Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria

Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and prince-elector (Kurfürst) of the Holy Roman Empire (1573–1651)

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Lived 1573–1651, aged 78Germany

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Era
1573–1651
Aged 78

Summary

Updated 2026-06-09

A Catholic duke who turned religious war into territorial gain. Maximilian I backed the right side in the Thirty Years' War and walked away with his cousin's land and a permanent seat among the Holy Roman Empire's electors.

Biography

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Maximilian I inherited the Duchy of Bavaria in 1597 and immediately set about crushing the power of local estates, building the scaffolding for absolute rule. A devout Catholic, he founded the Catholic League of Imperial Princes and became one of the Counter-Reformation's chief enforcers. When the Thirty Years' War erupted, he seized the moment: conquered the Upper Palatinate and stripped the electoral dignity from his Wittelsbach cousin Frederick V, the so-called "Winter King." The 1623 Diet of Regensburg awarded him the title of prince-elector. The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 let him keep Up…

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