Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria - Wikipedia

Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Theodore,_Elector_of_Bavaria

Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria

Charles Theodore (German: Karl Theodor; 11 December 1724 – 16 February 1799) reigned as Charles Theodore Prince-elector and Count Palatine from 1742, as Duke of Jülich and Berg from 1742 and also as prince-elector and Duke of Bavaria from 1777 to his death. He was a member of the House of Palatinate-Sulzbach, a branch of the House of Wittelsbach.

Contents Family and ascent Bavarian succession Rule as elector of Bavaria Character Cultural legacy Family Marriages and children Painted by Anna Dorothea Illegitimate children Therbusch in 1763 Ancestry Elector Palatine Count Palatine of Neuburg See also Reign 31 December 1742 – References 30 December 1777 External links Predecessor Charles III Philip Elector of Bavaria Count Palatine of the Rhine Family and ascent Reign 30 December 1777 – 16 February 1799 Charles Theodore was of the Wittelsbach house Palatinate-Sulzbach.[1] His father was Johann Predecessor Maximilian III Joseph Christian, who later became Count Palatine of Sulzbach. His mother was Marie-Anne-Henriette- Leopoldine de La Tour d'Auvergne, Margravine of Bergen op Zoom, a grandniece of Henri de La Successor Maximilian IV Joseph

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Tour d'Auvergne, Viscount of Turenne. Charles Theodore was born in Drogenbos near Brussels and educated in Mannheim. Born 11 December 1724 Drogenbos, Charles Theodore was the Margrave of Bergen op Zoom from 1728 onwards. He then succeeded his Brussels, Austrian father as Count Palatine of Sulzbach in 1733 and inherited the Electoral Palatinate and the duchies Netherlands of Jülich and Berg in 1742, with the death of Charles III Philip, Elector Palatine. To strengthen the Died 16 February 1799 union of all lines of the Wittelsbach dynasty Charles III Philip had organised a wedding on 17 January 1742 when his granddaughter Elizabeth Augusta was married to Charles Theodore and her (aged 74) sister Maria Anna to the Bavarian prince Clement. Munich Residenz, Bavaria As reigning Prince Elector Palatine, Charles Theodore won the hearts of his subjects by founding an Burial Theatine Church, academy of science, stocking up the museums' collections and supporting the arts. When Munich Maximilian III Joseph of Bavaria died in 1777, Charles Theodore became also Elector and Duke of Bavaria and moved to Munich. Spouse Countess Palatine Elisabeth Augusta of Bavarian succession Sulzbach Archduchess Maria Leopoldine of Charles Theodore did not immediately take up his new title. He had several mistresses and many illegitimate children. However, these Austria-Este children could inherit neither the Electorate of Bavaria nor that of the House House of Wittelsbach Palatine; Charles Theodore needed territory that he could bequeath to his Father John Christian, illegitimate children. Charles Theodore also dreamed of resurrecting the Count Palatine of Burgundian Empire of the Middle Ages. Sulzbach On 3 January 1778, shortly after the death of Max Joseph, Charles Mother Maria Henriette de Charles Theodore Theodore signed an agreement with Emperor Joseph II to exchange La Tour d'Auvergne southern Bavaria for part of the Austrian Netherlands.

The plan was strongly opposed by Maria Anna Sophia of Saxony, the widow of Max Joseph, and Charles Theodore's cousin Charles II August, Duke of Zweibrücken, the head of the House of Palatinate-Birkenfeld and next heir of Bavaria and the Palatinate. They were supported by Frederick II of Prussia, and most of the German minor states.

The ensuing diplomatic crisis led to the War of the Bavarian Succession, which was ended by the Peace of Teschen (1779). Charles Theodore accepted the Bavarian succession, but agreed that his illegitimate descendants could not inherit Bavaria.[2] Austria acquired the Innviertel, a part of Bavaria in the basin of the Inn river.[3]

Charles Theodore had only one son with his wife, Countess Elizabeth Augusta of Sulzbach, who died a day after birth. His wife died in

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1794. In 1795, he married Maria Leopoldine of Austria-Este, Joseph's niece, but they had no children. A second proposal to exchange Bavaria for the Austrian Netherlands in 1784 also failed as Frederick II of Prussia initiated the Fürstenbund.

When Charles Theodore died, Bavaria and the Electorate passed to his cousin, Max Joseph, Duke of Zweibrücken, the younger brother of Charles August, who had died in 1795.

In 1989, Marvin E. Thomas argued in Karl Theodor and the Bavarian Succession, 1777–1778 that Charles Theodore wanted to maintain possession of his new territory, as is shown in his diplomatic correspondence. Thomas is the only scholar to produce such an analysis.[2] It is more widely understood that Charles Theodore continued the despotic and expensive habits he had developed as Elector Palatine.

Rule as elector of Bavaria

Charles Theodore never became popular as a ruler in Bavaria according to his critic Lorenz von Westenrieder. He attempted, without success to exchange the ducal lands of Bavaria, for the Austrian Netherlands and a royal crown, and he never managed to control the mounting social tensions in Bavaria. After a dispute with Munich's city council, he even moved the electoral residence in 1788 to Mannheim but returned only one year later.[4]

In 1785, he appointed the American Loyalist exile Benjamin Thompson as his aide-de-camp and chamberlain. Over the next 11 years, Thompson reformed the army and many aspects of the state, rising to high ministerial rank with Charles Theodore's backing, and becoming Count von Rumford.

Charles Theodore is also known for disbanding Adam Weishaupt's order of the Illuminati in 1785.

In 1794, the armies of revolutionary France occupied the Duchy of Jülich, in 1795 they invaded the Palatinate, and in 1796 marched towards Bavaria. Charles Theodore begged Francis II for help that would have made Bavaria a puppet state of Austria. When he died of a stroke in Munich in 1799, the population in Munich celebrated for several days. He is buried in the crypt of the Theatinerkirche in Munich.

Despite the mutual dislike and distrust between the Duke and his Bavarian subjects, Charles Theodore left a distinctive mark on the city of Munich: it was during his reign that the English Garden, Munich's largest park, was created, and the city's old fortifications were dismantled to make place for a modern, expanding city. One of Munich's major squares, Karlsplatz, is named after Charles Theodore. Munich natives, however, seldom use that name, calling the square instead Stachus, after the pub "Beim Stachus" that was located there until construction work for Karlsplatz began, mainly because Charles Theodore, as noted above, never enjoyed the popularity in Bavaria that he enjoyed in the Palatinate.

Character Silver thaler coin of Charles Theodore, 1778.

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Charles Theodore was more interested in arts and philosophy than in politics. Victorian historian Thomas Carlyle referred to him as a "poor idle creature, of purely egoistical, ornamental, dilettante nature; sunk in theatricals, bastard children and the like; much praised by Voltaire, who sometimes used to visit him; and Collini, to whom he [Charles Theodore] is a kind master."[5]

The French foreign minister, Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, knew him and described his foibles even more succinctly:

Although by nature intelligent, he has never succeeded in ruling by Obverse Reverse himself; he has always been governed by his ministers or by his CAR[OLUS] TH[EODORUS] PATRONA BAVARIAE 1778. father-confessor or (for a time) by the [E]lectress [his wife]. This D[EI] G[RATIA] C[OMES] "Patroness of Bavaria 1778." conduct has increased his natural weakness and apathy to such a P[ALATINUS] R[HENI] Image of the crowned Virgin with degree that for a long time he has had no opinions save those U[TRIUSQUE] B[AVARIAE] the Christ child, bearing orb and inspired in him by his entourage. The void which this indolence D[UX] S[ACRI] R[OMANI] sceptre, seated upon clouds has left in his soul is filled with the amusements of the hunt and of I[MPERII] A[RCHIDAPIFER] & before a sunburst, and treading music and by secret liaisons, for which His Electoral Majesty has EL[ECTOR] D[UX] I[ULIACI] on a crescent moon. at all times had a particular penchant.[6] C[LIVIAE] & M[ONTIUM]."Charles Theodore, In the course of his career, Charles Theodore acquired a celebrated secretary when by the Grace of God, Count the Florentine noble, Cosimo Alessandro Collini (1727–1806), who had been Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of [7] Voltaire's secretary, accepted his patronage and remained in the Palatinate. both (Upper and Lower) Bavaria, Although Charles Theodore certainly wished to acquire more territory, he had only Archsteward and Elector of the illegitimate natural sons, thus he preferred territory that he could dispose of Holy Roman Empire, Duke of through his testament, rather than territory encumbered by a legal entailment that Jülich, Cleves and Berg." Right could only pass to a legitimate son.[8] profile of Charles Theodor in armour with sash and decoration. Cultural legacy

Charles Theodore was a great lover of the arts, including drama and especially music. His Mannheim court orchestra was considered one of the finest in its time. The Mannheim School (including composer Christian Cannabich and conductor Johann Stamitz) did groundbreaking work that the celebrated Wiener Klassik would later draw upon. Mozart applied for a position with the Mannheim orchestra in 1777, but was turned down, as the court was about to move to Munich. In 1780, Charles Theodore commissioned Idomeneo from the composer. Mozart quotes him as saying "No music has ever made such an impression on me. It is magnificent."[9]

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In keeping with the customs of the time, an Italian opera company as well as a troupe of French actors were employed at Mannheim, each performing in their respective tongues. Later, the Nationaltheater (national theatre) was established, one of the first theatres in Germany to exclusively showcase plays in the native tongue (most notably, the first staging of Schiller's "Die Räuber" in 1782).

In the visual arts, a massive collection of plaster casts taken from celebrated antique works was assembled at Mannheim. The preexisting Düsseldorf gallery, including many works by Rubens, was first transferred to Mannheim, then to Munich, where it was later incorporated in the Alte Pinakothek. While none of the Mannheim painters are particularly notable today (with the possible exception of Kobell, primarily a master of landscapes), the elector had several highly talented sculptors at his disposal, among them Peter Anton von Verschaffelt, Simon Peter Lamine and Konrad Linck. Linck also distinguished himself as a designer of porcelain figurines at Frankenthal.[10]

Charles Theodore's chief architect Nicolas de Pigage was charged to complete the Mannheim Palace, design the Schlosstheater and the gardens at Schwetzingen Palace (including numerous pavilions, among them several artificial "Roman" ruins and a "mosque") as well as Benrath palace. While these works are in a pure contemporary French style (marked by the transition from late Baroque to early classicism), some of the other architects employed by Charles Theodore were proponents of a more Italianate style. This mixture of influences is, in fact, typical of many German courts of the period. Charles Theodore was also responsible for the construction of the Old Bridge in Heidelberg, which bears his name as the Karl-Theodor-Brücke.

Schloss Benrath, Düsseldorf Mosque at Schwetzingen Castle. Entrance to Schwetzingen Castle.

Charles Theodore liked to style himself as a prince of peace, in contrast to other princes like his chief political opponent, the great warrior Frederick the Great of Prussia. Allegorically, Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and protectress of the arts, is often depicted as a stand-in for the elector himself. This self-view is best summed up in the inscription of a small monument at Schwetzingen:

“A field of war and death of Romans and Germans has been discovered, through the unearthing of weapons, urns and bones, in the year 1765. – To the arts of peace, which are the sole joys of his life, the elector Charles Theodore has dedicated this spot, excavated to the height of seven feet, and had this monument erected in 1768.”

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Orangerie at Schwetzingen Castle Garden at Schwetzingen Castle

Family

Marriages and children

On 17 January 1742, in Mannheim, he married Elisabeth Auguste, daughter of Count Palatine Joseph Charles of Sulzbach and his consort Countess Palatine Elizabeth Augusta Sophie of Neuburg. There was one child of this marriage who died in infancy, Francis Louis Joseph (28 June – 29 June 1761).

On 15 February 1795, in Innsbruck, he married Archduchess Maria Leopoldine of Austria-Este. There were no children of this marriage.

Illegitimate children

From his liaison with the actress Françoise Després-Verneuil, later Countess von Parkstein (died 1765):

1. Karoline Franziska Dorothea, Countess von Parkstein (1762 – 7 September 1816, Ickelheim); married Prince Friedrich Wilhelm zu Isenburg-Büdingen-Birstein (13 December 1730, Birstein – 12 October 1804, Mannheim) 2. son (1764–1765)

From his liaison with Maria Josefa Seyfert, Countess von Heydeck (1748 – 1771):

1. Karoline Josepha von Bretzenheim (27 January 1768 – 27 April 1786); married Count Maximilian Josef von Holnstein (20 May 1760 – 1838) in 1784 2. Karl August, Count of Heydeck and Reichsfürst von Bretzenheim, (24 December 1769 – 27 February 1823) married Maria Walburga

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von Oettingen-Spielberg (29 August 1766 – 8 May 1833) on 27 April 1788, Oettingen 3. Eleonore Karoline von Bretzenheim (9 December 1771 – 23 December 1832); married Prince Wilhelm Karl von Leiningen (5 July 1737 – 26 January 1809) on 21 November 1787 (divorced 1801) 4. Friederike Karoline von Bretzenheim (9 December 1771 – 2 March 1816), twin with Eleonore; married Count Maximilian von Westerholt-Gysenberg (1772 – 19 April 1854) in 1796

From his liaison with Countess Maria Anna zu Leiningen-Westerburg-Neuleiningen, widow of Count Franz Friedrich von Sayn-Wittgenstein-Vallendar:

1. Karoline von Ezenried (31 August 1771 Münstereifel – 24 September 1828, Schloss Laim bei Charles Theodore's legitimated München, married in second marriage with Dr. Joseph Reubel, Professor of Medicine, children and his second mistress University of München)

Ancestry

Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria[11] 16. Augustus, Count Palatine of Sulzbach 8. Christian Augustus, Count Palatine of Sulzbach 17. Hedwig of Holstein-Gottorp 4. Theodore Eustace, Count Palatine of Sulzbach 18. John VII, Count of Nassau 9. Amalie of Nassau-Siegen 19. Margaret of Schleswig-Holstein- Sonderburg 2. John Christian, Count of Palatinate- Sulzbach 20. Ernest, Landgrave of Hesse- Rheinfels 10. William, Landgrave of Hesse- Rotenburg

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21. Maria Elenore of Solms-Hohensolms 5. Eleonore Maria Amalia of Hesse-Rheinfels 22. Ferdinand Karl, Count of Löwenstein- Wertheim-Rochefort 11. Maria Anna of Loewenstein- Wertheim 23. Anna Maria of Fürstenberg 1. Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria 24. Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne 12. Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne 25. Countess Eleonora Catharina van den Bergh 6. Francois Egon de La Tour d'Auvergne 26. Eitel Friedrich II, Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen 13. Henriette Franziska of Hohenzollern-Hechingen 27. Countess Maria Isabella van den Bergh 3. Marie Anne Henriëtte Leopoldine de La Tour d'Auvergne 28. Charles Eugene de Ligne d'Arenberg 14. Phillipe Charles de Ligne- Arenberg 29. Marie Henriette de Cusance et de Vergy 7. Maria Anna de Ligne-Arenberg 30. Othon Henri del Caretto, Marquis of

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Savona 15. Maria Henrietta del Caretto di Savona 31. Countess Maria Theresia of Herberstein