Maximilian, Duke of Bavaria

Maximilian was the only son of the Duke Pius Augustus of Bavaria ( 1786 - 1837 ) and the Duchess of Amalia Louise of Arena ( 1789 - 1823 ). He had an unsociable character and lived in solitude in his estate Possenhofen , acquired in 1834 . Maximilian went to the court only for official or family ceremonies, preferring life in the village.

In 1838, Maximilian made a trip to Egypt and Palestine . After the trip, he wrote the book Journey to the East in 1838 ( Wanderung nach dem Orient im Jahre 1838 ). He collected many souvenirs that he brought to Bavaria and exhibited in his father's house, where they can be seen today. Among the exhibits are the mummy of a young woman, the heads of three mummies, several animal mummies and stones from graves and temples.

Maximilian was one of the most prominent patrons of 19th-century Bavarian folk music. Under his influence, the zither began to be regarded as the national musical instrument of Bavaria. He played the zither himself and composed music.

Under the pseudonym Fantazus he published several dramas and short stories ^[3] .

Maximilian married September 9, 1828 in Tegernsee to Louis of Bavaria ( 1808 - 1892 ) for dynastic reasons. He did not pay attention to his wife, believing that she should only give birth to children and do household work. Louis, daughter of King of Bavaria, Maximilian I , felt offended by a wedding with a man below her rank, as her sisters married the crown princes.

The spouses had 8 children:

• Ludwig Wilhelm ( 1831 - 1920 ), Duke of Bavaria, in 1859 organically married Henrietta Mendel and renounced his rights.
• Elena Carolina Teresa ( 1834 - 1890 ), Duchess of Bavaria and Princess Turn-i-Taxis , married Maximilian Anton Turn-i-Taxis in 1858.
• Elizabeth Amalia Eugene (Sissi) ( 1837 - 1898 ), Duchess of Bavaria and Empress of Austria, married Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria in 1854 ^[3] .
• Karl Theodor ( 1839 - 1909 ), Duke of Bavaria, married Sophia of Saxony in 1865, widowed in 1874 married the Infanta Maria Josephine of Portugal .
• Maria Sophia Amalia ( 1841 - 1925 ), Duchess of Bavaria and Queen of Both Sicilies, in 1859 married Francis II , King of both Sicilies ^[3] .
• Matilda Louis ( 1843 - 1925 ), Duchess of Bavaria and Countess de Trani, in 1862 married Count Luigi of Bourbon-Sicily .
• Sophia Charlotte Augustus ( 1847 - 1897 ), Duchess of Bavaria, Alanson and Orleans, married Duke Ferdinand of Alenansky in 1868.
• Maximilian Emanuel ( 1849 - 1893 ), Duke of Bavaria, married Amalia Saxe-Coburg-Gotha in 1875.

• Maximilian Joseph // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.