Date of Birth: 25 August 1786
House: Wittelsbach
Spouse: Therese, daughter of Frederick, duke of Saxe-Altenburg, and Charlotte Georgine of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
Reign: 1825 – 1848
Predecessor: Maximilian I
Summary: A victim of the 1848 revolutions, Ludwig of Bavaria began his life with the cursed name of Ludwig, named after King Louis XVI of France. Still, the prince was lucky in that the elder line of the Wittelsbach, the Sulzbach-Palatine line, died out in 1799 leaving his father with the entire Wittelsbach inheritance. In the midst of the Napoleonic Wars, Maximilian became the first king of Bavaria. Ludwig, meanwhile, went on to study in Landshut and married Theresa of Saxe-Hildburghausen in 1810, prompting the first of the annual Oktoberfests. Ludwig served as a commander of the Bavarian army on the side of the French during the Napoleonic Wars despite his reservations. His father died in 1825 leaving him the throne.
As king, Ludwig I was an autocratic king, though one who enjoyed culture. In 1837, he reorganized Bavaria into its historic regions and also re-erected several closed and dilapidated monasteries. Ludwig also worked to unite the Palatinate with the rest of Bavaria, but ended up losing around two-thirds of it to regional powers. Still, as a modernist, Ludwig spent great amounts of money creating the Ludwig Canal, building the first German railroad, and encouraging independence movements around Europe. His second son, Otto, was even elected the first king of Greece. After 1830, though, Ludwig began to stamp out liberal movements within Bavaria. This made the people mad. The Roman Catholic Church, which had strong support in Bavaria, supported a movement known as the Ultramontes, which sought to remove Protestant provisions from the Bavarian constitution. The movement died out, but it was not forgotten. The king continued to censor the press and beer riots broke out in 1844 after Ludwig added a tax to beer. During the 1848 Revolutions, the middle class demanded a new constitution and the king refused. The cabinet, in response, forced him to abdicate the throne. He spent the rest of his life in Munich promoting the fine arts with his own capital. He died in Nice on the French Riviera and was buried in Munich.
As king, Ludwig I was an autocratic king, though one who enjoyed culture. In 1837, he reorganized Bavaria into its historic regions and also re-erected several closed and dilapidated monasteries. Ludwig also worked to unite the Palatinate with the rest of Bavaria, but ended up losing around two-thirds of it to regional powers. Still, as a modernist, Ludwig spent great amounts of money creating the Ludwig Canal, building the first German railroad, and encouraging independence movements around Europe. His second son, Otto, was even elected the first king of Greece. After 1830, though, Ludwig began to stamp out liberal movements within Bavaria. This made the people mad. The Roman Catholic Church, which had strong support in Bavaria, supported a movement known as the Ultramontes, which sought to remove Protestant provisions from the Bavarian constitution. The movement died out, but it was not forgotten. The king continued to censor the press and beer riots broke out in 1844 after Ludwig added a tax to beer. During the 1848 Revolutions, the middle class demanded a new constitution and the king refused. The cabinet, in response, forced him to abdicate the throne. He spent the rest of his life in Munich promoting the fine arts with his own capital. He died in Nice on the French Riviera and was buried in Munich.
Date of Death: 29 February 1868
Successor: Maximilian II
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