duchy · Germany and Central Europe

Duchy of Bavaria-Munich

1392 CE – 1505 CE · capital Munich

The Wittelsbach duchy centred on Munich that outlasted its rival Bavarian branches and reunited the country under Albert IV in 1505.

Origins

The partition of 1392 gave John II the lands around Munich, the smallest share of the Wittelsbach inheritance in Upper Bavaria. His sons Ernest and William III ruled jointly after 1397, and in 1429 they received a share of the Duchy of Bavaria-Straubing.

Rule and society

The dukes ruled from the Alter Hof in Munich, a city grown rich on the salt trade. Duke Ernest had Agnes Bernauer, the commoner wife of his son Albert III, drowned at Straubing in 1435. Albert IV, duke from 1465, built a stronger, more centralised state, and Munich's Frauenkirche was completed under his rule in 1488.

Decline and legacy

Albert IV won the War of the Landshut Succession in 1505 and reunited most of Bavaria. His primogeniture decree of 1506 forbade further divisions, so the Duchy of Bavaria, with Munich as its capital, remained united from then on.

Lineage

Duchy of Bavaria 555 CE – 1623 CEDuchy of Bavaria-Straubing 1353 CE – 1429 CEDuchy of Bavaria-MunichDuchy of Bavaria 555 CE – 1623 CE

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Duchy of Bavaria-Munich. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-bavaria-munich
MLA
“Duchy of Bavaria-Munich.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-bavaria-munich. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Duchy of Bavaria-Munich.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-bavaria-munich.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Duchy of Bavaria-Munich’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-bavaria-munich (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻