electorate · Germany and Central Europe

Electorate of Bavaria

1623 CE – 1806 CE · capital Munich

Bavaria as one of the great electoral principalities of the Empire, a Catholic power whose dukes twice sought the imperial crown.

Origins

Duke Maximilian I, head of the Catholic League, helped crush the Bohemian revolt at the White Mountain in 1620. As a reward Emperor Ferdinand II transferred the electoral dignity of the Palatinate to him in 1623 and gave him the Upper Palatinate in 1628, gains confirmed at the Peace of Westphalia in 1648.

Rule and society

The electorate was firmly Catholic, with strong ties to the Jesuits and a rich baroque church culture. The electors built Nymphenburg and Schleissheim palaces in and near Munich. Max Emanuel allied with France in the War of the Spanish Succession and lost his lands after Blenheim in 1704, and Charles Albert was elected Emperor Charles VII in 1742 during the Austrian Succession war.

Decline and legacy

In 1777 the Bavarian Wittelsbachs died out and the electorate passed to Charles Theodore of the Palatinate. Allied with Napoleon, Elector Maximilian IV Joseph gained large territories and became King of Bavaria on 1 January 1806.

Lineage

Duchy of Bavaria 555 CE – 1623 CECounty of Helfenstein 1100 CE – 1627 CECounty of Ortenburg 1120 CE – 1805 CEPrince-Bishopric of Würzburg 1168 CE – 1802 CEPrince-Bishopric of Augsburg 1180 CE – 1803 CELandgraviate of Leuchtenberg 1196 CE – 1646 CEElectorate of BavariaKingdom of Bavaria 1806 CE – 1918 CE

Connections (3)

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

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻