Monarchism in Bavaria after 1918
Encyclopedia
Monarchism in Bavaria after 1918 was driven by the belief that a monarchy
would be the best form of government for the German
state
of Bavaria
, despite the abolition of the Bavarian monarchy in 1918. The Bavarian monarchy
ended with the Anif declaration
by King Ludwig III on 12 November 1918 as a consequence of Germany's defeat in the First World War.
Monarchism in Bavaria was particularly strong between 1918 and 1933, when an attempt was made to either restore Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria
, to the Bavarian throne or to elevate him to a position of Generalstaatskommissar (General State Commissioner) in an attempt to forestall the rise
of the Nazis to power in the state.
Bavaria, ruled by the House of Wittelsbach from 1180, became a kingdom in 1805. In November 1918, in the face of growing unrest in Germany, the last prime minister of the Kingdom of Bavaria, Otto Ritter von Dandl
, attempted to persuade the Bavarian King Ludwig III to relinquish the Bavarian throne. Ludwig was unwilling to do so but instead published the Anif Declaration
on 12 November in which he absolved all government employees, officers, and soldiers of the Bavarian Army of their oath of loyalty to him. The following day, Kurt Eisner
, prime minister of Bavaria, informed the public that the King had abdicated, despite that the declaration made no reference to an abdication.
The crown prince
, still in military service at the time, made it clear that he had no intention of relinquishing his rights to the Bavarian throne and instead demanded that a freely elected Bavarian national assembly decide over the future system of government in the state. The Bavarian monarch was one of only five of the 22 German potentates not to relinquish his rights to the throne, the others being the King of Saxony
, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
, the Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont
and the Grand Duke of Hesse
.
In 1921, the House of Wittelsbach was able to prove that the parts of the constitution of 1818 in regards to their property were only valid as long as Bavaria remained a monarchy. After negotiations between the government and the Wittelsbachs, the Wittelsbacher Ausgleichsfonds (Wittelsbach compensation fund) was established in 1923. In this settlement, the former royal family was permitted to retain a number of palaces, large forest holdings, living rights in a number of other palaces, art collections and their secret house archives. A financial compensation was also awarded but the inflation of 1923 made the latter almost worthless. Most of the palaces and the art collection were made accessible to the public by the crown prince.
The Bayerische Königspartei (Bavarian Royal Party) was formed in November 1919. It had the declared aim of restoring the monarchy and the safeguarding of the Bavarian identity, fearing a reduction of Bavaria to a Prussian province. The party did not have the support of the royal family who avoided any association and did not take part in any elections, instead concentrating on trying to force a referendum on the form of government in Bavaria. When it became known that high ranking members of the party had had contacts to separatists of the Rhenish Republic
and to France
, it lost most of its members and was dissolved in 1926, with most members joining the Bayerischer Heimat- und Königsbund "In Treue fest".
The Bayerischer Heimat- und Königsbund "In Treue fest" (Bavarian Homeland and Royal Federation "Firm in Fidelity") was formed in 1921. Its motto, "In Treue fest", was the motto of the Bavarian Army and the Bavarian order of St. Hubertus
.
This organisation, too, was not supported by the crown prince, who felt that the Bavarian monarchy should not be associated with a political party or organisation. By 1932, it had a membership of 70,000 and was organised state-wide, held special royal days and operated a social service and a youth organisation. With the rise of the Nazis to power, the federation was outlawed and its leading members arrested. Resistance movements by former members were destroyed by the Gestapo
between 1935 and 1939 and its leader, Adolf Freiherr von Harnier, died the day after being liberated by US forces through the effects of his incarceration in Straubing
.
Adolf Hitler
's 1923 "Beer Hall Putsch
" in Munich
had the restoration of the monarchy as its pretext. However, it was carried out without the crown prince's knowledge and support, and collapsed. Rupprecht again did not want to take the crown by illegal means and thereby assured himself of Hitler's lasting enmity. Adolf Hitler made it clear at the time (and at his trial) that he believed in a Republic (in the simple sense of a land without a hereditory monarch - not in the Roman or American sense of a "Res Publica" limited government) and opposed the idea of a monarchy. It also must be made clear that "Monarchism", in a Bavarian context, was not the belief that a King should have absolute power, but rather the belief that a monarch should be part of a traditional constitutional system of checks and balances. The very thing that Adolf Hitler both opposed and passionately hated.
could take power in Bavaria and Germany, the restoration of the monarchy was seen as the only possible way to avoid this fate. Talks about a possible restoration were held as early as May 1932 between Baron Erwein von Aretin and Bavarian prime minister Heinrich Held
.
The Bavarian conservative and labor parties supported such a move. Fritz Schäffer
, leader of the Bavarian People's Party
, planned to create the position of Generalstaatskommissar for the crown prince. Wilhelm Hoegner
and Erhard Auer, leaders of the Social Democratic Party of Germany
, supported the move. However, the Bavarian government under Heinrich Held hesitated to carry out such a step in February 1933, being discouraged to do so by the lack of support from the German President Paul von Hindenburg
and the Reichswehr
.
The restoration of the monarchy in 1933 required a change of the Bavarian constitution, which would have been difficult to achieve. The office of Generalstaatskommissar was more likely for Rupprecht, but did not appeal to the monarchists, who wanted a King. In any case, Heinrich Held's extensive political demands made the step impossible. Hitler warned Held, on 1 March, that a restoration would lead to a "terrible catastrophe". Paul von Hindenburg was only interested in a restoration of the House of Hohenzollern
, not the King of Bavaria. All in all, the chances of restoration were slim in 1933 and exaggerated after 1945.
In the German federal election, March 1933 the Nazis' support in the three electoral parts of Bavaria ranged from 35 - 50%.
, while other members of the royal family were arrested in 1944.
The Bayerischer Heimat- und Königsbund "In Treue fest" was also reformed after the Second World War. In 1967, upon the suggestion of Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria
, it was renamed Bayernbund, to focus more on safeguarding the Bavarian identity rather than on restoring the monarchy.
Some hope was held that the monarchy could be reestablished after 1945, especially in the face of the monarchists' active participation in the German resistance
. Attempts were made to establish the office of a President of Bavaria, but those remained unsuccessful. In a survey in 1954, 70 of 193 conservative members of the Bavarian parliament still declared themselves to be royalists. However, with the passage of time, a stronger emphasis has been set on supporting Bavaria's identity rather than on a restoration of the monarchy, a step encouraged by the former royal family.
Rupprecht died on 2 August 1955 and was succeeded by his son Albrecht
as the head of the House of Wittelsbach. Albrecht adopted the title Duke of Bavaria and was himself succeeded upon his death in 1996 by his son Franz
.
The pretenders to the throne since the end of the monarchy in 1918:
Bayernbund website Wittelsbacher Ausgleichsfonds website
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
would be the best form of government for the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
state
States of Germany
Germany is made up of sixteen which are partly sovereign constituent states of the Federal Republic of Germany. Land literally translates as "country", and constitutionally speaking, they are constituent countries...
of Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, despite the abolition of the Bavarian monarchy in 1918. The Bavarian monarchy
Kingdom of Bavaria
The Kingdom of Bavaria was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918. The Bavarian Elector Maximilian IV Joseph of the House of Wittelsbach became the first King of Bavaria in 1806 as Maximilian I Joseph. The monarchy would remain held by the Wittelsbachs until the kingdom's dissolution in 1918...
ended with the Anif declaration
Anif declaration
The Anif declaration , issued by the Bavarian king Ludwig III on 12 November 1918 at Anif Palace, Austria, ended the 738-year rule of the House of Wittelsbach in Bavaria.-Historical background:...
by King Ludwig III on 12 November 1918 as a consequence of Germany's defeat in the First World War.
Monarchism in Bavaria was particularly strong between 1918 and 1933, when an attempt was made to either restore Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria
Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria
Rupprecht or Rupert, Crown Prince of Bavaria was the last Bavarian Crown Prince.His full title was His Royal Highness Rupprecht Maria Luitpold Ferdinand, Crown Prince of Bavaria, Duke of Bavaria, of Franconia and in Swabia, Count Palatine of the Rhine...
, to the Bavarian throne or to elevate him to a position of Generalstaatskommissar (General State Commissioner) in an attempt to forestall the rise
Machtergreifung
Machtergreifung is a German word meaning "seizure of power". It is normally used specifically to refer to the Nazi takeover of power in the democratic Weimar Republic on 30 January 1933, the day Hitler was sworn in as Chancellor of Germany, turning it into the Nazi German dictatorship.-Term:The...
of the Nazis to power in the state.
Background
Otto Ritter von Dandl
Otto Ritter von Dandl was the last Minister-President of the Kingdom of Bavaria.-Life:Otto Ritter von Dandl was born in Straubing, Lower Bavaria, in 1868, his parents being Georg Ritter von Dandl and Karoline Weninger. He studied law and graduated in 1890. He entered the Bavarian government...
, attempted to persuade the Bavarian King Ludwig III to relinquish the Bavarian throne. Ludwig was unwilling to do so but instead published the Anif Declaration
Anif declaration
The Anif declaration , issued by the Bavarian king Ludwig III on 12 November 1918 at Anif Palace, Austria, ended the 738-year rule of the House of Wittelsbach in Bavaria.-Historical background:...
on 12 November in which he absolved all government employees, officers, and soldiers of the Bavarian Army of their oath of loyalty to him. The following day, Kurt Eisner
Kurt Eisner
Kurt Eisner was a Bavarian politician and journalist. As a German socialist journalist and statesman, he organized the Socialist Revolution that overthrew the Wittelsbach monarchy in Bavaria in November 1918....
, prime minister of Bavaria, informed the public that the King had abdicated, despite that the declaration made no reference to an abdication.
The crown prince
Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria
Rupprecht or Rupert, Crown Prince of Bavaria was the last Bavarian Crown Prince.His full title was His Royal Highness Rupprecht Maria Luitpold Ferdinand, Crown Prince of Bavaria, Duke of Bavaria, of Franconia and in Swabia, Count Palatine of the Rhine...
, still in military service at the time, made it clear that he had no intention of relinquishing his rights to the Bavarian throne and instead demanded that a freely elected Bavarian national assembly decide over the future system of government in the state. The Bavarian monarch was one of only five of the 22 German potentates not to relinquish his rights to the throne, the others being the King of Saxony
Kingdom of Saxony
The Kingdom of Saxony , lasting between 1806 and 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. From 1871 it was part of the German Empire. It became a Free state in the era of Weimar Republic in 1918 after the end of World War...
, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Saxe-Coburg and Gotha or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha served as the collective name of two duchies, Saxe-Coburg and Saxe-Gotha, in Germany. They were located in what today are the states of Bavaria and Thuringia, respectively, and the two were in personal union between 1826 and 1918...
, the Prince of Waldeck-Pyrmont
Waldeck (state)
Waldeck was a sovereign principality in the German Empire and German Confederation and, until 1929, a constituent state of the Weimar Republic. It comprised territories in present-day Hesse and Lower Saxony, ....
and the Grand Duke of Hesse
Grand Duchy of Hesse
The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine , or, between 1806 and 1816, Grand Duchy of Hesse —as it was also known after 1816—was a member state of the German Confederation from 1806, when the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt was elevated to a Grand Duchy, until 1918, when all the German...
.
Compensation of the Wittelsbachs
The Bavarian government initially confiscated all property and possessions of the House of Wittelsbach, declaring them property of the state. It also stopped all payments to the royal family. As legal grounds for this decision, the government used the constitution of 1818, which it interpreted as the Wittelsbachs having relinquished their property in favor of the state. Additionally, in 1834, the House of Wittelsbach was granted a financial allowance from the government, which the Bavarian government used as a confirmation of their view that all possessions of the Wittelsbachs belonged to the state.In 1921, the House of Wittelsbach was able to prove that the parts of the constitution of 1818 in regards to their property were only valid as long as Bavaria remained a monarchy. After negotiations between the government and the Wittelsbachs, the Wittelsbacher Ausgleichsfonds (Wittelsbach compensation fund) was established in 1923. In this settlement, the former royal family was permitted to retain a number of palaces, large forest holdings, living rights in a number of other palaces, art collections and their secret house archives. A financial compensation was also awarded but the inflation of 1923 made the latter almost worthless. Most of the palaces and the art collection were made accessible to the public by the crown prince.
Monarchist organisations
A number of monarchist organisation were formed after the monarchy was abolished.The Bayerische Königspartei (Bavarian Royal Party) was formed in November 1919. It had the declared aim of restoring the monarchy and the safeguarding of the Bavarian identity, fearing a reduction of Bavaria to a Prussian province. The party did not have the support of the royal family who avoided any association and did not take part in any elections, instead concentrating on trying to force a referendum on the form of government in Bavaria. When it became known that high ranking members of the party had had contacts to separatists of the Rhenish Republic
Rhenish Republic
The Rhenish Republic was proclaimed at Aachen in October 1923 during the Occupation of the Ruhr by troops from France and Belgium between January 1923 and 1925...
and to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, it lost most of its members and was dissolved in 1926, with most members joining the Bayerischer Heimat- und Königsbund "In Treue fest".
The Bayerischer Heimat- und Königsbund "In Treue fest" (Bavarian Homeland and Royal Federation "Firm in Fidelity") was formed in 1921. Its motto, "In Treue fest", was the motto of the Bavarian Army and the Bavarian order of St. Hubertus
Order of Saint Hubert (Bavarian)
The Bavarian Order of Saint Hubert was founded in 1444 or 1445 by Gerhard V, Duke of Jülich and Count of Ravensberg. He sought to commemorate his victory over the House of Egmond at the Battle of Linnich on 3 November, which is Saint Hubert's day....
.
This organisation, too, was not supported by the crown prince, who felt that the Bavarian monarchy should not be associated with a political party or organisation. By 1932, it had a membership of 70,000 and was organised state-wide, held special royal days and operated a social service and a youth organisation. With the rise of the Nazis to power, the federation was outlawed and its leading members arrested. Resistance movements by former members were destroyed by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
between 1935 and 1939 and its leader, Adolf Freiherr von Harnier, died the day after being liberated by US forces through the effects of his incarceration in Straubing
Straubing
Straubing is an independent city in Lower Bavaria, southern Germany. It is seat of the district of Straubing-Bogen. Annually in August the Gäubodenvolksfest, the second largest fair in Bavaria, is held....
.
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's 1923 "Beer Hall Putsch
Beer Hall Putsch
The Beer Hall Putsch was a failed attempt at revolution that occurred between the evening of 8 November and the early afternoon of 9 November 1923, when Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler, Generalquartiermeister Erich Ludendorff, and other heads of the Kampfbund unsuccessfully tried to seize power...
" in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
had the restoration of the monarchy as its pretext. However, it was carried out without the crown prince's knowledge and support, and collapsed. Rupprecht again did not want to take the crown by illegal means and thereby assured himself of Hitler's lasting enmity. Adolf Hitler made it clear at the time (and at his trial) that he believed in a Republic (in the simple sense of a land without a hereditory monarch - not in the Roman or American sense of a "Res Publica" limited government) and opposed the idea of a monarchy. It also must be made clear that "Monarchism", in a Bavarian context, was not the belief that a King should have absolute power, but rather the belief that a monarch should be part of a traditional constitutional system of checks and balances. The very thing that Adolf Hitler both opposed and passionately hated.
Funeral of Ludwig III
The funeral of Ludwig III on 5 November 1921 was feared or hoped to spark a restoration of the monarchy. Despite the abolition of the monarchy, the former King was laid to rest in front of the royal family, the Bavarian government, military personnel, and an estimated 100,000 spectators, in the style of royal funerals. Prince Rupprecht did not wish to use the occasion of the passing of his father to reestablish the monarchy by force, preferring to do so by legal means. Michael von Faulhaber, Archbishop of Munich, in his funeral speech, made a clear commitment to the monarchy while Rupprecht only declared that he had stepped into his birthright.1932–33
In 1932, when it became ever more likely that the National Socialists under Adolf HitlerAdolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
could take power in Bavaria and Germany, the restoration of the monarchy was seen as the only possible way to avoid this fate. Talks about a possible restoration were held as early as May 1932 between Baron Erwein von Aretin and Bavarian prime minister Heinrich Held
Heinrich Held
Heinrich Held was a Catholic politician and Minister President of Bavaria. He was forced out of office by the Nazi takeover in Germany in 1933.-Life:...
.
The Bavarian conservative and labor parties supported such a move. Fritz Schäffer
Fritz Schäffer
Fritz Schäffer was a German politician for the Bavarian People's Party and the Christian Social Union . In 1945 he became the first Bavarian Minister-President after World War II...
, leader of the Bavarian People's Party
Bavarian People's Party
The Bavarian People's Party was the Bavarian branch of the Centre Party, which broke off from the rest of the party in 1919 to pursue a more conservative, more Catholic, more Bavarian particularist course...
, planned to create the position of Generalstaatskommissar for the crown prince. Wilhelm Hoegner
Wilhelm Hoegner
Wilhelm Hoegner was the second Bavarian prime minister after World War II and father of the Bavarian constitution. He has been the only Social Democrat to hold this office....
and Erhard Auer, leaders of the Social Democratic Party of Germany
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
, supported the move. However, the Bavarian government under Heinrich Held hesitated to carry out such a step in February 1933, being discouraged to do so by the lack of support from the German President Paul von Hindenburg
Paul von Hindenburg
Paul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg , known universally as Paul von Hindenburg was a Prussian-German field marshal, statesman, and politician, and served as the second President of Germany from 1925 to 1934....
and the Reichswehr
Reichswehr
The Reichswehr formed the military organisation of Germany from 1919 until 1935, when it was renamed the Wehrmacht ....
.
The restoration of the monarchy in 1933 required a change of the Bavarian constitution, which would have been difficult to achieve. The office of Generalstaatskommissar was more likely for Rupprecht, but did not appeal to the monarchists, who wanted a King. In any case, Heinrich Held's extensive political demands made the step impossible. Hitler warned Held, on 1 March, that a restoration would lead to a "terrible catastrophe". Paul von Hindenburg was only interested in a restoration of the House of Hohenzollern
House of Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern is a noble family and royal dynasty of electors, kings and emperors of Prussia, Germany and Romania. It originated in the area around the town of Hechingen in Swabia during the 11th century. They took their name from their ancestral home, the Burg Hohenzollern castle near...
, not the King of Bavaria. All in all, the chances of restoration were slim in 1933 and exaggerated after 1945.
In the German federal election, March 1933 the Nazis' support in the three electoral parts of Bavaria ranged from 35 - 50%.
Monarchism 1933–45
Despite some support from the Nazis for the monarchy prior to 1933, all monarchist organisations in the state were banned almost immediately in 1933 and their members prosecuted. Crown Prince Rupprecht survived the war in ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, while other members of the royal family were arrested in 1944.
Monarchism after 1945
In 1945, a Bayerische Heimat- und Königspartei was formed. The US occupation authorities outlawed the party in 1946. Reformed in 1950, it never regained any momentum.The Bayerischer Heimat- und Königsbund "In Treue fest" was also reformed after the Second World War. In 1967, upon the suggestion of Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria
Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria
Albrecht Luitpold Ferdinand Michael, Duke of Bavaria, of Franconia and in Swabia, Count Palatine of the Rhine , was the son of Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria and his first wife, Duchess Marie Gabrielle in Bavaria. He was the one surviving child from that marriage...
, it was renamed Bayernbund, to focus more on safeguarding the Bavarian identity rather than on restoring the monarchy.
Some hope was held that the monarchy could be reestablished after 1945, especially in the face of the monarchists' active participation in the German resistance
German Resistance
The German resistance was the opposition by individuals and groups in Germany to Adolf Hitler or the National Socialist regime between 1933 and 1945. Some of these engaged in active plans to remove Adolf Hitler from power and overthrow his regime...
. Attempts were made to establish the office of a President of Bavaria, but those remained unsuccessful. In a survey in 1954, 70 of 193 conservative members of the Bavarian parliament still declared themselves to be royalists. However, with the passage of time, a stronger emphasis has been set on supporting Bavaria's identity rather than on a restoration of the monarchy, a step encouraged by the former royal family.
Rupprecht died on 2 August 1955 and was succeeded by his son Albrecht
Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria
Albrecht Luitpold Ferdinand Michael, Duke of Bavaria, of Franconia and in Swabia, Count Palatine of the Rhine , was the son of Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria and his first wife, Duchess Marie Gabrielle in Bavaria. He was the one surviving child from that marriage...
as the head of the House of Wittelsbach. Albrecht adopted the title Duke of Bavaria and was himself succeeded upon his death in 1996 by his son Franz
Franz, Duke of Bavaria
Franz Bonaventura Adalbert Maria Herzog von Bayern , styled as His Royal Highness The Duke of Bavaria, is head of the Wittelsbach family, the former ruling family of the Kingdom of Bavaria...
.
The pretenders to the throne since the end of the monarchy in 1918:
- Ludwig III of BavariaLudwig III of BavariaLudwig III , was the last King of Bavaria, reigning from 1913 to 1918.-Early life:...
(1845–1921), 1918–21 - Rupprecht, Crown Prince of BavariaRupprecht, Crown Prince of BavariaRupprecht or Rupert, Crown Prince of Bavaria was the last Bavarian Crown Prince.His full title was His Royal Highness Rupprecht Maria Luitpold Ferdinand, Crown Prince of Bavaria, Duke of Bavaria, of Franconia and in Swabia, Count Palatine of the Rhine...
(1869–1955), 1921–55 - Albrecht, Duke of BavariaAlbrecht, Duke of BavariaAlbrecht Luitpold Ferdinand Michael, Duke of Bavaria, of Franconia and in Swabia, Count Palatine of the Rhine , was the son of Rupprecht, Crown Prince of Bavaria and his first wife, Duchess Marie Gabrielle in Bavaria. He was the one surviving child from that marriage...
(1905–96), 1955–96 - Franz, Duke of BavariaFranz, Duke of BavariaFranz Bonaventura Adalbert Maria Herzog von Bayern , styled as His Royal Highness The Duke of Bavaria, is head of the Wittelsbach family, the former ruling family of the Kingdom of Bavaria...
, (b. 1933), 1996–
External links
Historisches Lexikon Bayerns History project of the Bavarian State LibraryBavarian State Library
The Bavarian State Library in Munich is the central "Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria and one of Europe's most important universal libraries. With its collections currently comprising around 9.39 million books, it ranks among the best research libraries...
Bayernbund website Wittelsbacher Ausgleichsfonds website