Maria Anna of Bavaria (born 1551)

Maria Anna of Bavaria (German: Maria Anna von Bayern) (21 March 1551, Munich – 29 April 1608, Graz)[1] was a politically active Archduchess of Austria by her marriage to Archduke Charles II of Austria. She played an important role in the Counter-Reformation in Austria.

For other people named Maria Anna of Bavaria, see Maria Anna of Bavaria (disambiguation).
Maria Anna of Bavaria
Archduchess consort of Inner Austria
Tenure26 August 1571 – 10 July 1590
Born21 March 1551
Munich, Duchy of Bavaria
Died29 April 1608 (aged 57)
Graz, Archduchy of Austria
SpouseCharles II, Archduke of Austria
Issue
HouseWittelsbach
FatherAlbert V, Duke of Bavaria
MotherAnna of Austria
ReligionRoman Catholicism

Life

Maria Anna was a daughter of Albert V, Duke of Bavaria and Anna of Austria. She was given an elementary education in Latin and religion but a high education in music, likely by Orlando di Lasso.

On 26 August 1571 in Vienna, the 20-year-old Maria Anna married her maternal uncle Charles II of Austria. The marriage was arranged to give Austria political support from Bavaria and Bavaria an agent in Vienna.

The relation between Maria Anna and Charles was described as good, and the couple had 15 children in just 18 years. Maria Anna was described as confident, ambitious and a great lover of pomp and power, but foremost a devout Catholic. She participated in affairs of state and successfully benefited a powerful counter reformation in the domains of her spouse. She continued her education in music, benefited the Jesuit school in Graz, and spent her time in worship and religious charity.

Maria Anna was widowed in 1590, but she continued to participate in politics as an advisor to her son and encouraged him to continue the Counter-Reformation and work against the Protestant clergy and nobility.

In 1608, she retired to the Nunnery of St Clare in Graz.

Her correspondence is partially preserved.

Issue
NamePictureBirthDeathNotes
Archduke FerdinandJudenburg, 15 July 1572Judenburg, 3 August 1572Died in infancy.
Archduchess AnnaGraz, 16 August 1573Warsaw, 10 February 1598Married on 31 May 1592 to Sigismund III Vasa, King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and King of Sweden.
Archduchess Maria ChristinaGraz, 10 November 1574Hall in Tirol, Tyrol, 6 April 1621Married on 6 August 1595 to Sigismund Bathory, Prince of Transylvania; they divorced in 1599.
Archduchess Catherine RenataGraz, 4 January 1576Graz, 29 June 1599Died unmarried.
Archduchess ElisabethGraz, 13 March 1577Graz, 29 January 1586Died in childhood.
Archduke FerdinandGraz, 9 July 1578Vienna, 15 February 1637Holy Roman Emperor as Ferdinand II in 1619.
Archduke CharlesGraz, 17 July 1579Graz, 17 May 1580Died in infancy.
Archduchess Gregoria MaximilianaGraz, 22 March 1581Graz, 20 September 1597Died unmarried.
Archduchess EleanorGraz, 25 September 1582Hall in Tirol, Tyrol, 28 January 1620Died unmarried.
Archduke Maximilian ErnestGraz, 17 November 1583Graz, 18 February 1616Teutonic Knight.
Archduchess MargaretGraz, 25 December 1584El Escorial, 3 October 1611Married on 18 April 1599 to Philip III, King of Spain.
Archduke LeopoldGraz, 9 October 1586Schwaz, 13 September 1632Archduke of Further Austria and Count of Tirol under the name Leopold V.
Archduchess ConstanceGraz, 24 December 1588Warsaw, 10 July 1631Married on 11 December 1605 to Sigismund III Vasa, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania (widower of her older sister).
Archduchess Maria MagdalenaGraz, 7 October 1589Passau, 1 November 1631Married on 19 October 1608 Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.
Archduke CharlesGraz, 7 August 1590Madrid, 28 December 1624Bishop of Wroclaw and Brixen (1608–24), Grand Master of the Teutonic Order (1618–24).

Ancestry

Bibliography
  • HAMANN, Brigitte, Die Habsburger: Ein Biografisches Lexicon (Munich: Piper, 1988).
  • SÁNCHEZ, Magdalena, (2000) A Woman's Influence: Archduchess Maria of Bavaria and the Spanish Habsburgs. In C. Kent, T.K. Wolber, C.M.K. Hewitt (Eds.) The lion and the eagle: interdisciplinary essays on German-Spanish relations over the centuries (pp. 91–107). New York: Berghahn Books.

References
  1. Maria von Wittelsbach
  2. Rall, Hans (1953), "Albrecht IV.", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 1, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, p. 157; (full text online)
  3. Riezler, Sigmund Ritter von (1897), "Wilhelm IV.", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB) (in German), vol. 42, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 705–717
  4. Rall, Hans (1953), "Albrect III.", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 1, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, p. 156; (full text online)
  5. Goetz, Walter (1953), "Albrecht V.", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 1, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 158–160; (full text online)
  6. Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1860). "Habsburg, Friedrich V. der Friedfertige" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). Vol. 6. p. 265 – via Wikisource.{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
  7. Brüning, Rainer (2001), "Philipp I.", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 20, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, p. 372; (full text online)
  8. Dotterweich, Helmut (1962). Der junge Maximilian: Jugend und Erziehung des bayerischen Herzogs und späteren Kurfürsten Maximilian I. von 1573 bis 1593 [The Young Maximilian: Youth and Education of the Bavarian Duke and Later Elector Maximilian I from 1573 to 1593]. R. Pflaum. p. 188. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  9. Philip I, King of Castile at the Encyclopædia Britannica
  10. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor at the Encyclopædia Britannica
  11. Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor at the Encyclopædia Britannica
  12. Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1860). "Habsburg, Anna von Oesterreich (1528–1587)" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). Vol. 6. p. 151 – via Wikisource.{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
  13. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Joanna" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  14. Casimir IV, King of Poland at the Encyclopædia Britannica
  15. Obermayer-Marnach, Eva (1953), "Anna Jagjello", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 1, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, p. 299; (full text online)
  16. Noubel, P., ed. (1877). Revue de l'Agenais [Review of the Agenais] (in French). Vol. 4. Société des sciences, lettres et arts d'Agen. p. 497.
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