19th Century

Kings of Bavaria: King Ludwig III

A long, tragic series of events brought King Ludwig III to the Bavarian throne. He was the monarch who was never destined to become king. He did not inherit it, but instead took it from his mentally ill cousin. Ludwig also saw the end of his family's 700-year rule over Bavaria.

Kings of Bavaria: King Otto I

King Otto I was the king who never reigned. His story was a tragic one that to this day remains unique in the history of Bavaria. He became king upon his older brother's death, but as he had already been declared insane and mentally unfit to rule, his uncle took over his royal duties as prince regen...

Kings of Bavaria: Prince Regent Luitpold

The story of Prince Luitpold and how he came to power is a rather tragic one. Although Prince Luitpold was never actually king of Bavaria, he reigned in place of his nephew, King Otto I, who was declared insane and unfit to rule even before inheriting the throne after the death of his older brother,...

Kings of Bavaria: King Ludwig II

King Ludwig II was the fourth king of Bavaria. Of all Bavaria's kings, Ludwig II is arguably the most famous. His legacy is entrenched in Bavaria's collective memory as the Märchenkönig (Fairy Tale King) and his picturesque palaces and castles have changed the Bavarian landscape.

Kings of Bavaria: Maximilian II Joseph

King Maximilian II Joseph was the third king of Bavaria. He was born on November 28, 1811 in Munich and was the first Bavarian king to be born in Bavaria.

Kings of Bavaria: King Ludwig I

King Ludwig I was the second king of Bavaria. Although, like his father, King Maximilian I Joseph, he was born outside of Bavaria before the establishment of the Bavarian kingdom, his legacy is still felt to this day with no place being as strongly impacted as his capital city, Munich.

Kings of Bavaria: King Maximilian I Joseph

King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria, also known as King Max I Joseph, was the very first king of Bavaria. His reign marked the beginning of a kingdom which lasted for just over a century. Born on May 27, 1756 in Schwetzingen in what is today Baden-Württemburg, Maximilian came from the Palatine line...

New Series: Kings of Bavaria

As my research has recently taken me in a new direction, I’ve decided to start a new multi-part series about it. For my dissertation, I will be researching the relationships between the Bavarian aristocracy and monarchy in the nineteenth century. The Kings of Bavaria will feature all of the Ba...

Kaiser Wilhelm II and the Nazis

I’ve recently been reading a German history magazine called Der Spiegel: Geschichte. The most current issue focuses on the Hohenzollern dynasty in Prussia and ultimately in the German Empire from 1871 until 1918. One of the last articles in the issue discusses the last German Kaiser, Wilhelm I...

Nineteenth Century German History: Conclusion

Germany in the nineteenth century was a place of unimaginable political unrest. The collapse of the Holy Roman Empire at the beginning of the century set the precedent for how the political scene of most of the rest of the century would play out. It would be chaotic, unnavigable and yet somehow the ...