Ludwig Karl Heinrich Freiherr von der Pfordten (11 September 1811 in Ried (Innkreis) – 18 August 1880 in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

) was a Bavarian attorney and politician.

Biography

Von der Pfordten studied law at the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

and

Erlangen Erlangen (; , ) is a Middle Franconian city in Bavaria, Germany. It is the seat of the administrative district Erlangen-Höchstadt (former administrative district Erlangen), and with 119,810 inhabitants (as of 30 September 2024), it is the smalle ...

. In 1833 he became a professor in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is, after Nuremberg and Fürth, the Franconia#Towns and cities, third-largest city in Franconia located in the north of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Lower Franconia. It sp ...

. In 1843 he moved to the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

; from 1845 he served as its president and became a leader of the Saxon Liberal Party. In March 1848 he was appointed Saxon Interior Minister and Education Minister under Prime Minister Karl Braun. When Braun resigned in February 1849, von der Pfordten returned to Bavaria and was appointed Minister-President of Bavaria and Foreign Minister by King Maximilian II of Bavaria. His project was to unite the German middle-sized powers under Bavarian leadership against

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

as a "Third Germany" (the so-called ''Trias''). Thus, he was partly responsible that Bavaria in actuality torpedoed the project of the

Erfurt Union The Erfurt Union () was a short-lived union of German states under a federation, proposed by the Kingdom of Prussia at Erfurt, for which the Erfurt Union Parliament (''Erfurter Unionsparlament''), officially lasting from March 20 to April 29, 1 ...

. After an agreement between Austria and Prussia was reached with the Punctation of Olmütz in December 1850, the trias concept lost most of its importance in the subsequent few years and von der Pfordten resigned in 1859. He then was the Bavarian envoy for the

Frankfurt Parliament The Frankfurt National Assembly () was the first freely elected parliament for all German Confederation, German states, including the German-populated areas of the Austrian Empire, elected on 1 May 1848 (see German federal election, 1848). The ...

. In 1864 von der Pfordten returned to power when King

Ludwig II of Bavaria Ludwig II (Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm; 25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886), also called the Swan King or the Fairy Tale King (), was King of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886. He also held the titles of Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke ...

restored him. He resigned again in December 1866, since his placement efforts had failed and Bavaria had lost the

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War (German: ''Preußisch-Österreichischer Krieg''), also known by many other names,Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Second War of Unification, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), ''Deutsc ...

as an ally of Austria.

Orders and decorations

* : ** Grand Cross of the Royal

Merit Order of the Bavarian Crown The Order of Merit of the Bavarian Crown () was an order of merit of the Kingdom of Bavaria established by King Maximilian Joseph I on 19 March 1808. The motto of the order is "Virtus et Honos" ('Courage and Honour'). The order was awarded in s ...

, ''1849'' ** Knight of the Royal Order of Saint Hubert, ''1866'' * : ** Grand Cross of the

Friedrich Order The Friedrich Order ( or ''Friedrichsorden'') was an order of merit of the German Kingdom of Württemberg. It was instituted on 1 January 1830 by the second king of Württemberg, Wilhelm I in remembrance of his father, King Friedrich I. In 1918, ...

, ''1850'' ** Grand Cross of the Order of the Württemberg Crown, ''1854'' *

Electorate of Hesse The Electorate of Hesse (), also known as Hesse-Kassel or Kurhessen, was the title used for the former Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel after an 1803 reform where the Holy Roman Emperor elevated its ruler to the rank of Elector, thus giving him ...

: Knight of the House Order of the Golden Lion, ''20 February 1851''''Hof- und Staats-Handbuch des Großherzogtum Hessen'' (1879), "Großherzogliche Orden und Ehrenzeichen" pp
2245
/ref> * : Grand Cross of the Grand Ducal Hessian Order of Ludwig, ''9 August 1853'' *

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

: Knight of the

Order of the Red Eagle The Order of the Red Eagle () was an order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Prussia. It was awarded to both military personnel and civilians, to recognize valor in combat, excellence in military leadership, long and faithful service to the kingdom, o ...

, 1st Class, ''14 August 1854''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pfordten, Karl Ludwig Baron Von Der People from the Kingdom of Bavaria Minister-presidents of Bavaria Members of the Bavarian Chamber of Deputies German barons 1811 births 1880 deaths