Ferdinand Maria, elector of Bavaria
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Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria (portrait by Paul Mignard)

Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria (October 31, 1636 - May 26, 1679) was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and an elector (Kurfürst) of the Holy Roman Empire from 1651 to 1679.

Biography

He was born in Munich. He was the eldest son of Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria - whom he succeeded, and his second wife Maria Anna of Austria, daughter of the emperor Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor.

He was crowned on October 31, 1654. His absolutistic style of leadership became a benchmark for the rest of Germany. Though Ferdinand Maria allied with France he abstained the imperial crown in 1657 to avoid a conflict with Habsburg.

He married Henriette Adelaide of Savoy (d.1676), daughter of Victor Amadeus I of Savoy. With her the Italian Baroque was introduced in Bavaria. The Theatiner Church in Munich was built from 1663 onwards as a gesture of thanks for the birth of the long-awaited heir to the Bavarian crown, Prince Max Emanuel. In 1664, he commissioned the building of Nymphenburg Palace, near Munich.

He died in Schleissheim Palace and was succeeded by his son Maximilian II Emanuel. He is buried in the crypt of the Theatiner Church in Munich.

Trivia

• He was the great grandfather of French monarch Louis XV.
• Plans for a Bavarian colony near New York were discussed but soon abandoned during Ferdinand Maria's reign

Ferdinand Maria, Picture from 1658

Ancestors

Succession

• Duchess Maria Anna of Bavaria, Dauphine of France
• Maximilian II, Kurfürst of Bavaria
• Luise Margarete Antonie, Duchess of Bavaria
• Ludwig Amadeus Victor, Duke of Bavaria
• Kajetan Maria Franz, Duke of Bavaria
• Joseph Clemens Kajetan, Kurfürst and Archbishop of Cologne
• Violante Beatrix, Duchess of Bavaria