Albert V (29 February 1528 – 24 October 1579) was Duke of Bavaria from 1550 until his death. He was born in
MunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
to
William IVWilliam IV of Bavaria was Duke of Bavaria from 1508 to 1550, until 1545 together with his younger brother Louis X, Duke of Bavaria....
and
Marie Jacobaea of BadenMarie Jakobaea of Baden-Sponheim was a German noblewoman and duchess of Bavaria.- Life :...
.
Early life
Albert was educated at
IngolstadtIngolstadt is a city in the Free State of Bavaria, in the Federal Republic of Germany. It is located along the banks of the Danube River, in the center of Bavaria. As at 31 March 2011, Ingolstadt had 125.407 residents...
under good Catholic teachers. On 4 July 1546 he married
Anna of AustriaAnna of Austria was the daughter of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and his wife Anna of Bohemia and Hungary .- Family :Anna was the third of fifteen children...
, a daughter of
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman EmperorFerdinand I was Holy Roman Emperor from 1558 and king of Bohemia and Hungary from 1526 until his death. Before his accession, he ruled the Austrian hereditary lands of the Habsburgs in the name of his elder brother, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.The key events during his reign were the contest...
and
Anna of Bohemia and HungaryAnna of Bohemia and Hungary, also sometimes known as Anna Jagellonica was, by marriage to Ferdinand I, King of the Romans and later Holy Roman Emperor, Queen of the Romans.-Family:She was the elder child and only daughter of king Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary and his third...
(1503–1547), daughter of King Ladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary and his wife Anne de Foix, the union was designed to end the political rivalry between Austria and Bavaria. In 1550 Albert succeeded his father as duke of Bavaria.
Political activity
Albert was now free to devote himself to the task of establishing Catholic conformity in his dominions. A strict
CatholicThe word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
by upbringing, Albert was a leader of the German
Counter-ReformationThe Counter-Reformation was the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648 as a response to the Protestant Reformation.The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:#Ecclesiastical or...
. Incapable by nature of passionate adherence to any religious principle, and given rather to a life of idleness and pleasure, he pursued the work of repression because he was convinced that the cause of Catholicism was inseparably connected with the fortunes of the house of Wittelsbach. He took little direct share in the affairs of government, nevertheless, and easily lent himself to the plans of his advisers, among whom during the early part of his reign were two sincere Catholics, Georg Stockhammer and Wiguleus Hundt. The latter took an important part in the events leading up to the treaty of Passau (1552) and the
peace of AugsburgThe Peace of Augsburg, also called the Augsburg Settlement, was a treaty between Charles V and the forces of the Schmalkaldic League, an alliance of Lutheran princes, on September 25, 1555, at the imperial city of Augsburg, now in present-day Bavaria, Germany.It officially ended the religious...
(1555).
Duke Albert made strenuous efforts to procure for his son,
Ernest of BavariaErnest of Bavaria was Prince-elector-archbishop of the Archbishopric of Cologne from 1583 to 1612 as successor of the expelled Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg. He was also bishop of Münster, Hildesheim, Freising and Liège....
, election as
Archbishop-elector of CologneThe Electorate of Cologne was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire and existed from the 10th to the early 19th century. It consisted of the temporal possessions of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne . It was ruled by the Archbishop in his function as prince-elector of...
. These efforts would not pay off until after Albert's death; however, a member of the
Wittelsbach house of BavariaThe Wittelsbach family is a European royal family and a German dynasty from Bavaria.Members of the family served as Dukes, Electors and Kings of Bavaria , Counts Palatine of the Rhine , Margraves of Brandenburg , Counts of Holland, Hainaut and Zeeland , Elector-Archbishops of Cologne , Dukes of...
would be Archbishop of Cologne for almost two centuries thereafter.
As successor of his uncle Ernest of Salzburg, Duke Albert was since 1560 administrator and owner of the mortgage of the county of Glatz, before he returned the redeemed county to Emperor
Maximilian IIMaximilian II was king of Bohemia and king of the Romans from 1562, king of Hungary and Croatia from 1563, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation from 1564 until his death...
in 1567.
Cultural activity
Albert was a patron of the arts and a collector whose personal accumulations are the basis of the
Wittelsbach antique collection of Greek and Roman antiquitiesThe Staatliche Antikensammlungen in the Kunstareal of Munich is a museum for the Bavarian state's antique collections for Greek, Etruscan and Roman art. The Bavarian state collection of Ancient Egyptian art is traditionally placed in its own museum...
, the coin collection and the Wittelsbach treasury in the
Munich ResidenzThe Munich Residenz is the former royal palace of the Bavarian monarchs in the center of the city of Munich, Germany...
; some of his Egyptian antiquities remain in the
collection of Egyptian artThe Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst in Munich is the Bavarian State Collection for Ancient Egypt art. It displays exhibits from all periods of Ancient Egypt's history. The associated small Middle East section displays objects from the areas of Assyrian and Babylonian culture...
. His personal library has come to the
Bavarian State LibraryThe Bavarian State Library in Munich is the central "Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria and one of Europe's most important universal libraries. With its collections currently comprising around 9.39 million books, it ranks among the best research libraries...
in
MunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, inheritor of the Wittelsbach court library. In 1559 Albert founded the
PaedagogiumThe Wilhelmsgymnasium of Munich is a school of academic secondary education. It is very famous for various reasons: it is the oldest grammar school in Munich; it has had several famous students; since 2004 it has been the only school in Bavaria that can claim to be a "Humanistisches Gymnasium";...
in Munich.
Like an American millionaire of the Gilded Age, he bought whole collections in Rome and Venice; in Venice, after tiresome drawn-out negotiations with the aged Andrea Loredan, he purchased the Loredan collection virtually in its entirety: 120 bronzes, 2480 medals and coins, 91 marble heads, 43 marble statues, 33 reliefs and 14 various curiosities, for the sum of 7000 ducats; "they were all exported from Venice secretly at night in large chests". At the same time, squabbles among the heirs of
Gabriele VendraminThe Vendramin were a rich merchant family of Venice, Italy, who were among the case nuove or "new houses" who joined the patrician class when the Libro d'Oro was opened after the battle of Chioggia...
thwarted him in his attempt to purchase the single most important collection in Venice and paintings and antiquities, drawings by the masters and ancient coins. To house his antiquities he commissioned the Antiquarium in the
Munich ResidenzThe Munich Residenz is the former royal palace of the Bavarian monarchs in the center of the city of Munich, Germany...
, the largest
RenaissanceThe Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
hall north of the Alps.
He appointed Orlando di Lasso to a court post and patronized many other artists; this led to a huge burden of debts (½ Mio. Fl.).
Family and children
With Archduchess Anna of Austria he had seven children:
- Charles, born and died in 1547
- William V, Duke of Bavaria
William V, Duke of Bavaria , called the Pious, was Duke of Bavaria from 1579 to 1597.- Education and early life :...
(29 September 1548 – 17 February 1626)
- Ferdinand (20 January 1550 – 30 January 1608)
- Maria Anna
Maria Anna of Bavaria was the daughter of Albert V, Duke of Bavaria and Anna of Austria , and the wife of Archduke Charles II of Austria.-Family:...
(21 March 1551 – 29 April 1608)
- Maximiliana Maria (4 July 1552 – 11 July 1614)
- Friedrich (26 July 1553 – 18 April 1554)
- Ernest of Bavaria
Ernest of Bavaria was Prince-elector-archbishop of the Archbishopric of Cologne from 1583 to 1612 as successor of the expelled Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg. He was also bishop of Münster, Hildesheim, Freising and Liège....
(17 December 1554 – 17 February 1612), ArchbishopThe Electorate of Cologne was an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire and existed from the 10th to the early 19th century. It consisted of the temporal possessions of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne . It was ruled by the Archbishop in his function as prince-elector of...
and prince-electorThe Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Roman king or, from the middle of the 16th century onwards, directly the Holy Roman Emperor.The heir-apparent to a prince-elector was known as an...
of CologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
1583-1612
Albert is buried in the
FrauenkircheThe Frauenkirche is a church in the Bavarian city of Munich that serves as the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising and seat of its Archbishop. It is a landmark and is considered a symbol of the Bavarian capital city.The church towers are widely visible because of local height...
in
MunichMunich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
.
External links
Hofkleiderbuch (Abbildung und Beschreibung der Hof-Livreen) des Herzogs Wilhelm IV. und Albrecht V. 1508-1551. (Court and Coat of Arms Book of Bavarian Dukes:
William IVWilliam IV of Bavaria was Duke of Bavaria from 1508 to 1550, until 1545 together with his younger brother Louis X, Duke of Bavaria....
and Albert V) at the
Bavarian State Library
Lineage
Albert's ancestors in three generations
| Albert V, Duke of Bavaria |
Father:
William IV, Duke of BavariaWilliam IV of Bavaria was Duke of Bavaria from 1508 to 1550, until 1545 together with his younger brother Louis X, Duke of Bavaria....
|
Paternal Grandfather:
Albert IV, Duke of BavariaDuke Albert IV of Bavaria-Munich , , from 1467 Duke of Bavaria-Munich, from 1503 Duke of the reunited Bavaria.-Biography:...
|
Paternal Great-grandfather:
Albert III, Duke of BavariaAlbert III the Pious of Bavaria-Munich , , since 1438 Duke of Bavaria-Munich. He was born to Ernest, Duke of Bavaria and Elisabetta Visconti, daughter of Bernabò Visconti.-Life:Albert was born in Munich....
|
Paternal Great-grandmother:
Anna of Brunswick-Grubenhagen-EinbeckAnna of Brunswick-Grubenhagen-Einbeck was a daughter of Duke Eric I of Brunswick-Grubenhagen and his wife, Elisabeth of Brunswick-Göttingen.Anna's first marriage was with Duke Albert III of Bavaria...
|
Paternal Grandmother:
Kunigunde of AustriaKunigunde of Austria was an Austrian Archduchess member of the House of Habsburg and by marriage Duchess of Bavaria-Munich and since 1503 over all Bavaria....
|
Paternal Great-grandfather:
Frederick III, Holy Roman EmperorFrederick the Peaceful KG was Duke of Austria as Frederick V from 1424, the successor of Albert II as German King as Frederick IV from 1440, and Holy Roman Emperor as Frederick III from 1452...
|
Paternal Great-grandmother:
Eleanor of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress |
Mother:
Marie of Baden-SponheimMarie Jakobaea of Baden-Sponheim was a German noblewoman and duchess of Bavaria.- Life :...
|
Maternal Grandfather:
Philipp I, Margrave of Baden-Sponheim |
Maternal Great-grandfather:
Christopher I, Margrave of Baden-BadenChristopher I of Baden was a Margrave of Baden-Baden in 1475–1515.Christopher was the eldest son of Charles I, Margrave of Baden-Baden and Katharina of Austria, a sister of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor. He built the New Castle and moved there in 1479. In 1515 he divided his possessions...
|
Maternal Great-grandmother:
Ottilie von Katzenelnbogen |
Maternal Grandmother:
Elizabeth of the Palatinate |
Maternal Great-grandfather:
Philip, Elector PalatinePhilip the Upright, Elector Palatine of the Rhine was an Elector Palatine of the Rhine from the house of Wittelsbach from 1476 to 1508....
|
Maternal Great-grandmother:
Margarete of Bavaria-LandshutMargaret of Bavaria was a princess of Bavaria-Landshut and by marriage Princess of the Palatinate.- Life :...
|