Maximilian I ~ Duke and Elector of Bavaria
Statue of Maximilian I, Duke and Elector of Bavaria by Bertel Thorvaldsen
The Thirty Years War (1618 to 1648) was the 17th century equivalent of World War I and II, a bloody conflict fought primarily in what is now Germany.
Munich suffered terribly, as did all of Germany. The Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus swept through Bavaria and took possession of Munich. After numerous horrific battles he was defeated, but Bavaria was left with half of its population decimated, not only by war, but also by sickness and famine. Entire villages were depopulated, their streets deserted. The land was left uncultivated and incidents of cannibalism were reported.
Maximilian I reigned during this unhappy period.
The First Wittelsbach Elector
Maximilian I has been called the greatest of the Wittelsbach Electors, and he was the first to attain that rank in 1623.
Electors were members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, and their function was to elect the Emperor. The position of Elector (Kurfürst in German), therefore, was very prestigious.
There were seven electors through much of the history of the Empire, three spiritual (the Archbishops of Mainz, Trier and Cologne) and four lay (the King of Bohemia, the Count Palatine of the Rhine, the Duke of Saxony and the Margrave of Brandenburg.) In the 17th century, the Elector of Bavaria replaced the Count Palatine of the Rhine.
Munich suffered terribly, as did all of Germany. The Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus swept through Bavaria and took possession of Munich. After numerous horrific battles he was defeated, but Bavaria was left with half of its population decimated, not only by war, but also by sickness and famine. Entire villages were depopulated, their streets deserted. The land was left uncultivated and incidents of cannibalism were reported.
Maximilian I reigned during this unhappy period.
The First Wittelsbach Elector
Maximilian I has been called the greatest of the Wittelsbach Electors, and he was the first to attain that rank in 1623.
Electors were members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, and their function was to elect the Emperor. The position of Elector (Kurfürst in German), therefore, was very prestigious.
There were seven electors through much of the history of the Empire, three spiritual (the Archbishops of Mainz, Trier and Cologne) and four lay (the King of Bohemia, the Count Palatine of the Rhine, the Duke of Saxony and the Margrave of Brandenburg.) In the 17th century, the Elector of Bavaria replaced the Count Palatine of the Rhine.
Lamentation over the Dead Christ (1500) by Albrecht Dürer
Art Collector
Maximilian I has been called the most passionate collector of his generation. He was especially enamoured by the works of Albrecht Dürer, who lived in the Bavarian city of Nuremburg and is regarded as the greatest artrist of the Northern Renaissance. His first acquisition was Albrecht Dürer's Lamentation over the Dead Christ (1500), which is now in the Alte Pinakothek museum. In 1627 he purchased The Four Apostles from the Town Hall of Nuremberg.
Maximilian I added the works of Peter Paul Rubens to the Wittelsbach art collection, so today the Alte Pinakothek has probably the world's finest Rubens collection.
Maximilian I has been called the most passionate collector of his generation. He was especially enamoured by the works of Albrecht Dürer, who lived in the Bavarian city of Nuremburg and is regarded as the greatest artrist of the Northern Renaissance. His first acquisition was Albrecht Dürer's Lamentation over the Dead Christ (1500), which is now in the Alte Pinakothek museum. In 1627 he purchased The Four Apostles from the Town Hall of Nuremberg.
Maximilian I added the works of Peter Paul Rubens to the Wittelsbach art collection, so today the Alte Pinakothek has probably the world's finest Rubens collection.
Hofgarten with its pavilion for the goddess Diana
Maximilian I ordered the creation of the Hofgarten (Court Garden) in front of the Residenz, with its pavilion for the goddess Diana.
The Hofgarten
The Hofgarten