Kingdom of Bavaria
The Kingdom of Bavaria (German: Königreich Bayern; Bavarian: Kinereich Bayern; spelled Baiern until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingdom became a federated state of the new empire and was second in size, power, and wealth only to the leading state, the Kingdom of Prussia.
Kingdom of Bavaria (1806–1825) Königreich Baiern Kinereich Baiern (1825–1918) Königreich Bayern Kinereich Bayern | |||||||||||||||
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| 1806–1918 | |||||||||||||||
| Motto: In Treue fest ("Steadfast in loyalty") | |||||||||||||||
| Anthem: Bayerische Königshymne (German) "Bavarian Royal Hymn" | |||||||||||||||
The Kingdom of Bavaria in 1914, as part of the German Empire | |||||||||||||||
| Status |
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| Capital and largest city | Munich | ||||||||||||||
| Common languages | Bavarian, Upper German dialects | ||||||||||||||
| Religion | Majority: Roman Catholicism Minorities:
Protestantism (Lutheranism and Calvinism), Judaism | ||||||||||||||
| Government | Constitutional monarchy | ||||||||||||||
| King | |||||||||||||||
• 1806–1825 | Maximilian I Joseph | ||||||||||||||
• 1825–1848 | Ludwig I | ||||||||||||||
• 1848–1864 | Maximilian II | ||||||||||||||
• 1864–1886 | Ludwig II | ||||||||||||||
• 1886–1913 | Otto | ||||||||||||||
• 1913–1918 | Ludwig III | ||||||||||||||
| Prince Regent | |||||||||||||||
• 1886–1912 | Luitpold | ||||||||||||||
• 1912–1913 | Ludwig | ||||||||||||||
| Minister-President | |||||||||||||||
• 1806–1817 | Maximilian von Montgelas | ||||||||||||||
• 1912–1917 | Georg von Hertling | ||||||||||||||
• 1917–1918 | Otto Ritter von Dandl | ||||||||||||||
| Legislature | Landtag | ||||||||||||||
• Upper Chamber | House of Councillors | ||||||||||||||
• Lower Chamber | House of Representatives | ||||||||||||||
| Historical era | Napoleonic Wars Franco-Prussian War World War I | ||||||||||||||
• Proclamation of the kingdom | 1 January 1806 | ||||||||||||||
• Established | 26 December 1806 | ||||||||||||||
• Treaty of Ried | 8 October 1813 | ||||||||||||||
• Treaty of Paris | 30 May 1814 | ||||||||||||||
• Unification of Germany | 18 January 1871 | ||||||||||||||
| 9 November 1918 | |||||||||||||||
| 12 November 1918 | |||||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||||
| 1910 | 75,865 km2 (29,292 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||||
• 1910 | 6,524,372 | ||||||||||||||
| Currency |
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| Today part of | Germany | ||||||||||||||
The polity's foundation dates back to the ascension of Elector Maximilian IV Joseph of the House of Wittelsbach as King of Bavaria in 1806. The crown continued to be held by the Wittelsbachs until the kingdom came to an end in 1918. Most of the border of modern Germany's Free State of Bavaria were established after 1814 with the Treaty of Paris, in which the Kingdom of Bavaria ceded Tyrol and Vorarlberg to the Austrian Empire while receiving Aschaffenburg and Würzburg.
In 1918, Bavaria became a republic after the German Revolution, and the kingdom was thus succeeded by the current Free State of Bavaria.