Sisi was due to take a ferry across Lake Geneva to the town of Territet. As Sisi and her lady-in-waiting were walking to the ferry’s landing, the Italian anarchist Luigi Lucheni rushed at her and stabbed her in the heart with a pointed file. The puncture wound was so small that it was initially not noticed and it was thought that Sisi had just been punched in the chest. Sisi thanked all the people who had rushed to help and conversed with her lady-in-waiting about the incident. Only when onboard the ferry did she finally collapse and then the severity of her wound came to light. The ferry captain ordered the ferry back to Geneva and Sisi was taken back to the hotel on an improvised stretcher. A doctor and a priest were summoned. The doctor confirmed that there was no hope and the priest administered the Last Rites. Sisi died without regaining consciousness.

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The file that was used to stab Sisi on display at the Hofburg Palace; Credit – http://www.hofburg-wien.at

An artist’s rendition of the stabbing of Sisi by the Italian anarchist Luigi Lucheni; Credit – Wikipedia

Luigi Lucheni originally wanted to assassinate Prince Philippe, Duke of Orléans, but the duke had left Geneva earlier. He then selected Sisi as his victim when a Geneva newspaper revealed that the woman traveling under the pseudonym of “Countess of Hohenembs” was Empress Elisabeth of Austria.  Lucheni was sentenced to life imprisonment, and in 1910 he hanged himself with his belt in his prison cell.

Franz Joseph never fully recovered from his wife’s death. Sisi was buried in Franz Josephs Gruft (Franz Joseph’s Crypt) in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria where her son Rudolf had been buried. When Franz Joseph died in 1916, his tomb was placed between the tombs of his wife and son.

Emperor Franz Joseph at Sisi’s coffin in the Imperial Crypt

Sisi’s tomb on the left, Franz Joseph’s tomb in the middle, Rudolf’s tomb on the right; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

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Austria Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Caroline Augusta of Bavaria, Empress of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2016

Credit – Wikipedia

Caroline Augusta of Bavaria was born on February 8, 1792, in Mannheim, then in the Electorate of the Palatinate, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. She was the third daughter and the fourth of the five children of Maximilian IV Joseph, Prince-Elector of Bavaria and his first wife Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt. At the age of two, Caroline Augusta contracted smallpox and her face was left scarred. When Caroline Augusta was four years old, her mother died of tuberculosis.

Caroline Augusta had four siblings:

In 1797, Caroline Augusta’s father married his second wife Caroline of Baden, and Caroline Augusta had seven half-siblings, including two sets of identical twin sisters:

Caroline Augusta’s father was an ally of Napoleon and as a consequence of a treaty signed in December 1805 by Napoleon and Caroline of Augusta’s future husband Emperor Franz I of Austria, certain Austrian holdings in Germany were passed to her father and he became King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria.  Napoleon had also elevated another ally Friedrich Wilhelm Karl, Elector of Württemberg to the status of King. As a symbol of this alliance with Napoleon, Friedrich’s daughter Catharina was married to Napoleon’s youngest brother Jérôme Bonaparte, the king of the newly created Kingdom of Westphalia. In order to prevent Napoleon from arranging a marriage for his heir Crown Prince Wilhelm, King Friedrich I of Württemberg arranged for a marriage of convenience between his son Wilhelm and Caroline Augusta of Bavaria. The couple was married in Lutheran and Catholic ceremonies in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in Germany, on June 8, 1808. After the marriage ceremony, Wilhelm told Caroline Augusta, “We are victims of politics.”

Wilhelm and Caroline Augusta’s marriage was never consummated and the couple lived apart in separate wings in the Royal Palace in Stuttgart, the capital of the Kingdom of Württemberg. Wilhelm, who was nine years older, paid no attention to the 16-year-old Caroline Augusta, who was often lonely. She spent her time writing letters to her favorite brother Crown Prince Ludwig, learning Italian and English, walking, reading, and painting. After Napoleon’s fall in 1814, Wilhelm and Caroline Augusta’s marriage was dissolved by a Lutheran consistory set up by King Friedrich I of Württemberg. Caroline Augusta received a generous financial settlement and went to live with an aunt in Neuburg an der Donau, Bavaria. Pope Pius VII dissolved her first marriage on January 12, 1816, so she could be married again in the Catholic Church.

Emperor Franz I with his wife Caroline Augusta at the theater; Credit – Wikipedia

Caroline Augusta’s brother Crown Prince Ludwig held some marriage negotiations for his sister without the knowledge of their father. Ludwig had communicated with the widowed Ferdinando III, Grand Duke of Tuscany, the brother of Franz I, Emperor of Austria. However, when Emperor Franz heard of his brother’s possible marriage plans with Caroline Augusta, he became interested in her for himself. Franz had been widowed for a third time in April 1816. Ferdinand withdrew his marriage proposal for Caroline Augusta in favor of his brother. On October 29, 1816, Caroline Augusta and Franz were married by proxy in Munich, Bavaria. The groom was represented by the bride’s brother Crown Prince Ludwig. On November 10, 1816, Caroline Augusta and Franz were married in person at the Augustinerkirche near the Hofburg Palace in Vienna, Austria.

Family of Franz I, Emperor of Austria: From left to right: Caroline Augusta of Bavaria, Empress of Austria; Franz I, Emperor of Austria; Napoleon II of France, Duke of Reichstadt (Franz’s grandson); Princess Sophie of Bavaria, Archduchess of Austria; Marie-Louise of Austria, Duchess of Parma (Franz’s daughter and Napoleon II’s mother); the future Ferdinand I, Emperor of Austria; and Archduke Franz Karl of Austria in 1826 by Leopold Fertbauer; Credit – Wikipedia

The couple had no children and Caroline Augusta played no role in politics instead, she devoted herself to charitable activities. Through her efforts, child-care institutions, hospitals, and homes for workers were built. After her husband, Emperor Franz I of Austria died in 1835, Caroline Augusta lived in Salzburg to stay out of the way of her half-sister Sophie who had married Franz’s son Archduke Franz Karl in 1824. Emperor Franz I had been succeeded by his son Ferdinand who abdicated in 1848. At that time, Archduke Franz Karl was persuaded to renounce his succession rights in favor of his eldest son Franz Joseph, who reigned from 1847 – 1916. Caroline Augusta was on good terms with Franz Joseph, who was her nephew and his wife Elisabeth of Bavaria (Sissi) who was her niece.

Caroline Augusta in old age; Photo Credit – Wikipedia

The Dowager Empress Caroline Augusta died on February 9, 1873, a day after her 81st birthday. She was buried in Vienna at the Capuchin Church in the Imperial Crypt in the Franzensgruft (Franz’s Vault) where her husband and his three other wives are also buried.

Tomb of Caroline Augusta of Bavaria, fourth wife of Holy Roman Emperor Franz II/Emperor Franz I of Austria; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

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Austria Resources at Unofficial Royalty

Queen Elisabeth of Belgium

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2015

photo: Wikipedia

Queen Elisabeth of Belgium was the wife of Albert I, King of the Belgians. She was born Elisabeth Gabriele Valérie Marie, Duchess in Bavaria, on July 25, 1876, at Possenhofen Castle in the Kingdom of Bavaria, now in Bavaria, Germany. Elisabeth was the third of six children of Karl-Theodor, Duke in Bavaria (a grandson of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria), and his second wife, Infanta Maria Josepha of Portugal (a daughter of King Miguel I of Portugal). She was named after her father’s sister, Empress Elisabeth “Sisi” of Austria.

Elisabeth had four siblings:

Elisabeth was raised and educated at home, and from a very early age developed a passion for the arts. She also, through the efforts of her parents, gained an understanding and appreciation for helping those less fortunate. These interests would later make her a very beloved Queen in Belgium.

Engagement photo of Elisabeth and Albert. photo: Wikipedia

While in Paris in May 1897, attending the funeral of her aunt, The Duchess of Alençon, Elisabeth met her future husband, the future Albert I, King of the Belgians. The two quickly become involved, and several months later they became engaged. They married in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria, on October 2, 1900, and following a honeymoon in Italy, settled in Brussels, Belgium. They had three children:

In December 1909, Albert and Elisabeth became King and Queen of the Belgians, following the death of Albert’s uncle, King Leopold II. The new Queen took on a much more public role than her predecessors, getting involved with many charities and organizations, particularly those in the arts and social welfare. She often surrounded herself with famous authors and artists, as well as leading scientists of the day. Her friendly nature, and true care and concern for others, quickly endeared her to the people of Belgium.

When war broke out in 1914, Queen Elisabeth worked with the nurses on the front and helped establish the Symphony Orchestra of the field army. She also traveled to the UK often, under the pretext of visiting her children who were studying there. In fact, she was often bringing important messages and information to the British government from her husband and his forces. Following the war, the family made a triumphant return to Brussels and set about to rebuild the nation.

 

In addition to her work helping those less fortunate, Queen Elisabeth also indulged in many of her other interests. She became an avid photographer and continued a life-long interest in ancient Egypt. This interest led her to be the first invited guest to see the newly opened tomb of King Tutankhamun on February 18, 1923, and her subsequent establishment of the Queen Elisabeth Egyptological Foundation. In addition, she established the Queen Elisabeth Medical Foundation in Belgium, and the Queen Elisabeth Medical Assistance Fund in the Congo, to help those who could not afford medical care. In 1928, she was responsible for the establishment of the Palace for Fine Arts in Brussels.

On February 17, 1934, her husband, King Albert I, was killed in a mountain climbing accident and was succeeded by their elder son, King Leopold III. Elisabeth withdrew from public life, so as not to hinder the efforts of her daughter-in-law, now Queen Astrid.  However, in August 1935, Astrid was killed in an automobile accident in Switzerland. The Dowager Queen Elisabeth returned to public life, doing her best to support her son and his young family, and resuming her position as the first lady of the land. She continued with her patronage of the arts, establishing the National Orchestra of Belgium, the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition, the new Royal Library of Belgium, and the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel.

During World War II, she remained at the Palace of Laeken in Brussels, Belgium with her son, who was held there under house arrest by the Germans. During this time, she used her influence and her connections to help rescue hundreds of Jewish children from deportation by the Nazi regime. For this, she would later be granted the title Righteous Among the Nations by the Israeli government. When Leopold and his family were deported to Germany in 1944, Elisabeth remained in Belgium, doing her best to publicly support her younger son, Charles, who was serving as Regent, and with whom she had a very strained relationship. Upon Leopold’s return in 1950, and subsequent abdication in 1951, Elisabeth moved from the Palace of Laeken, taking up residence at Stuyvenberg Castle, just across the park. Here she would entertain some of the most prominent names of the time – Albert Einstein, Albert Schweitzer, Pablo Casals, Jean Cocteau, among many others.

 

The remainder of her life was spent enjoying her grandchildren and continuing with her artistic pursuits. In 1956, she celebrated her 80th birthday surrounded by her extensive royal family. She was the mother of a King, a Prince Regent and a Queen, and grandmother to two future Kings, a future Grand Duchess, and the pretender to the Italian throne.

 

On November 23, 1965, at her home at Stuyvenberg Castle in Laeken, Brussels, Belgium, the Dowager Queen Elisabeth passed away at the age of 89. Her funeral was held at the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels, Belgium, and was attended by nearly all of the Belgian royal family (her son Charles refused to attend), as well as members of royal families from around the world. She was then interred in the Royal Crypt at the Church of Our Lady of Laeken in Brussels, Belgium next to her beloved husband, King Albert I.

Tomb of King Albert I and Queen Elisabeth; Credit – Wikipedia

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Hereditary Princess Sophie of Liechtenstein

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2014

Embed from Getty Images 

Duchess Sophie Elizabeth Marie Gabrielle in Bavaria was born on October 28, 1967, in Munich, Germany. She is the eldest of five daughters of Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria and Countess Elizabeth Douglas.

Sophie has four younger sisters:

  • Duchess Marie-Caroline in Bavaria (born 1969), married Duke Philipp of Württemberg, had three daughters and one son
  • Duchess Helena Eugenie in Bavaria (born 1972), unmarried
  • Duchess Elisabeth Marie in Bavaria (born 1973), married Daniel Terberger, had one son and one daughter
  • Duchess Maria Anna in Bavaria (born 1975), married (1) Klaus Runow, no children, divorced  (2) Baron Andreas von Maltzahn, had two sons

Sophie was raised on the family’s estate, Wildbad Kreuth, about 65 kilometers south of Munich,  Germany, where she began her primary schooling. She then attended the Girls’ Home Primary School of the English Lady in Heiligenstadt, followed by the Girls’ Secondary Boarding School Hohenburg in Lenggries. In 1984, she enrolled in the Adolf Weber High School in Munich, graduating in 1988.

Following several months in London where she attended the Inchbald School of Interior Design, Sophie began studying history and English language and literature at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt in 1989.

photo: Corbis

photo: Corbis

On July 3, 1993, Sophie married Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein at the Vaduz Cathedral in Vaduz, Liechtenstein. He is the eldest son of Prince Hans-Adam II of Liechtenstein and Countess Marie Aglaë Kinsky of Wchinitz and Tettau. They had met some seven years earlier at a party hosted by a mutual friend.  The couple has four children:

  • Prince Joseph Wenzel (born 1995)
  • Princess Marie-Caroline (born 1996)
  • Prince Georg (born 1999)
  • Prince Nikolaus (born 2000)

The family initially lived in London but returned to Liechtenstein in 1996, where her husband began working for The Prince of Liechtenstein Foundation, which oversees and manages the various assets of the Princely Family.

The Hereditary Princess often accompanies her husband on foreign visits, as well as many events within Liechtenstein itself. She serves as a patron for many organizations and events, often relating to children, education, and the arts. She has been the President of the Liechtenstein Red Cross since 2015.

In 2006, she founded the Sophie of Liechtenstein Foundation for Woman and Child. “The goal of the foundation is to give women, who unintentionally become pregnant, a more positive life perspective for themselves and their child.” (Source: The Princely Family of Liechtenstein). The Foundation is funded by the Princely Family and by private donations, and the Hereditary Princess serves as President.

Sophie is a member of the House of Wittelsbach, formerly the reigning house of the Kingdom of Bavaria. She is second in line to the Jacobite succession to the British throne. The Jacobites sought to restore the British crown to King James II of England after he was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and subsequently, to his heirs. The current Jacobite heir is Sophie’s childless uncle Franz, Duke of Bavaria, who has never pursued the claim. Franz’s heir is Sophie’s father, Maximilian, Duke in Bavaria who only has five daughters. As the eldest of her father’s daughters, Sophie will be his heir to the Jacobite claim and her eldest son is her heir.

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Oktoberfest’s Bavarian Royal Connection

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013


Credit – Wikipedia

October 12, 1810 – Wedding of King Ludwig I of Bavaria and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen

Oktoberfest is a well-known festival held each autumn for sixteen days in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.  Six million people attend Oktoberfest in Munich and more than one million gallons of beer are consumed. Cities around the world have their own Oktoberfests, but many people do not know that it all began with a royal wedding on October 12, 1810.  On that day Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria married Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.  The Bavarian royal family invited the citizens of Munich to attend the festivities, held on the fields in front of the city gates. These famous public fields were named Theresienwiese  (“Therese’s fields”) in honor of the new crown princess, but in Munich, the name became known as the “Wies’n,” and it is on these fields that Oktoberfest has been held since 1810.

Horse races were held to mark the end of the wedding festivities and the decision to repeat the horse races in subsequent years started the tradition of Oktoberfest.  The horse races, which had at one time been the most popular event of the festival are no longer held today.
An agricultural show designed to boost Bavarian agriculture began in 1811 and is still held every three years during the Oktoberfest on the southern part of the festival grounds. Amusement rides, a carousel, and two swings made their first appearance in 1818, and visitors to the festival were able to quench their thirst at small beer stands, which grew rapidly in number. In 1896, the beer stands were replaced by the first beer tents set up with the backing of the breweries.  Since 1810, Oktoberfest was canceled 24 times due to cholera epidemics and war.

Today there are fourteen large beer tents and twenty small tents at Oktoberfest.  Only beer conforming to the Reinheitsgebot, with a minimum of 13.5% Stammwürze (approximately 6% alcohol by volume) may be served at Oktoberfest. The beer must also be brewed within the city limits of Munich. The breweries that can produce Oktoberfest Beer under the criteria are:

Having visited Munich in August 2012 and sampled beers from several of these breweries, I can attest that they are wonderful.  I never liked beer until I discovered Belgian and German beer.  In fact, as I wrote this, I was drinking some Paulaner Oktoberfest beer.

Inside one of the tents at Oktoberfest, Photo Credit – Wikipedia

King Ludwig I (born in 1786) was the son of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and his first wife Augusta Wilhelmine of Hesse-Darmstadt.  Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen  (born in 1792) was the daughter of Friedrich, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (later Duke of Saxe-Altenburg) and Duchess Charlotte Georgine of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. Ludwig succeeded his father as King of Bavaria in 1825.

Although the marriage of Ludwig and Therese began with great celebration and promise, it was not a happy marriage.  Ludwig had many affairs that Therese reluctantly tolerated.  Several times, she left while Ludwig was having affairs and she refused to associate with his mistresses.  Among Ludwig’s mistresses were the scandalous English aristocrat Lady Jane Digby, Italian noblewoman Marianna Marquesa Florenzi, and Lola Montez (born Eliza Rosanna Gilbert), an Irish dancer and actress who became famous as a “Spanish dancer.”  It is likely that Ludwig’s affair with Lola Montez contributed to his abdication in 1848.  Therese died in 1854 in Munich and was buried in St. Boniface’s Abbey in Munich.  Ludwig lived for another twenty years after his abdication, died in Nice, France in 1868, and was buried next to his wife.

Ludwig and Therese had nine children:

  • Maximilian (1811–1864), married Princess Marie of Prussia, King of Bavaria as Maximilian II from 1848 – 1864
  • Mathilde Caroline (1813–1862), married Ludwig III, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine
  • Otto (1815–1867), Amalie of Oldenburg, King of Greece as Otto I from 1832-1862
  • Theodelinde (1816–1817)
  • Luitpold (1821–1912), married Archduchess Auguste of Austria, was Prince Regent of Bavaria from 1886–1912
  • Adelgunde (1823–1914), married Francis V, Duke of Modena
  • Hildegard (1825–1864), married Archduke Albert of Austria, Duke of Teschen
  • Alexandra (1826–75), never married
  • Adalbert (1828–1875), married Infanta Amelia of Spain

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King Otto of Greece

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

King Otto, 1867. Photo: Wikipedia

Prince Otto of Bavaria was born at Mirabell Palace in Salzburg, Austria on June 1, 1815, the second son of King Ludwig I of Bavaria and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.

Otto had eight siblings:

In 1832, the Convention of London established Greece as a kingdom, and the Great Powers appointed Otto to be the new kingdom’s first king. He was actually the second choice – the throne was initially offered to Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, who declined, choosing instead to become the first King of the Belgians. Only 17 at the time, Otto arrived in his new country on a British warship, accompanied by 3,500 Bavarian troops and his advisors, who would form a Regency Council to rule Greece until Otto’s majority. He quickly made steps to endear himself to the Greek people, even taking on the Greek version of his name – Othon.

In many ways, Otto stood no chance of truly being accepted by the Greek people. Although he deemed that his heirs would be raised in the Greek Orthodox faith, he himself refused to convert from  Roman Catholicism. Tasked with making Greece a viable and flourishing kingdom, heavy taxes were imposed to get the necessary funds to do so. Neither of these went over well with the population.

His marriage in 1836 to Amalia of Oldenburg at first seemed to calm the waters, as she was initially welcomed by the Greek people. However, she quickly became involved in the politics of the Kingdom, and her refusal to give up her Protestant faith and the couple’s lack of an heir led to her becoming greatly disliked by the people.

Having dismissed the Regency Council in 1835, Otto ruled as an absolute monarch for a few years, until uprisings from the Greek people, demanding a Constitution. His original Bavarian troops having left Greece, the King had no recourse but to give in to the demands and allow for a constitution and convention of a Greek National Assembly.

Throughout his reign, King Otto had the full support and backing of the three Great Powers. This would begin to change in 1850. The Athens home of a British subject was vandalized by a group of antisemitic Greeks, while the authorities watched and did nothing to stop it. This became known as the Pacifico Affair. The British quickly responded, demanding retribution and compensation for the victim. The British Royal Navy was sent in to block off Piraeus, the primary port in Athens. This led to tension between the three Powers, but the British held firm for several months until the Greek government finally agreed to settle the affair with Don Pacifico. Several years later, King Otto’s intent to join Russia in her battle against Turkey (supported by the other two Powers) in the Crimean War, proved to be another significant event in Otto’s reign. Again, the British blocked off the port of Piraeus, forcing Greece to reconsider and remain neutral.

While away from Athens in 1862, a coup led to the formation of a provisional government, and Otto was deposed. Under the advice of the Great Powers, Otto accepted the situation, and he again boarded a British warship and returned to Bavaria. He would continue to wear his Greek uniforms and secretly gave most of his fortune to support the Greek troops in the Cretan Rebellion of 1866. He spent his exile living at the New Palace in Bamberg, Kingdom of Bavaria,  now in the German state of Bavaria, where he died on July 26, 1867. Otto was buried in the Wittelsbach Royal Crypt at the Theatinerkirche in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria. At his specific request, he was buried in his Greek uniform.

Tomb of King Otto at the Theatinerkirche, Munich. Photo: Wikipedia

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Caroline of Baden, Queen of Bavaria

by Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

source: Wikipedia

Princess Caroline of Baden, Queen of Bavaria

Princess Caroline of Baden was the second wife of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria. She was born Friederike Caroline Wilhelmine on July 13, 1776, in Karlsruhe, Margraviate of Baden, later the Grand Duchy of Baden, now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg,  the daughter of Carl Ludwig, Hereditary Prince of Baden and Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt. Caroline had seven siblings, including a twin sister Amalie:

source: Wikipedia

Caroline and her family had numerous additional ties to the Russian, German, and Swedish thrones. Caroline grew up with her family in Karlsruhe, with a deep love of and talent for painting. On March 9, 1797, in Karlsruhe, shortly before her 21st birthday, Caroline married Maximilian, Duke of Zweibrücken (the future King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria). Maximilian was twenty years older than Caroline and had been widowed the previous year. In addition to the four surviving stepchildren from Maximilian’s first marriage, Caroline and her husband had seven children including two sets of twins:

Within two years of their marriage, Maximilian became Elector of Bavaria, and in 1806, following the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, Maximilian and Caroline became the first King and Queen of the newly established Kingdom of Bavaria. Caroline had remained a Protestant when she married the Catholic Maximilian and was not required to convert when her husband became King. A deeply religious woman, she remained Lutheran and had her own chaplain. Despite this, her children were raised Catholic.

source: Wikipedia

As Queen, she had a strong sense of duty and was known as a very dignified Queen and hostess. She also played a prominent role in helping her husband develop the arts and culture in Munich.

Tombs of King Maximilian I and his second wife, Queen Caroline, at the Theatinerkirche in Munich. Photo: © Susan Flantzer

Widowed in 1825, Queen Caroline survived her husband by just over sixteen years. She died on November 13, 1841, in Munich. Because she had remained Protestant, her funeral and burial in the Catholic Theatinerkirche were not without their problems. The Protestant clergy was not allowed to enter the church, so the funeral service was held outside. This also prevented any ceremony when Caroline’s coffin was placed in the tomb. Meanwhile, the attending Catholic clergy wore street clothes rather than their religious vestments. The undignified treatment of his stepmother even angered Ludwig I, King of Bavaria whose own vehemently pro-Catholic views were forever changed.

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Maria Theresia of Austria-Este, Queen of Bavaria

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Maria Theresia of Austria-Este, Queen Consort of Bavaria. source: Wikipedia

Born on July 2, 1849, in Brno, Austrian Empire (now in the Czech Republic), Archduchess Maria Theresia of Austria-Este was the last Queen Consort of Bavaria and the Jacobite claimant to the British throne from 1875 until her death in 1919. She was the only child of Archduke Ferdinand Karl Viktor of Austria-Este and Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska of Austria. When Maria Theresia was only five months old, her father Archduke Ferdinand Karl Viktor, aged 28, died from typhoid fever.

In 1854, her mother Archduchess Elisabeth Franziska married a second time to her first cousin Archduke Karl Ferdinand of Austria-Teschen. From this marriage, Maria Theresia had six half-siblings:

Maria-Theresia (left) with her brother Friedrich and his wife Isabella (standing), sister Maria Christina (center), and their mother (right). source: Wikipedia

Francesco V, Duke of Modena was the current Jacobite claimant and Maria Theresia’s uncle and guardian, and it was his wish that his niece should marry Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany who was fourteen years older than Maria Theresia. In June 1867, Maria Theresia arrived in Vienna to attend the funeral of her friend Archduchess Mathilde of Austria who had tragically died due to burns after hiding a forbidden cigarette behind her very flammable dress. At that time, Maria Theresia met Prince Ludwig of Bavaria, a first cousin of Archduchess Mathilde of Austria, who was representing King Ludwig II of Bavaria at the funeral, and the couple fell in love.

Prince Ludwig, the future King Ludwig III of Bavaria, was the eldest child of Prince Luitpold of Bavaria, a son of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, and Archduchess Augusta of Austria. Prince Luitpold served as Prince Regent of Bavaria from 1886 to 1912, due to the mental incompetency of his nephews, King Ludwig II and King Otto. In August 1867, Francesco V, Duke of Modena and Prince Luitpold of Bavaria met in Salzburg, Austria to discuss the marriage. After initial outrage, the Duke of Modena agreed to the marriage, and the engagement was announced on October 22, 1867. Ludwig and Maria Theresia were married at the Augustinian Church, adjacent to the Hofburg Palace, in Vienna, Austria on February 20, 1868.

Maria Theresa had inherited two large estates from her father: the Sárvár estate in Hungary and the Eiwanowitz estate in Moravia (now in the Czech Republic). With the income from these estates, Ludwig and Maria Theresa purchased the Leutstetten estate in Bavaria which became quite profitable. While they lived mostly at Leutstetten, they also had a residence at the Leuchtenberg Palace in Munich, Bavaria. Their marriage was a happy one and they had thirteen children:

In 1875, after the death of her childless uncle Francesco V, Duke of Modena, Maria Theresia became the Jacobite claimant to the British throne. After James II, King of England/James VII, King of Scots, a son of King Charles I, lost his throne via the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the Jacobite (from Jacobus, the Latin for James) movement formed. The goal of the Jacobites was to restore the Roman Catholic Stuart King James II of England/VII of Scotland and his Roman Catholic heirs to the thrones of England and Scotland. When the line of  King James II of England died out, the Jacobite claims to the British throne descended from his sister Henrietta of England, Duchess of Orléans. Maria Theresia was the senior surviving descendant of Henrietta of England, Duchess of Orléans who was the youngest sister of James II/VII and the daughter of King Charles I. However, unlike the Stuart Jacobite pretenders – James II’s son James Edward Francis Stuart and James II’s grandsons Charles Edward Stuart and Cardinal Henry Benedict Stuart – none of the later Jacobite pretenders ever claimed the title.

See how the Jacobite succession arrived in the House of Austria-Este, Maria Theresia’a birth House via Henrietta of England below.

Charles I of England → his daughter Henrietta of England, Duchess of Orléans → her daughter Anne Marie d’Orléans, Queen of Sardinia → her son Carlo Emanuele III, King of Sardinia → his son Vittorio Amadeo III, King of Sardinia → his son Carlo Emanuele IV, King of Sardinia, first Jacobite Pretender from the House of Savoy → his brother Vittorio Emanuele I, King of Sardinia → his eldest surviving daughter Maria Beatrice of Savoy, Duchess of Modena → her eldest son → Francesco V, Duke of Modena → his niece Maria Theresa of Austria-Este, Queen of Bavaria

In 1912, Prince Regent Luitpold died and Ludwig became the Prince Regent for his first cousin King Otto. On November 4, 1913, the Bavarian constitution was changed to allow the Prince Regent to become King if the incapacitation of a king had lasted for ten years and there was no reasonable expectation that the incapacitated king would ever reign. On November 5, 1913, King Otto was deposed by Prince Regent Ludwig who assumed the title King Ludwig III. The Bavarian parliament gave its approval on November 6, 1913, and on November 8, 1913, King Ludwig III took the constitutional oath.

The Queen, The King, and The Crown Prince. source: Wikipedia

When World War I started in August of 1914, King Ludwig III sent an official dispatch to Kaiser Wilhelm II in Berlin to express Bavaria’s solidarity. Queen Maria Theresia appealed to Bavarian women and girls to support the country and the soldiers at the front by making packages with clothes and food for soldiers and the wounded. On February 20, 1918, in the midst of World War I, Ludwig and Maria Theresia celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary by donating ten million marks to charity.

As World War I progressed, the conditions in Bavaria deteriorated. The population was restless, soldiers were dying at the front, women had to work harder and harder in the factories, and food was always scarce. Through all of this, the Bavarian royal family remained loyal to Kaiser Wilhelm II. On November 7, 1918, King Ludwig III of Bavaria was deposed and the Republic of Bavaria was proclaimed. There were mass demonstrations throughout Munich, and Ludwig and his family fled from the Residenz Palace in Munich. He was the first of the monarchs in the German Empire to be deposed.

Ludwig and Maria Theresia first fled to Schloss Anif, near Salzburg, Austria. They returned to Bavaria and settled at Schloss Wildenwart in the village of Wildenwart about 80 kilometers southeast of Munich. Queen Maria Theresia, aged 69, died at Schloss Wildenwart on February 3, 1919, and was buried in its chapel. Shortly afterward, Ludwig, fearing he might be assassinated, fled to Hungary, later moving to Liechtenstein and Switzerland. He returned to Bavaria in April of 1920 and lived once again at Schloss Wildenwart. He remained there until September of 1921 when he took a trip to his Sárvár estate in Hungary. He died there on October 18, 1921, at the age of 76.

On November 5, 1921, Ludwig’s body was returned to Munich along with the remains of his wife. They were given a state funeral and were buried in the crypt of the Frauenkirche. Despite the abolition of the monarchy, the former King and Queen were laid to rest in the presence of the royal family, the Bavarian government, military personnel, and an estimated 100,000 spectators in the streets.

Tombs of King Ludwig III and Queen Maria Theresa in the Frauenkirche, Munich, Photo © Susan Flantzer, August 2012

Tombs of King Ludwig III and Queen Maria Theresa in the Frauenkirche, Munich. Photo © Susan Flantzer, August 2012

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Maximilian I Joseph, King of Bavaria

by Emily McMahon and Scott Mehl  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Kingdom of Bavaria: The House of Wittelsbach ruled as Dukes, Electors, and Kings of Bavaria from 1180 until 1918. Today Bavaria is a landlocked federal state of Germany, occupying its southeastern corner.  Maximilian IV Joseph, Prince-Elector of Bavaria allied his electorate with Napoleon and adopted many of the French beliefs of the Enlightenment. It was this loyal service to Napoleon through which Maximilian’s electorate was created the Kingdom of Bavaria with Maximilian at its king. He officially became the Maximilian I Joseph, the first King of Bavaria on January 1, 1806. On November 13, 1918, King Ludwig III would be the first monarch in the German Empire to be deposed at the end of World War I, bringing an end to 738 years of rule by the Wittelsbach dynasty.

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source: Wikipedia

King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria

King Maximilian I Joseph was the first King of Bavaria, reigning from 1806 until his death in 1825.  He was born on May 27, 1756, in Schwetzingen, Electorate of the Palatine, now in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, the son of Friedrich Michael, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld and Maria Franziska, Countess Palatine of Sulzbach.

He had four older siblings:

Maximilian was educated under the watchful eye of his uncle, Christian IV, Duke of Zweibrücken, and several years after his father’s death in 1767, he was set up with his own household at the Hôtel des Deux-Ponts in Strasbourg, France which was purchased by his uncle in 1770. Maximilian would remain at the Hôtel des Deux-Ponts until 1790.

He also joined the French army stationed in Strasbourg, and quickly rose through the ranks, attaining the rank of Major General. Following the French Revolution and the occupation of Zweibrücken during the Napoleonic Wars, Maximilian joined the Austrian army. He succeeded his brother Charles as Duke of Zweibrücken in 1795 and became Elector of Bavaria, Duke of Berg, and Count Palatine of the Rhine on February 16, 1799.

King Maximilian I Joseph, c1806. source: Wikipedia

Despite his switch in service to the Austrian army, Maximilian allied his electorate to Napoleon and adopted many of the French beliefs of enlightenment. It was this loyal service to Napoleon through which Maximilian’s electorate was created a kingdom with Maximilian at its head. He officially became the first King of Bavaria on January 1, 1806. In March of that year, he ceded the Duchy of Berg to Joachim Murat, Napoleon’s brother-in-law.

Shortly before the decisive Battle of Leipzig, Maximilian parted with his ally Napoleon to fight with Prussian, Russian, Swedish, and Austrian forces. Maximilian did this on the condition that should Napoleon’s forces would be defeated, Bavaria would remain a kingdom. Following Napoleon’s downfall, Maximilian did end up in a territorial squabble with Austria that lasted several years. As one of the most powerful rulers in Germany, Maximilian strongly supported the sovereignty of the individual duchies, principalities, kingdoms, and city-states within a larger German Confederation.

As one of the more liberal rulers during the first half of the 19th century, Maximilian granted Bavaria a constitution in 1816. Maximilian also made Munich a center for the arts in Bavaria, founding the Academy of Fine Arts and commissioning the construction of the National Theatre.

Princess Auguste of Hesse-Darmstadt. source: Wikipedia

Maximilian married for the first time on September 30, 1785, in Darmstadt. His bride, Princess Auguste of Hesse-Darmstadt, was the daughter of Prince Georg Wilhelm of Hesse-Darmstadt and Countess Maria Luise Albertine of Leiningen-Falkenburg-Dagsburg. They had five children:

Princess Caroline of Baden. source: Wikipedia

Auguste died in March 1796, and the following year, on July 9, 1797, in Karlsruhe, Margraviate of Baden, now in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, Maximilian married for a second time, to Princess Caroline of Baden, daughter of Carl Ludwig, Hereditary Prince of Baden and Landgravine Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt. Maximilian and Amalie had seven children including two sets of twin daughters:

Tombs of King Maximilian I and his second wife, Queen Caroline, at the Theatinerkirche in Munich. Photo: © Susan Flantzer

King Maximilian I died on October 13, 1825, at the Nymphenburg Palace, in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria, and is buried in the crypt at the Theatinerkirche in Munich. His heart is interred at the Shrine of Our Lady of Altötting.

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Amalia of Oldenburg, Queen of Greece

by Susan Flantzer  © Unofficial Royalty 2013

Amalia of Oldenburg, Queen of Greece, Credit – Wikipedia

Amalia Maria Frederica was born a Duchess of Oldenburg on December 21, 1818, in Oldenburg, Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, now in Lower Saxony, Germany.  Her parents were Duke Augustus of Oldenburg (later Grand Duke of Oldenburg) and his first wife, Princess Adelheid of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym. Amalia’s mother died two years after her birth at the age of 20.  Five years after his first wife’s death, Amalia’s father married Princess Ida of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym, a younger sister of his first wife.  Princess Ida died three years after her marriage and three years late Amalia’s father married Princess Cecilia of Sweden, daughter of the deposed King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden.

Amalia had one sister:

  • Duchess Frederica of Oldenburg (1820 – 1891) married Jakob von Washington, a distant relative of the first President of the United States George Washington, had issue

Via her father’s second wife Princess Ida of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym, Amalia had one half-brother who succeeded his father as Grand Duke:

Amalia had three half-brothers from her father’s third marriage to Princess Cecilia of Sweden:

  • Duke Alexander (1834 – 1835), died young
  • Duke August (1836 – 1837), died young
  • Duke Elimar (1844 – 1895), married morganatically Baroness Natalie Vogel von Friesenhof, had issue

On December 22, 1836, Amalia married King Otto I of Greece in Oldenburg.  King Otto had been born Prince Otto Friedrich Ludwig of Bavaria of the Wittelsbach dynasty at Schloss Mirabell in Salzburg, Austria, the second son of King Ludwig I of Bavaria and Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.  In 1833, Otto had been appointed king of the newly created Kingdom of Greece.

Upon her arrival in Greece, the 17-year-old Queen Amalia was heartily welcomed.  She worked on social issues and was involved in the creation of gardens in the capital city of Athens.  Amalia wisely realized that her style of dress should emulate the style of the Greek people.  She created a “romantic folksy court dress” which became the Greek national costume.

Queen Amalia in the Greek national costume, Credit – Wikipedia

Because her marriage did not produce an heir and because she interfered with the government, Queen Amalia became unpopular. King Otto was unfaithful to his wife and had an affair with the scandalous Jane Digby, who previously had an affair with Otto’s father.  In 1861, there was an assassination attempt made on Queen Amalia.  The assassin had been sentenced to death, but Queen Amalia intervened and he was sentenced instead to life imprisonment.

In 1862, a coup took place in Athens while the king and queen were visiting the Peloponnese. Otto and Amalia left Greece for Bavaria aboard a British warship, with the Greek royal regalia, formerly crown jewels of the Wittelsbach dynasty that ruled in Bavaria, that Otto had brought with him to Greece.  In 1959, Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria presented the Greek royal regalia to King Paul of Greece.  Although the Greek monarchy has since been deposed, the jewels have remained in Greece.

Otto died in 1867 at the age of 52 in the Neue Residenz in Bamberg, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in the German state of Bavaria, and was buried at the Theatine Church in Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in Bavaria, Germany.  Amalia survived him by eight years, dying on May 20, 1875, at the age of 56, also at the Neue Residenz in Bamberg, Kingdom of Bavaria, now in Bavaria, Germany.  Her tomb is next to her husband’s in the crypt at the Theatine Church in Munich.

Tomb of Queen Amalie; Photo Credit – Susan Flantzer

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