Ludwig III. and Europe – Bavaria

On the 100th anniversary of the death of King Ludwig III. the Bavarian State Archives are dedicating an online presentation to the last Bavarian king. There, previously neglected by research, the king’s written reflections on a European “confederation” are presented. After his escape from Munich on November 7, 1918, Ludwig III. the rest of his life at Wildenwart Castle in Chiemgau, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Hungary. He died at the age of 76 on October 18, 1921 at Nádasdy Castle in Sárvár in Hungary. The Bavarian State Archives keep a variety of testimonies from the life of the last monarch. Some selected pieces from the Bavarian Main State Archive (Department III Secret House Archive and Department V Legacies and Collections) as well as from the Munich State Archive are presented in the online presentation. A first-time shirt, baptism and birth certificates, wills and death registration entries as well as photos provide an insight into the reality of life for the prince and later monarch. From research to Ludwig III. The document mentioned above, which was on his desk in Sárvár, has not yet been appreciated. It opens up a new perspective on the monarch. Ludwig recorded thoughts on the project of a “confederation” in cursory pencil writing. Some of the political plans contained therein are very time-bound, but sometimes point in advance to what has been achieved or is being strived for in the European Union today (www.gda.bayern.de/ludwig-letzt-koenig).