The Crown of Bavaria

Bavaria today

Napoleon broke up the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. One of the new kingdoms which he carved out of the decayed giant was the kingdom of Bavaria, based around a duchy which dated back to the middle of the first millennium.   The new kingdom of Bavaria was twice the size of the old duchy and it contained many of the prettiest parts of Germany (today Bavaria makes up 20% of Germany’s territory) thanks to the fact that he first king of Bavaria, Maximillian I, was a Francophile and an ardent French ally.

Maximilian I (portrait by Joseph Karl Stieler, ca. 1820)

The kingdom of Bavaria survived the destruction of Napoleon’s empire.  Because of its large population and area (and since it contains the important city of Munich) Bavaria played a major part in the Prussian-lead unification of Germany in the late nineteenth century.  By playing Prussia off against its rival Austria, Bavaria incorporated into the German Empire on favorable term–indeed the army, train-system, and postal services of Bavaria remained distinct from the rest of Germany.  The unification of Bavaria with Germany took place in 1871.  Bavaria’s eccentric king, Ludwig II was the monarch who called for a German empire with the Prussian king Wilhelm I as emperor.  Coincidentally, the life of Ludwig  II was a fascinating Gothic melodrama of swans, and operas, and castles, and alienists (see more next week).

Bavaria, Germany

In November 1918, as World War I ended, Kaiser William II abdicated the throne of Germany.   King Ludwig III, soon followed him into exile, thus bringing the Wittelsbach dynasty to an end.  Overnight the Kingdom of Bavaria became the Free State of Bavaria (which it is still is today–although a bizarre attempt to found a communist republic nearly caused the state to leave Germany as the Bavarian Soviet Republic).

The Crown of Bavaria

 

At any rate, here is a picture of the Crown of Bavaria, which can today be found at the Residenz palace in Munich.  The crown, which is purely ceremonial and was never worn,  was made by the most famous French goldsmith of the Napoleonic era (in accordance with Maximillian’s love of all things French) and is set with rubies, emeralds, sapphires, pearls, and a huge blue diamond–the Wittelsbach Diamond.  Or, at any rate it was originally set with this huge gem stone.  In the dark days of 1931, the Wittelsbach family pried the Wittelsbach diamond out and sold it in order to stay solvent.

The Crown of Bavaria (with an imitation Wittelsbach Diamond)