Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (13 January 1610 – 25 September 1665 Munich) (German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

: Maria Anna von Habsburg, Erzherzogin von Österreich, also known as Maria Anna von Bayern or Maria-Anna, Kurfürstin von Bayern), was Electress of Bavaria as the spouse of Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria

Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria

Maximilian I, Duke/Elector of Bavaria , called "the Great", was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire. His reign was marked by the Thirty Years' War ....

. She also served as Regent of Bavaria during the minority of her son (from 1651).

Biography

Born in Graz

Graz

The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...

, her parents were Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor

Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor

Ferdinand II , a member of the House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Bohemia , and King of Hungary . His rule coincided with the Thirty Years' War.- Life :...

 von Habsburg

Habsburg

The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...

 and Maria Anna of Bavaria.
She married her maternal uncle Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria

Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria

Maximilian I, Duke/Elector of Bavaria , called "the Great", was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire. His reign was marked by the Thirty Years' War ....

 on the 15 July 1635 in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, was the mother to Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria

Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria

Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and an elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 1651 to 1679.-Biography:He was born in Munich...

 and Maximilian Philip (30 Sept 1638 - 20 March 1704).

The motivation of Maximilian for this swift remarriage (he had recently been widowed by Elisabeth of Lorraine), was not so much political grounds as the hope of producing a prince to inherit.

Maria Anna is generally described as clever, cautious, energetic, stern, frugal, and experienced in matters of financial administration. In contrast to the Elector's first wife, Maria Anna was very interested in politics and well instructed about developments. She was not bound to the Habsburgs, but rather completely advocated the Bavarian standpoint. Additionally, she conducted lively exchanges of opinion with high officials of the Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

 court and took part in meetings of the cabinet. After Maximilian's death, she undertook the regency

Regent

A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...

 for their oldest son, Ferdinand Maria.

Issue

• Ferdinand Maria (1636–1679) ∞ 1652 princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy
  Henriette Adelaide of Savoy
  Henriette Adelaide of Savoy , was the wife of the Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria...
  
   (1636–1676)
• Maximilian Philipp Hieronymus, Duke of Leuchtenberg
  Leuchtenberg
  Leuchtenberg is a municipality in the district of Neustadt in Bavaria in Germany, essentially a suburb of nearby Weiden in der Oberpfalz, and a historical region in Old Germany governed by the Landgrave of Leuchtenberg....
  
   (1638–1705) ∞ 1668 Maurita Febronia de La Tour d'Auvergne (1652–1706)

Ancestry