Maria Anna Josepha of Bavaria (''Maria Anna Josepha Augusta''; 7 August 1734 – 7 May 1776) was a Duchess of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

by birth and

Margravine of Baden-Baden Baden was a state of the Holy Roman Empire and later one of the German states along the frontier with France primarily consisting of territory along the right bank of the Rhine opposite Alsace and the Electorate of the Palatinate, Palatinate. Mar ...

by marriage. She was nicknamed the ''savior of Bavaria''. She is also known as ''Maria Josepha'' and is sometimes styled as a ''princess of Bavaria''.

Biography

Maria Anna Josepha was born at the

Nymphenburg Palace The Nymphenburg Palace (, Palace of the Nymphs) is a Baroque palace situated in Munich's western district Neuhausen-Nymphenburg, in Bavaria, southern Germany. The Nymphenburg served as the main summer residence for the List of rulers of Bavaria, ...

in 1734. She was the fifth child of Charles Albert, Elector of Bavaria (later

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

) and his wife Maria Amalia of Austria. She was baptised with the names ''Maria Anna Josepha Augusta''. A member of the

House of Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...

, rulers of the

Electorate of Bavaria The Electorate of Bavaria () was a quasi-independent hereditary electorate of the Holy Roman Empire from 1623 to 1806, when it was succeeded by the Kingdom of Bavaria. The Wittelsbach dynasty which ruled the Duchy of Bavaria was the younger ...

, she was styled a Duchess of Bavaria. She married Louis George of Baden-Baden, the ruling

Margrave Margrave was originally the Middle Ages, medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a monarchy, kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain Feudal ...

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

and son of the late Louis William of Baden-Baden and his wife Sibylle of Saxe-Lauenburg, the latter was the regent of Baden-Baden for the infant Louis George. The couple were married at the Schloss Ettlingen in Baden on 20 July 1755; the bride was aged 20, the groom 53. The couple remained childless; although Louis George did have one surviving daughter, Elisabeth, from his previous marriage, but as a female she was barred from the succession to the Margraviate. Her husband had been married previously to Maria Anna of Schwarzenberg by whom he had four children but only one survived infancy. Maria Anna was the only daughter of Prince Adam Franz Karl of Schwarzenberg and Eleonora of Lobkowicz. Her husband died in 1761 and was succeeded by his brother

Augustus George, Margrave of Baden-Baden Augustus George, Margrave of Baden-Baden (August Georg Simpert; 14 January 1706, Rastatt, Margraviate of Baden – 21 October 1771) was the ruling Margrave of Baden-Baden from 1761 till his death in 1771. He succeeded his brother Louis Georg ...

. As such, his wife the Belgian born

Maria Victoire d'Arenberg Princess Marie Victoire of Arenberg (Marie Victoire Pauline; 26 October 1714 – 13 April 1793) was a member of the House of Arenberg and later the Margravine of Baden-Baden as consort of Augustus George of Baden-Baden. She is credited for he ...

became the most important female at the court of Baden-Baden. Maria Anna developed a great passion for diplomacy. She forged links with

Frederick II of Prussia Frederick II (; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until his death in 1786. He was the last Hohenzollern monarch titled ''King in Prussia'', declaring himself '' King of Prussia'' after annexing Royal Prus ...

in order to protect the Bavarian throne as her brother,

Maximilian III Joseph Maximilian III Joseph (28 March 1727 – 30 December 1777), also known by his epithet "the much beloved" was a Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire and Duke of Bavaria from 1745 to 1777. He was the last of the Bavarian branch of the House of ...

, was childless and feared for the succession.Bavaria later went to

Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria Charles Theodore (; 11 December 1724 – 16 February 1799) was a German nobleman of the Palatinate-Sulzbach, Sulzbach branch of the House of Wittelsbach. He became Count Palatine of Sulzbach at the age of six following the death of his father J ...

(1777), a cousin of the Sulzbach line of the House of Wittelsbach As a widow, Maria Anna Josepha returned to her native Bavaria where she died at the Nymphenburg Palace 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 ...

, over a year before her brother. She was buried at the

Theatine Church, Munich The Theatine Church of St. Cajetan and Adelaide (German: ''Theatinerkirche St. Kajetan und Adelheid'') is a Roman Catholic church in Munich, Southern Germany. Built between 1663 and 1690, it was founded by Elector Ferdinand Maria and his wife, ...

, traditional burial place of Bavarian royalty.

Ancestors

References

External links

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Anna Josepha Of Bavaria, Duchess German royalty 1734 births 1776 deaths 18th-century German people 18th-century German women Princesses in the Holy Roman Empire House of Wittelsbach Margravines of Baden-Baden Nobility from Munich House of Zähringen Duchesses of Bavaria Burials at the Theatine Church, Munich Daughters of emperors Children of Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor Daughters of kings Daughters of prince-electors