Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria (
October 31,
1636–
May 26,
1679) was a
Wittelsbach ruler of
Bavaria and an elector (
Kurfürst) of the
Holy Roman Empire from 1651 to 1679.
Biography
He was born in
Munich. He was the eldest son of
Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria - whom he succeeded, and his second wife
Maria Anna of Austria, daughter of the emperor
Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor.
Still a minor he succeeded his father in 1651, his mother and his uncle
Albert VI of Bavaria served as regents of Bavaria for three years.
Ferdinand Maria was crowned on
October 31,
1654. His
absolutistic style of leadership became a benchmark for the rest of
Germany. Though Ferdinand Maria allied with France he abstained the imperial crown in 1657 to avoid a conflict with
Habsburg. Ferdinand Maria supported the wars of the Habsburg against the
Ottoman Empire with Bavarian auxiliary forces (1662-1664). During the
Franco-Dutch War since 1672 Bavaria was officially neutral.
Ferdinand Maria modernized the Bavarian army and introduced the first Bavarian local government code. The electorate he left with a very wealthy treasury.
He died in
Schleissheim Palace and was succeeded by his son
Maximilian II Emanuel.
He is buried in the crypt of the Theatiner Church in Munich.
Cultural legacy
Copperplate engraving by Michael Wening Starnberg Castle with Ferdinand Maria's gondola Bucentaurus in Topographia Bavariae about 1700
Ferdinand Maria married in 1650 princess
Henriette Adelaide of Savoy (d.1676), daughter of
Victor Amadeus I of Savoy. With her the Italian Baroque was introduced in Bavaria.
The
Theatiner Church in Munich was built from 1663 onwards as a gesture of thanks for the birth of the long-awaited heir to the Bavarian crown, Prince Max Emanuel. In 1664, he commissioned the building of
Nymphenburg Palace, near Munich.
Lake Starnberg became the venue of numerous festivities of the court with the famous fleet of Venetian Gondolas. At the shore
Castle Berg was constructed.
Trivia
- He was the great grandfather of French monarch Louis XV.
- Plans for a Bavarian colony near New York were discussed but soon abandoned during Ferdinand Maria's reign
Ferdinand Maria, Picture from 1658
Ancestors
Succession
- Luise Margarete Antonie, Duchess of Bavaria
- Ludwig Amadeus Victor, Duke of Bavaria
- Kajetan Maria Franz, Duke of Bavaria
Category:1636 birthsCategory:1679 deathsCategory:People from MunichCategory:Roman Catholic monarchsCategory:Dukes of BavariaCategory:House of WittelsbachCategory:Modern child rulersca:Ferran I Maria de Bavierade:Ferdinand Maria (Bayern)es:Fernando María Elector de Bavieraeo:Ferdinando Maria (Bavario)fr:Ferdinand Marie de Bavièreit:Ferdinando Maria di Bavieranl:Ferdinand Maria van Beieren (1636-1679)ja:フェルディナント・マリア (バイエルン選帝侯)pl:Ferdynand Maria Bawarski
