House of Wittelsbach  / 
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| Information | |||
| Real Name: | Haus Wittelsbach | ||
| Founded: | 11th century | ||
| Location: | Germany / Bavaria / Greece / Kalmar Union | ||
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| People | |||
| Kings: | Charles XI (Sweden) | ||
| Royals: | Princess Palatine Charles II, Elector Palatine Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria | ||
| Affiliations: | Holy Roman Empire | ||
The House of Wittelsbach was one of the royal houses in the Holy Roman Empire. They made 3 Holy Roman Emperors and were also a ruling family in Bavaria, in Greece and Sweden.
Emperors, Electors and Kings[]
The Wittelsbach produced Three Holy Roman Emperos:[]
- Louis IV (1314-1347)
- Rupert (1400-1410)
- Charles VII (1742-1745)
The Wittelsbach produced Six Kings of Bavaria:[]
- Maximilian I Joseph (1805-1825)
- Louis I (1825-1848)
- Maximilian II (1848-1864)
- Louis II (1864-1886)
- Otto (1886-1913)
- Louis III (1913-1918)
The Wittelsbach produced many Electors of the Palatine like...[]
- Charles I Louis, Elector Palatine (1649-1680)
- Charles II, Elector Palatine (1680-1685)
Members[]
1st Generation[]
2nd Generation[]
History[]
Berthold, Margrave in Bavaria (died 980), was the ancestor of Otto I, Count of Scheyern (died 1072), whose third son Otto II, Count of Scheyern acquired the castle of Wittelsbach (near Aichach). The Counts of Scheyern left Scheyern Castle (constructed around 940) in 1119 for Wittelsbach Castle and the former was given to monks to establish Scheyern Abbey.
The Wittelsbach Conrad of Scheyern-Dachau, a great-grandson of Otto I, Count of Scheyern became Duke of Merania in 1153 and was succeeded by his son Conrad II. It was the first Duchy held by the Wittelsbach family (until 1180/82).
Otto I's eldest son Eckhard I, Count of Scheyern was father of the Count palatine of Bavaria Otto IV (died 1156), who was the first Count of Wittelsbach and whose son Otto was invested with the Duchy of Bavaria in 1180 after the fall of Henry the Lion and hence the first Bavarian ruler from the House of Wittelsbach. Duke Otto's son Louis I, Duke of Bavaria acquired also the Electorate of the Palatinatein 1214.
The Wittelsbach dynasty ruled the German territories of Bavaria from 1180 to 1918 and the Electorate of the Palatinate from 1214 until 1805; in 1815 the latter territory was partly incorporated as Rhine Palatinate into Bavaria, which Napoleonelevated to a kingdom in 1806.
On Duke Otto II's death in 1253, his sons divided the Wittelsbach possessions between them: Henrybecame Duke of Lower Bavaria, and Louis II Duke of Upper Bavaria and Count Palatine of the Rhine. When Henry's branch died out in 1340 the Emperor Louis IV, a son of Duke Louis II, reunited the duchy.
The family provided two Holy Roman Emperors: Louis IV (1314–1347) and Charles VII (1742–1745), both members of the Bavarian branch of the family, and one German King with Rupert of the Palatinate(1400–1410), a member of the Palatinate branch.
The House of Wittelsbach split into these two branches in 1329: Under the Treaty of Pavia, Emperor Louis IV granted the Palatinate including the Bavarian Upper Palatinate to his brother Duke Rudolf's descendants, Rudolf II, Rupert I and Rupert II. Rudolf I in this way became the ancestor of the older (Palatinate) line of the Wittelsbach dynasty, which returned to power also in Bavaria in 1777 after the extinction of the younger (Bavarian) line, the descendants of Louis IV.