Franz Maria Luitpold of Bavaria
Franz Maria Luitpold Prince of Bavaria (born October 10, 1875 in Gut Samerhof near Leutstetten Castle , Starnberg ; † January 25, 1957 there ) was a Bavarian prince from the House of Wittelsbach and major general of the Bavarian Army .
Life
He was the third son of King Ludwig III. Born of Bavaria and Queen Marie Therese .
After the humanistic school leaving examination, Prince Franz took part in lectures and exercises at the war school from 1894. In 1896 he went on a long holiday to Northern Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. With great interest he devoted himself to military service in all branches of service. From 1911 he worked as a permanent deputy judge, from January 1, 1914 as a permanent judge at the Bavarian High Court of Justice .
On July 8, 1912, Franz married Princess Isabella von Croy (1890–1982), a niece of Archduchess Isabella von Österreich-Teschen (1856–1931), in the chapel of Weilburg Castle in Baden near Vienna in Lower Austria .
Before the beginning of the First World War he was the commander of the Bavarian 2nd Infantry Regiment "Kronprinz" . As regimental commander he moved to the western front and was immediately wounded at the Vermandovilers.
Promoted to major general shortly thereafter , he took over the 3rd Bavarian Infantry Brigade on January 3, 1915 , which was renamed the 4th Infantry Brigade on April 1st. As the commander of the 4th Bavarian Infantry Brigade, he retook Fort Douaumont on May 23 and 24, 1916 . Because of his "extraordinary energy and personal bravery in the heavy fighting off Verdun , in May and June 1916", Prince Franz received the highest Bavarian valor award, the Knight's Cross of the Military Max Joseph Order .
On October 28, 1916 he became commander of the 4th Bavarian Division . In the Battle of Flanders in the summer of 1917 near Passchendaele, the formation attacked the British and threw them back to Broodseynde. During the so-called Georg offensive in April 1918, the unit stormed the Kemmelberg and advanced to the south of Locre; However, she was denied any further gain in terrain. Prince Franz was awarded the Commander's Cross of the Bavarian Military Max Joseph Order on April 26, 1918 for this further proof of his military abilities . On May 16, 1918 he received the order Pour le Mérite .
During the defensive battle between the Scarpe and Somme rivers in late summer 1918, Prince Franz led the 4th Division back to Flanders with great losses. On September 1st it barely numbered more than 1,000 men.
In the last days of the war, the 4th Division was used in the border guard against Italy until November 7, 1918.
Even during the war, the Wittelsbach prince preserved scientific and civil interests. For example, as a section commander in the fortifications on the western front, he had found beautiful fossils and had them transferred to the scientific collections of Bavaria. These natural treasures had been carelessly destroyed on other sections of the front. After 1918 he enriched the state collections again with fossil finds from the family's own quarries on the lower Altmühl .
Professionally he managed the Sárvár estate in Hungary, which his parents had inherited, and founded a famous stud there. When he had to flee in 1945, he settled back in his home country and farmed the land around Leutstetten Castle , where his brother Crown Prince Rupprecht resided and which his father had already built as king.
In the "Wittelsbacher Lebensbildern" by Hans Rall it finally says about him:
"Highly valued in farmer and hunter circles, a tried and tested Bavarian soldier, an experienced farmer and forest manager and, last but not least, a pious prince who was loved for his simple, paternal goodness, he embodied a piece of old Bavaria!"
He is buried in St. Michaelskirche in Munich.
Prince Franz gave its name to the Prince Franz Barracks and the Royal Bavarian 20th Infantry Regiment "Prinz Franz" .
progeny
- Ludwig Karl Maria Prince of Bavaria (1913–2008) ⚭ Irmingard Princess of Bavaria (1923–2010)
- Maria Elisabeth Princess of Bavaria (1914–2011) ⚭ 1937 Nymphenburg: Peter Heinrich Prince of Orleans and Braganza (1909–1981)
- Adelgunde Princess of Bavaria (1917–2004) ⚭ 1948 Leutstetten: Baron Zdenko von Hoenning O'Carroll (1906–1996)
- Eleonore Therese Princess of Bavaria (1918–2009) ⚭ August 2, 1948 Leutstetten: Count Konstantin von Waldburg-Zeil (1909–1972)
- Princess Dorothea of Bavaria (1920–2015) ⚭ 1938 Sarvar, Hungary: Gottfried Habsburg-Lothringen (Gottfried of Austria-Tuscany; 1902–1984)
- Rasso Prince of Bavaria (1926–2011) ⚭ 1955: Theresa Habsburg-Lothringen (Theresa of Austria-Tuscany; * 1931)
ancestors
literature
- Konrad Krafft von Dellmensingen, Friedrichfranz Feeser: The Bavarian Book of the War 1914-1918. Chr.Belser AG, publishing house, Stuttgart 1930
Individual evidence
- ^ The marriage of Prince Franz of Bavaria to Princess Isabella Croy. In: Neue Freie Presse , Afternoon Gazette, No. 17195/1912, July 8, 1912, p. 8, top center. (Online at ANNO ). .
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ a b The members of the former House of Habsburg-Lothringen are subject to Austrian naming rights and have been using the family name Habsburg-Lothringen since 1919 (see Nobility Repeal Act ).
- ^ Süddeutsche Zeitung : ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: “Wittelsbacher Prince died” ), September 14, 2011
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bavaria, Franz Maria Luitpold von |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Bavaria, Franz Maria Luitpold Prince of (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Bavarian Prince from the House of Wittelsbach and Major General of the Bavarian Army |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 10, 1875 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Gut Samerhof near Leutstetten Castle , Starnberg |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 25, 1957 |
| Place of death | Gut Samerhof near Leutstetten Castle , Starnberg |