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Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria

Schwetzingen, 27 May 1756 – Nymphenburg Palace, 13 Oct 1825

14 facts3 sources

Facts and their sources

  • Born27 May 1756, Schwetzingennot verified1 source
  • Titlecount, 1776–1793or duke, 1795–1797 · Prince-Elector, 1799–1806 · duke, 1799–1806 · King of Bavaria, 1806–1825 · duke, 1810–1816not verified1 source
  • Titleduke, 1795–1797or count, 1776–1793 · Prince-Elector, 1799–1806 · duke, 1799–1806 · King of Bavaria, 1806–1825 · duke, 1810–1816not verified1 source
  • Titleduke, 1799–1806or count, 1776–1793 · duke, 1795–1797 · Prince-Elector, 1799–1806 · King of Bavaria, 1806–1825 · duke, 1810–1816not verified1 source
  • TitlePrince-Elector, 1799–1806or count, 1776–1793 · duke, 1795–1797 · duke, 1799–1806 · King of Bavaria, 1806–1825 · duke, 1810–1816not verified1 source
  • TitleKing of Bavaria, 1806–1825or count, 1776–1793 · duke, 1795–1797 · Prince-Elector, 1799–1806 · duke, 1799–1806 · duke, 1810–1816not verified1 source
  • Titleduke, 1810–1816or count, 1776–1793 · duke, 1795–1797 · Prince-Elector, 1799–1806 · duke, 1799–1806 · King of Bavaria, 1806–1825not verified1 source
  • Died13 Oct 1825, Nymphenburg Palacenot verified1 source
  • FatherFrederick Michael, Count Palatine of Zweibrückennot verified1 source
  • MotherCountess Palatine Maria Franziska of Sulzbachnot verified1 source

A life in time

  1. 27 May 1756

    Born in Schwetzingen

  2. 1776–1793

    Count

  3. 1786–1810

    12 children are born

  4. 1795–1797

    Duke

  5. 1799–1806

    Duke

  6. 1799–1806

    Prince-Elector

  7. 1806–1825

    King of Bavaria

  8. 1810–1816

    Duke

  9. 13 Oct 1825

    Dies in Nymphenburg Palace, aged 69

Family

See the tree

Parents

Partners

Children · 12

During his lifetime

He lived through 8 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Schwetzingen.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1750s · Maximilian I is born in Schwetzingen

In the news1756–1763

Seven Years' War casualties and destruction

During the Seven Years' War, some 160,000 Prussian soldiers died in battle or from disease, devastating the population.

Getting around

Stagecoach Travel at Walking Speed

In the mid-18th century, the stagecoach was the primary mode of travel for those who could afford it, moving at a walking pace of about 4 to 5 kilometers per hour. A trip from Nuremberg to Leipzig typically took around 70 hours, while the journey from Nuremberg to Regensburg required 20 hours.

In Europe1755

Lisbon is destroyed by an earthquake

On All Saints’ Day an earthquake, a tsunami and fires levelled Lisbon and killed tens of thousands; Europe’s thinkers argued over it for decades.

Daily life

Open Hearth Cooking and Pump Well Water

Cooking took place in the living room over an open fireplace or a masonry hearth with a recessed grate, using wood or brown coal for fuel. Drinking water was typically sourced from communal pump wells located in the village center.

What people wore

Noble Men Preferred Wigs Over Beards

In the 18th century, noble men famously wore wigs and makeup, while facial hair was strictly shunned for most men, marking a major departure from later masculine standards.

Music

Regulated music at weddings and funerals

Weddings were major social events where music was highly regulated by status, dictating the number of performers and the duration of the celebrations. Musicians often played at these weddings and funerals, with societies in places like Leuben attending up to 18 weddings annually.

At the table

Kitchen tools for open fire cooking

To save time while cooking soups, housewives used hooks with a sawtooth design to quickly adjust the height of pots over the fire. They also used a specialized iron tool called a Cold Hand to remove hot pots because oven mitts were not yet in use.