Maria Anna of Bavaria (born 1551)

For other people named Maria Anna of Bavaria, see Maria Anna of Bavaria (disambiguation).

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.

Maria Anna of Bavaria
Archduchess consort of Inner Austria
Tenure	26 August 1571 – 10 July 1590
Born	21 March 1551 Munich, Duchy of Bavaria
Died	29 April 1608 (aged 57) Graz, Archduchy of Austria
Spouse	Charles II, Archduke of Austria
Issue	Anne, Queen of Poland Maria Christina, Princess of Transylvania Archduchess Catherine Renata Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor Archduchess Gregoria Maximiliana Archduchess Eleanor Archduke Maximilian Ernest Margaret, Queen of Spain Leopold V, Archduke of Further Austria Constance, Queen of Poland Maria Magdalena, Grand Duchess of Tuscany Charles, Bishop of Wroclaw
House	Wittelsbach
Father	Albert V, Duke of Bavaria
Mother	Anna of Austria
Religion	Roman 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

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

Ancestry

Ancestors of Maria Anna of Bavaria (born 1551)

16. Albert III, Duke of Bavaria^[9] 8. Albert IV, Duke of Bavaria^[4] 17. Anna of Brunswick-Grubenhagen-Einbeck^[10] 4. William IV, Duke of Bavaria^[2] 18. Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor^[11] 9. Kunigunde of Austria^[4] 19. Eleanor of Portugal^[11] 2. Albert V, Duke of Bavaria 20. Christopher I, Margrave of Baden-Baden^[5] 10. Philip I, Margrave of Baden-Sponheim^[5] 21. Ottilie von Katzenelnbogen^[5] 5. Marie of Baden-Sponheim^[2] 22. Philip, Elector Palatine^[12] 11. Elisabeth of the Palatinate^[5] 23. Margaret of Bavaria^[12] 1. Maria Anna of Bavaria 24. Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor^[13] 12. Philip I of Castile^[6]^[7] 25. Mary of Burgundy^[13] 6. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor^[3] 26. Ferdinand II of Aragon^[14] 13. Joanna of Castile^[7] 27. Isabella I of Castile^[14] 3. Archduchess Anna of Austria 28. Casimir IV Jagiellon^[15] 14. Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary^[8] 29. Archduchess Elisabeth of Austria^[15] 7. Anna of Bohemia and Hungary^[3] 30. Gaston de Foix, Count of Candale^[16] 15. Anna of Foix-Candale^[8] 31. Infanta Catherine of Navarre^[16]

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. Goetz, Walter (1953), "Albrecht V.", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 1, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 158–160; (full text online)
3. 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.
4. Riezler, Sigmund Ritter von (1897), "Wilhelm IV.", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB) (in German), vol. 42, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 705–717
5. Brüning, Rainer (2001), "Philipp I.", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 20, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, p. 372; (full text online)
6. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor at the Encyclopædia Britannica
7. Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor at the Encyclopædia Britannica
8. Obermayer-Marnach, Eva (1953), "Anna Jagjello", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 1, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, p. 299; (full text online)
9. Rall, Hans (1953), "Albrecht IV.", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 1, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, p. 157; (full text online)
10. Rall, Hans (1953), "Albrect III.", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 1, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, p. 156; (full text online)
11. 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.
12. 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.
13. Philip I, King of Castile at the Encyclopædia Britannica
14. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Joanna" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
15. Casimir IV, King of Poland at the Encyclopædia Britannica
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.

• [1]
• http://www.nad.riksarkivet.se/sbl/Presentation.aspx?id=18720
• http://de.wikisource.org/wiki/ADB:Maria_(Erzherzogin_von_%C3%96sterreich)
• http://de.wikisource.org/wiki/BLK%C3%96:Habsburg,_Maria_von_Bayern