Wittelsbachian Germany/France

Swedish Germany

Wittelsbachian Germany

 

The Wittelsbach line emerged in Bavaria in the 11th century and became Dukes of Bavaria in 1180. In 1214, a different line of Wittelsbachs became Counts Palatine of the Rhein, to which Upper Palatinate was added in 1329 under the Treaty of Pavia (which legally split Wittelsbachian Germany into Bavarian and Palatinate branches). The Palatinate was elevated to an electorate in 1356, but Bavaria remained a Duchy.

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Bavaria underwent multiple partitions over the years, but was largely reunited in 1505, which is when I start the database. One part of the original duchy, however, was used to create the new Principality of Palatinate-Neuburg. After 1505, the reunited Duchy of Bavaria was never subdivided. The only Bavarian territories not in the core Duchy were the newly acquired Landgraviate of Leuchtenberg and Imperial County of Haag, both of which were temporarily ruled as subordinate countries before entering into personal unions with the core Duchy.

 

The fragmentation of the original Palatinate was much more complex. The Electorate was partitioned in 1410, and by the time the new Palatinate-Neuburg was formed from Bavarian territory in 1505, there were three distinct countries descended form the original Palatinate: the core Palatinate Electorate, the Duchy of Palatinate-Simmern, and the Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken (which had split off from Simmern in 1444). To clearly distinguish the core Electorate from the other duchies, I use the simplified name of Palatinate-Heidelberg. All three of those countries generated multiple spin-offs. Sometimes, those spin-offs were extinguished when their lines died out. Other times, they inherited countries that they were directly or indirectly spun off from. In those cases, my practice is to terminate the spin-off country and extend the inherited country. In the table below, I signal the occasions when a spin-off inherited the core Electorate by bolding the spin-off’s termination date. Not shown in those tables is the inheritance of Palatinate-Zweibrücken by its Kleeburg spin-off in 1681 and by its Birkenfeld spin-off (which itself had been inherited by its Bischweiler spin-off) in 1731.

 

In the course of the Thirty-Years War, Bavaria reclaimed the Upper Palatinate (1621) and replaced Palatinate as the Wittelsbachian elector (1623). At the end of that war in 1648, a second Wittelsbachian electorate was created for the Palatinate, but Bavaria was allowed to keep the Upper Palatinate.

 

In 1614, the Palatinate-Neuburg spin-off acquired the Duchies of Jülich and Berg in the lower Rhineland. I treat those as personal unions. When Neuburg inherited the Electorate in 1685, the personal unions followed it. When the Palatinate Electorate inherited Bavaria in 1777, I treat that as a unified country as far as Palatinate and Bavaria are concerned. Arguably, Jülich and Berg were part of that unified country, but I continue to treat them as being in personal union. Zweibrücken remained outside of the Palatinate-Bavaria union. (In 1799, the Duke of Zweibrücken inherited Palatinate-Bavaria, but his territory did not join the unified country, having been incorporated into France. That territory was, however, included in the Kingdom of Bavaria established in 1815, along with the rest of Palatinate-Bavaria.)

 

The Palatinate Electorate and some of its spin-offs were involved in condominia ruling the Upper and Lower Counties of Sponheim. After 1444, the non-Wittelsbachian partner in both was the Margraviate of Baden. I treat the Wittelsbachian shares of both as being in personal unions with their participating country. In the Upper County, the Wittelsbach/Baden split was 50/50, so I place it in Jointly-Ruled Germany. In 1776, there was geographic partition, but I continue to treat the Wittelsbachian carve-out as being in personal union with Zweibrücken rather than as being incorporated into it. In the Lower County, the Wittelsbachian share was 60 percent, so I place it in this nation. In 1707, there was a geographic partition, but I treat the Wittelsbachian carve-out as being absorbed into the Electorate, not as remaining in personal union with it.

 

I end the database in different years, depending on when France began altering political boundaries. For territories west of the Rhine (Zweibrücken, Sponheim, Jülich and parts of the core Palatinate), that is 1793 or 1794. For the Rhenish countries east of the Rhine (Berg and more of core Palatinate), that is 1803. For Bavaria (and the Upper Palatinate), that is 1806.

 

In the following list of countries in Wittelsbachian Germany, countries and dates outside the chronological scope of the database are shown in italics. Countries outside the geographic scope (i.e., in France, the Netherlands, or Jointly-Ruled Germany) are shown in gray.

 

Bavarian countries (with partitions, spin-offs and personal unions)
  • Duchy/Electorate of Bavaria (1180-1349, 1505-1777)
    • Duchy of Upper Bavaria (1349-1363)
    • Duchy of Lower Bavaria (1349-1353)
      • Duchy of Bavaria-Landshut (1353-1505)
        • Duchy of Bavaria-Ingolstadt (1392-1447)
        • Duchy of Bavaria-Munich (1392-1505)
          • Duchy of Bavaria-Munich-Dachau (1467-1501)
      • Duchy of Bavaria-Straubing-Holland (1353-1429)
    • County of Bavaria-Haag (1567-1666)
    • Duchy of Bavaria-Leuchtenberg (1646-1705)
  • Duchy of Palatinate-Neuburg (1505-1557)
  • Imperial County of Haag (1666-1804)
    • in personal union with Bavaria (1666-1777)
    • in personal union with Palatinate-Bavaria (1777-1806)
  • Landgraviate of Leuchtenberg (1705-1706; 1714-1806)
    • in personal union with Bavaria (1705-1706; 1714-1777)
    • in personal union with Palatinate-Bavaria (1777-1806)
  • Kingdom of Bavaria (1806-1918)

 

Counties in the Upper Rhineland (with partitions and spin-offs, regardless of location)
  • County Palatine/Palatinate(-Heidelberg) Electorate (1214-1505-1777)
    • Duchy of Palatinate-Simmern-Zweibrücken (1410-1459)
      • Duchy of Palatinate-Simmern (1459-1505-1559)
        • Duchy of Palatinate-Simmern-Sponheim (1559-1598)
      • Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken (1459-1505-1604)
        • Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Veldenz (1543-1694)
          • Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Veldenz-Lützelstein (1592-1611)
          • Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Veldenz-Guttenberg(-Lützelstein) (1592-1654)
        • Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Neuburg (1569-1685)
          • Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Neuburg-Sulzbach (1614-1742)
          • Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Neuburg-Hilpoltstein (1614-1644)
        • Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Sulzbach (1569-1604)
        • Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld (1569-1731)
          • Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld-Bischweiler (1600-1671)
        • Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Vohenstrauß-Parkstein (1569-1597)
        • Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Zweibrücken (1604-1681; Swedish; 1718-1793)
        • Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Landsberg (1604-1661)
        • Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Kleeberg (1604-1654; Swedish)
    • Duchy of Palatinate-Neumarkt (1410-1448; 1524-1558)
    • Duchy of Palatinate-Mosbach(-Neumarkt) (1410-1499)
    • Duchy of Palatinate-Lautern (1576-1592)
    • Duchy of Palatinate-Simmern-Kaiserslautern (1610-1674)
  • Electorate of Palatinate-Bavaria (1777-1793/1803/1806)

 

Countries in the Lower Rhineland
  • Duchy of Jülich (1619-1777)
    • in personal union with Palatinate-Neuburg (1619-1685)
    • in personal union with Palatinate Electorate (1685-1777)
    • Landesteil of Palatinate-Bavaria (1777-1794)
  • Duchy of Berg (1619-1777)
    • in personal union with Palatinate-Neuburg (1619-1685)
    • in personal union with Palatinate Electorate (1685-1777)
    • Landesteil of Palatinate-Bavaria (1777-1794)

 

Condominia with Wittelsbachian participants (detail in links)

 

Swedish Germany

 

Although the Wittelsbachians did not inherit the throne of Sweden until 1654, Sweden had begun acquiring German territory earlier than that as a consequence of its participation in the Thirty-Years War. First was Wismar (an enclave of Mecklenburg-Schwerin) in 1627. In 1638, Sweden assumed administrative responsibility for Hither Pomerania after the extinction of the Griffenian dynasty and formally entered into a personal union in 1648. Also in 1648, it was awarded the Duchy of Bremen and the Principality of Verden, both of which had previously been ecclesiastical territories. None of those territories were ever Wittelsbachian. Only the Duchy of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Kleeburg, which inherited Sweden in 1654 (and Zweibrücken itself, once it was inherited by Kleeburg), held that distinction.

 

The personal union with Zweibrücken ended in 1718, when the king died without a male heir. Sweden lost Bremen and Verden to Denmark in 1712, which turned both over to the Electorate of Hannover three years later. Sweden also lost the southern part of Hither Pomerania to Prussia in 1720. In 1730, the king became Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, creating a personal union that lasted 21 years. Sweden retained Wismar and the northern part of Hither Pomerania until the Napoleonic Wars.

 

    • Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1364-1389)
    • Lordship of Wismar (1627-1803)
    • Duchy of Hither Pomerania (1648-1806)
    • Duchy of Bremen (1648-1712)
      • portions administered by Hamburg citizens (1648-1651)
      • portions administered by the Imperial City of Bremen (1654-1712)
    • Principality of Verden (1648-1712)
    • Principality of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Kleeburg (1654-1681)
    • Principality of Palatinate-Zweibrücken (1681-1718)
    • Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel (1730-1751)