Editing Ludwig I of Bavaria (section)

==Reign and Fall==
[[Image:Ludwig I. von Bayern around 1830.jpg|thumb|left|Ludwig I of Bavaria, {{circa|1830}}]]
Ludwig's rule was strongly affected by his enthusiasm for the arts and women and by his overreaching royal assertiveness.

An enthusiast for the German Middle Ages, Ludwig ordered the re-erection of several monasteries in Bavaria which had been closed during the [[German mediatisation]]. He reorganized the administrative regions of Bavaria in 1837 and re-introduced the old names [[Upper Bavaria]], [[Lower Bavaria]], [[Franconia]], [[Swabia]], [[Upper Palatinate]] and [[Electoral Palatinate|Palatinate]]. He changed his royal titles to ''Ludwig, King of Bavaria, Duke of Franconia, Duke in Swabia and Count Palatine of the Rhine''. His successors kept these titles.

Ludwig's plan to reunite the eastern part of the Palatinate with Bavaria could not be realized. The [[Electoral Palatinate]], a former dominion of the Wittelsbach, had disappeared under Napoleon when France first annexed the left bank of the Rhine, including about half of the Palatinate, and then gave what remained on the right bank including, [[Mannheim]] and [[Heidelberg]], to [[Baden]] during the [[German Mediatization]] of 1803. In 1815, Baden's possession of Manheim and Heidelberg was confirmed and only the left bank territories were given back to Bavaria. Ludwig founded the city of [[Ludwigshafen]] there as a Bavarian rival to Mannheim.

Ludwig moved the [[Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München|Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität]] from [[Landshut]] to [[Munich]] in 1826. The king also encouraged Bavaria's industrialization. He initiated the [[Ludwig Canal]] between the rivers [[Main (river)|Main]] and the [[Danube]]. In 1835 the first German railway was constructed in his domain, between the cities of [[Fürth]] and [[Nuremberg]]. Bavaria joined the [[Zollverein]] in 1834.

As Ludwig had supported the Greek fight of independence his second son [[Otto of Greece|Otto]] was elected king of Greece in 1832. Otto's government was initially run by a [[Regency council of Otto of Greece|three-man regency council]] made up of Bavarian court officials.

After the [[July Revolution]] of 1830 in France, Ludwig's previous liberal policy became more and more repressive. The [[Hambacher Fest]] in 1832 revealed the discontent of the population caused by high taxes and censorship. In connection with the unrest of May 1832, some 142 political trials were initiated. The seven death sentences that were pronounced were commuted to long-term imprisonment by the king. About 1,000 political trials were to take place during Ludwig's reign. The strict censorship, which he had reinstated after having abolished it in 1825, was opposed by large sectors of the population.

In 1837 the [[Ultramontanes]] backed by the Roman Catholic Church gained control of the Bavarian parliament and began a campaign of changes to the constitution, such as removing civil rights that had earlier been granted to Protestants, as well as enforcing political censorship. On 14 August 1838, the King issued an order for all members of the military to kneel in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament at Corpus Christi processions and church services. The policy, which had been in place when Bavaria was still almost purely Catholic before 1803, had been discontinued after the inclusion of large Protestant areas. Catholic disturbances during the funeral of the Protestant Queen [[Caroline of Baden]] in 1841 caused a scandal. This treatment of his beloved stepmother permanently softened the attitude of Caroline's stepson Ludwig I, who had been a strong opponent of Protestantism in spite of his marriage to a Protestant princess, Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen. The Ultramontanes' regime only ended due to their demands against the naturalization of Ludwig I's Irish-born mistress Eliza Gilbert (better known by her stage name [[Lola Montez]]). Ludwig resented that move, and the Ultramontanes under [[Karl von Abel]] were pushed out.

[[File:Stieler - Lola Montez (Schönheitengalerie).jpg|thumb|''[[Portrait of Lola Montez]]'' by [[Joseph Karl Stieler]], 1847]]
Already in 1844, Ludwig was confronted with the [[Beer riots in Bavaria]]. During the [[Revolutions of 1848 in the German states|revolutions of 1848]] the king faced increasing protests and demonstrations by the students and the middle classes. The king had ordered to close the university in February, and on 4 March, a large crowd assaulted the [[Munich Stadtmuseum|Armory]] to storm the [[Munich Residenz]]. Ludwig's brother [[Prince Karl Theodor of Bavaria|Prince Karl]] managed to appease the protesters, but the royal family and the Cabinet now turned against Ludwig. He had to sign the so-called "March Proclamation" with substantial concessions. On 16 March 1848 it was followed by renewed unrest because [[Lola Montez]] (his unpopular mistress) had returned to Munich after a short exile. Ludwig had to let her be searched by the police on 17 March, which was the worst humiliation for him.{{clarify|date=December 2012}} Not willing to rule as a [[constitutional monarchy|constitutional monarch]], Ludwig [[abdication|abdicated]] on 20 March 1848 in favour of his eldest son, [[Maximilian II of Bavaria|Maximilian]].

Ludwig lived for another 20 years after his abdication and remained influential, especially as he continued several of his cultural projects. For most of his time in Munich his residence was the neo-Gothic [[Wittelsbacher Palais]], once built for his successor and unloved by Ludwig. He died at [[Nice]] in 1868 and was buried in [[St. Boniface's Abbey, Munich]], which he had ordered to be built.
[[Image:Ludwig I., König von Bayern Arround 1860.jpg|thumb|left|Ludwig I of Bavaria, {{circa|1860}}]]