Maria Anna of Bavaria
1551 – 1608 · Generation X · Consort
Maria Anna (1551 – 1608). Consort. Married Charles in 1571. Niece and wife of Charles II; mother of Ferdinand II. A daughter of Albert V of Bavaria and Anna of Austria, she was taught little beyond basic Latin and religion, though her musical training was thorough, probably under Orlando di Lasso. The Vienna wedding of August 1571 suited both courts, bringing Austria Bavarian support and giving Bavaria a voice in Vienna. It proved a sound partnership, and in eighteen years she bore fifteen children. Her Catholic zeal outweighed even her ambition and love of pomp: she played a part in government, lent real weight to the Counter-Reformation across her husband’s domains and supported the Jesuit school at Graz. After Charles died in 1590 she remained her son’s adviser, pressing him to keep up the fight against Protestant clergy and nobility, and in 1608 — the year of her death — she withdrew to the convent of the Poor Clares in Graz.
Place in the family
- Maria Anna of Bavaria was a great-great-great-grandmother of Maria Theresa.
- The archive records 38 of her descendants, across 14 generations.
Partners
- Married Charles II, Archduke of Austria (1540 – 1590) in 1571 — 2 children together
Children
- Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor (1578 – 1637)
- Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain (1584 – 1611)
Life
- 1551 — Born
- 1571 — Married Charles
- 1608 — Died