Albert IV, Duke of Bavaria
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Duke Albert IV of Bavaria-Munich (15 December 1447 in Munich – 18 March 1508 in Munich), (German: Albrecht IV., der Weise, Herzog von Bayern), from 1467 Duke of Bavaria-Munich, from 1503 Duke of the reunited Bavaria.

Albert IV of Bavaria (portrait by Barthel Beham)

Biography

Albert was a son of Albert III, Duke of Bavaria and Anna of Brunswick-Grubenhagen-Einbeck. After the death of his older brother John IV, Duke of Bavaria he gave up his spiritual career and returned from Pavia to Munich. When his brothers Christoph and Wolfgang had resigned Albert became sole duke, but a new duchy Bavaria-Dachau was created from Bavaria-Munich for his brother Duke Sigismund in 1467. After Sigismund's death in 1501, it reverted to Bavaria-Munich.

Due to pressing from his father-in-law Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, Albert decided to return territorial acquisitions in Swabia in 1492 to avoid a conflict with the Habsburg.

After the death of the last duke of Bavaria-Landshut George in 1503 Albert managed to reunite the whole of Bavaria in a dreadful war against George's heirs, the Palatinate line of his Wittelsbach family but had to transfer Kufstein and Kitzbühel to his brother-in-law Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor as compensation for his support. For the Palatinate branch a new duchy of Palatinate-Neuburg was created.

To avoid any future division of Bavaria Albert edicted the everlasting succession of the firstborn prince in 1506. Nevertheless his oldest son and successor William IV, Duke of Bavaria had to share his power from 1516 onwards with his younger brother Louis X, Duke of Bavaria. After the death of Louis in 1545 the edict became effective until the end of Bavarian monarchy in 1918.

Albert is buried in the Frauenkirche in Munich.

Family and children

Kunigunde of Austria

On 3 January 1487 he married to Archiduchess Kunigunde of Austria, daughter of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and his wife Eleonore of Portugal. They had eight children:

1. Sidonie (1 May 1488 – 27 March 1505)
2. Sibylle (16 June 1489 – 18 April 1519), married in 1511 to Louis V, Elector Palatine
3. Sabina (24 April 1492 – 30 April 1564), married in 1511 to Duke Ulrich I of Württemberg
4. William IV, Duke of Bavaria (13 November 1493 – 7 March 1550)
5. Louis X, Duke of Bavaria (18 September 1495 – 22 April 1545)
6. Susanne (1499 – 1500)
7. Ernest of Bavaria (13 June 1500 – 1560), an eccliastical official in Passau (1517-40), Köln, Archbishop in Salzburg (1540-54) and Eichstädt
8. Susanne (2 April 1502 – 23 April 1543), married:
   1. in 1518 to Casimir, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
   2. in 1529 to Otto Henry, Elector Palatine

Ancestors

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