Maximilian Joseph, Duke in Bavaria
Encyclopedia
Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria (4 December 1808 – 15 November 1888), known informally as Max in Bayern, was a member of a junior branch
of the House of Wittelsbach and a promoter of Bavarian folk-music. He is most famous today as the father of Empress Elisabeth of Austria.
, the only son of Duke Pius August in Bavaria
(1786–1837) and of his wife, Princess Amélie Louise of Arenberg
. In 1834 he purchased Possenhofen Castle
on Lake Starnberg
; this was his major residence for the rest of his life.
On September 9, 1828, at Tegernsee
, Maximilian Joseph married Princess Ludovika of Bavaria, daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria. They had ten children.
and Palestine
. He published an account of this trip: Wanderung nach dem Orient im Jahre 1838 (München: Georg Franz, 1839; reprinted Pfaffenhofen: Ludwig, 1978). While climbing the Great Pyramid
he arranged for his servants to yodel
as if he were climbing in the Alps
. He collected a number of antiquities which he brought back to Bavaria and displayed in his father's home, Banz Abbey
; they can still be seen there today. Among the items are the mummy of a young woman, three mummies' heads, several animal mummies, shawabtis, and several stones from tombs or temples including one from the Temple of Dendur
. He also bought some children in the Cairo
slave market and later freed them. When Maximilian Joseph was in Jerusalem, he paid for the restoration of the Chapel of the Flagellation on the Via Dolorosa
.
started to be used in court circles and eventually became identified as the national musical instrument of Bavaria. Because of his interest he received the nickname Zither-Maxl. He himself played the zither and also composed music for it.
During a visit by his cousin Ludwig II of Bavaria
, Ludwig saw some sheet music on Maximilian Joseph's piano by the composer Richard Wagner
, which led on to Ludwig's financial support for Wagner from 1863.
Maximilian Joseph's musical compositions have been collected in the work: Die im Druck erschienenen Kompositionen von Herzog Maximilian in Bayern: Ländler, Walzer, Polka, Schottisch, Mazurka, Quadrillen und Märsche für Pianoforte, Zither, Gitarre oder Streichinstrumente (München: Musikverlag Emil Katzbichler, 1992).
Maximilian Joseph died in Munich
. He and his wife are buried in the family crypt in Schloss Tegernsee
.
|-
! style="background:#ccccff;"|Issue
|-
|
{| style="text-align:center; width:100%" class="wikitable"
! width=20% | Name !! width=60px | Portrait !! Lifespan !! Notes !!
|-
| Ludwig Wilhelm
("Louis")
||
||June 21, 1831-
November 6, 1920
|| Married twice (morganatically):
1. Henriette Mendel
, Freiin von Wallersee (1833–1891) in 1859
Issue: 1 daughter, 1 son.
2. Barbara Antonie Barth
, Frau von Bartolf (1871–1956) in 1892, divorced 1913
Issue: None.
|-
| Wilhelm Karl
||
|| 24 December 1832-
13 February 1833
|| Died in infancy
|-
| Helene Caroline Therese
("Nene")
||
|| 4 April 1834-
16 May 1890
|| Married Maximilian, Hereditary Prince of Thurn and Taxis
(1831–1867) in 1858
Issue: 2 daughters, 2 sons.
|-
| Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie
("Sisi")
||
|| 24 December 1837-
10 September 1898
|| Married Francis Joseph, Emperor of Austria (1830–1916)
Issue: 3 daughters, 1 son.
|-
| Karl Theodor
("Gackl")
||
|| 9 August 1839-
30 November 1909
|| Married twice:
1. Princess Sophie of Saxony
(1845–1867), his cousin, in 1865
Issue: One daughter.
2. Maria Josepha of Portugal (1857–1943)
Issue: 3 daughters, 2 sons.
|-
| Marie Sophie Amalie
||
|| 4 October 1841-
19 January 1925
|| Married Francis II, King of the Two Sicilies
(1836–1894).
Issue: 1 legitimate daughter with her husband
Also 1 or 2 illegitimate daughter(s) with Armand de Lavayss.
|-
| Mathilde Ludovika
||
|| 30 September 1843-
18 June 1925
|| Married Lodovico, Count of Trani (1838–1886)
Issue: 1 daughter.
|-
| Maximilian
||
|| 8 December 1845
|| Stillborn
|-
| Sophie Charlotte Augustine
||
|| 23 February 1847-
4 May 1897
|| Married Ferdinand Philippe Marie, Duke of Alençon
(1844–1910)
Issue: 1 daughter, 1 son.
|-
| Maximilian Emanuel
("Mapperl")
||
|| December 7, 1849-
12 June 1893
|| Married Princess Amalie of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
(1848–1894)
Issue: 3 sons.
|}
Duke in Bavaria
Duke in Bavaria was a title used among others since 1506, when primogeniture was established, by all members of the House of Wittelsbach, with the exception of the Duke of Bavaria which began to be a unique position...
of the House of Wittelsbach and a promoter of Bavarian folk-music. He is most famous today as the father of Empress Elisabeth of Austria.
Early life
Maximilian Joseph was born at BambergBamberg
Bamberg is a city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from...
, the only son of Duke Pius August in Bavaria
Duke Pius August in Bavaria
Duke Pius August in Bavaria, full German name: Pius August Herzog in Bayern was a Duke in Bavaria as a member of the Palatinate-Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen line of the House of Wittelsbach...
(1786–1837) and of his wife, Princess Amélie Louise of Arenberg
Princess Amélie Louise of Arenberg
Princess and Duchess Amélie Louise of Arenberg, full German name: Amalie Luise, Prinzessin und Herzogin von Arenberg and full French name: Amélie Louise, princesse et duchesse d'Arenberg, was a member of the House of Arenberg by birth and, through her marriage to Duke Pius...
. In 1834 he purchased Possenhofen Castle
Possenhofen Castle
Possenhofen Castle is located in the town of Possenhofen on the western shore of Lake Starnberg in Bavaria, Germany.-History:The castle was built in 1536 by Jakob Rosenbusch, was destroyed during the Thirty Years' War, then rebuilt...
on Lake Starnberg
Lake Starnberg
Lake Starnberg , 25 kilometers southwest of Munich in southern Bavaria, is Germany's fifth largest freshwater lake and, due to its large average depth, the second richest in water...
; this was his major residence for the rest of his life.
On September 9, 1828, at Tegernsee
Tegernsee
Tegernsee is a town in the Miesbach district of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the shore of Tegernsee lake, at an elevation of 747 m above sea level....
, Maximilian Joseph married Princess Ludovika of Bavaria, daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria. They had ten children.
Middle East trip
In 1838 Maximilian Joseph travelled to EgyptEgypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
. He published an account of this trip: Wanderung nach dem Orient im Jahre 1838 (München: Georg Franz, 1839; reprinted Pfaffenhofen: Ludwig, 1978). While climbing the Great Pyramid
Great Pyramid of Giza
The Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza Necropolis bordering what is now El Giza, Egypt. It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one to remain largely intact...
he arranged for his servants to yodel
Yodeling
Yodeling is a form of singing that involves singing an extended note which rapidly and repeatedly changes in pitch from the vocal or chest register to the falsetto/head register; making a high-low-high-low sound.The English word yodel is derived from a German word jodeln meaning "to...
as if he were climbing in the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
. He collected a number of antiquities which he brought back to Bavaria and displayed in his father's home, Banz Abbey
Banz Abbey
Banz Abbey , now known as Banz Castle , is a former Benedictine monastery, since 1978 a part of the town of Bad Staffelstein north of Bamberg, Bavaria, southern Germany.-History:...
; they can still be seen there today. Among the items are the mummy of a young woman, three mummies' heads, several animal mummies, shawabtis, and several stones from tombs or temples including one from the Temple of Dendur
Temple of Dendur
The Temple of Dendur is a temple that was built by the Roman governor of Egypt, Petronius, around 15 BC and dedicated to Isis, Osiris, as well as two deified sons of a local Nubian chieftain, Pediese and Pihor...
. He also bought some children in the Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
slave market and later freed them. When Maximilian Joseph was in Jerusalem, he paid for the restoration of the Chapel of the Flagellation on the Via Dolorosa
Via Dolorosa
The Via Dolorosa is a street, in two parts, within the Old City of Jerusalem, held to be the path that Jesus walked, carrying his cross, on the way to his crucifixion. The current route has been established since the 18th century, replacing various earlier versions...
.
Folk-music
Maximilian Joseph was one of the most prominent promoters of Bavarian folk-music in the 19th century. Under his influence the zitherZither
The zither is a musical string instrument, most commonly found in Slovenia, Austria, Hungary citera, northwestern Croatia, the southern regions of Germany, alpine Europe and East Asian cultures, including China...
started to be used in court circles and eventually became identified as the national musical instrument of Bavaria. Because of his interest he received the nickname Zither-Maxl. He himself played the zither and also composed music for it.
During a visit by his cousin Ludwig II of Bavaria
Ludwig II of Bavaria
Ludwig II was King of Bavaria from 1864 until shortly before his death. He is sometimes called the Swan King and der Märchenkönig, the Fairy tale King...
, Ludwig saw some sheet music on Maximilian Joseph's piano by the composer Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
, which led on to Ludwig's financial support for Wagner from 1863.
Maximilian Joseph's musical compositions have been collected in the work: Die im Druck erschienenen Kompositionen von Herzog Maximilian in Bayern: Ländler, Walzer, Polka, Schottisch, Mazurka, Quadrillen und Märsche für Pianoforte, Zither, Gitarre oder Streichinstrumente (München: Musikverlag Emil Katzbichler, 1992).
Maximilian Joseph died in 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...
. He and his wife are buried in the family crypt in Schloss Tegernsee
Tegernsee Abbey
Tegernsee Abbey or the Imperial Abbey of Tegernsee is a former Benedictine monastery in the town and district of Tegernsee in Bavaria. Both the abbey and the town that grew up around are named after the Tegernsee, the lake on the shores of which they are located...
.
Issue
{| class="toccolours collapsible collapsed" width=100% align="center"|-
! style="background:#ccccff;"|Issue
|-
|
{| style="text-align:center; width:100%" class="wikitable"
! width=20% | Name !! width=60px | Portrait !! Lifespan !! Notes !!
|-
| Ludwig Wilhelm
Ludwig Wilhelm, Duke in Bavaria
Ludwig Wilhelm was Duke in Bavaria.-Early life:Ludwig Wilhelm was the eldest child of Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria and Princess Ludovika of Bavaria, and was brother of Empress Sissi.-Relationships and issues:He renounced his rights as firstborn, to marry the actress Henriette Mendel Ludwig...
("Louis")
||
||June 21, 1831-
November 6, 1920
|| Married twice (morganatically):
1. Henriette Mendel
Henriette Mendel
Henriette Mendel, Baroness von Wallersee was a German actress, and the mistress and, later, morganatic wife of Ludwig Wilhelm, Duke in Bavaria...
, Freiin von Wallersee (1833–1891) in 1859
Issue: 1 daughter, 1 son.
2. Barbara Antonie Barth
Barbara Antonie Barth
Barbara Antonie Barth , aka Baroness Antonie von Bartolf, was an actress and the second wife of Ludwig Wilhelm, Duke in Bavaria. They married on November 19, 1892. They divorced in 1913....
, Frau von Bartolf (1871–1956) in 1892, divorced 1913
Issue: None.
|-
| Wilhelm Karl
||
|| 24 December 1832-
13 February 1833
|| Died in infancy
|-
| Helene Caroline Therese
("Nene")
||
|| 4 April 1834-
16 May 1890
|| Married Maximilian, Hereditary Prince of Thurn and Taxis
Maximilian Anton Lamoral, Hereditary Prince of Thurn and Taxis
-Titles and styles:*28 September 1831 – 26 June 1867: His Serene Highness The Hereditary Prince of Thurn and Taxis-Honours:*Knight of the Austrian Order of the Golden Fleece -Ancestry:-References:...
(1831–1867) in 1858
Issue: 2 daughters, 2 sons.
|-
| Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie
("Sisi")
||
|| 24 December 1837-
10 September 1898
|| Married Francis Joseph, Emperor of Austria (1830–1916)
Issue: 3 daughters, 1 son.
|-
| Karl Theodor
("Gackl")
||
|| 9 August 1839-
30 November 1909
|| Married twice:
1. Princess Sophie of Saxony
Princess Sophie of Saxony
Princess Sophie Maria Friederike Auguste Leopoldine Alexandrine Ernestine Albertine Elisabeth of Saxony, Duchess of Saxony was the eighth...
(1845–1867), his cousin, in 1865
Issue: One daughter.
2. Maria Josepha of Portugal (1857–1943)
Issue: 3 daughters, 2 sons.
|-
| Marie Sophie Amalie
||
|| 4 October 1841-
19 January 1925
|| Married Francis II, King of the Two Sicilies
Francis II of the Two Sicilies
Francis II , was King of the Two Sicilies from 1859 to 1861. He was the last King of the Two Sicilies, as successive invasions by Giuseppe Garibaldi and Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia ultimately brought an end to his rule, and marked the first major event of Italian unification...
(1836–1894).
Issue: 1 legitimate daughter with her husband
Also 1 or 2 illegitimate daughter(s) with Armand de Lavayss.
|-
| Mathilde Ludovika
||
|| 30 September 1843-
18 June 1925
|| Married Lodovico, Count of Trani (1838–1886)
Issue: 1 daughter.
|-
| Maximilian
||
|| 8 December 1845
|| Stillborn
|-
| Sophie Charlotte Augustine
||
|| 23 February 1847-
4 May 1897
|| Married Ferdinand Philippe Marie, Duke of Alençon
Ferdinand Philippe Marie, duc d'Alençon
Ferdinand Philippe Marie, duc d'Alençon was the son of Louis Charles Philippe Raphael, duc de Nemours and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Kohary .-Marriage and issue:...
(1844–1910)
Issue: 1 daughter, 1 son.
|-
| Maximilian Emanuel
Duke Maximilian Emanuel in Bavaria
Duke Maximilian Emanuel in Bavaria, full German name: Maximilian Emanuel, Herzog in Bayern was a Duke in Bavaria and member of the House of Wittelsbach. Maximilian Emanuel was the tenth and youngest child of Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria and his wife Princess Ludovika of Bavaria...
("Mapperl")
||
|| December 7, 1849-
12 June 1893
|| Married Princess Amalie of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Princess Amalie of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Princess Marie Luise Franziska Amalie of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, full German name: Marie Luise Franziska Amalie, Prinzessin von Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha, Herzogin zu Sachsen was a Princess of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha by birth and a Duchess in Bavaria through...
(1848–1894)
Issue: 3 sons.
|}