The Wittelsbach Dynasty and the Tradition Of Bavarian Eigenstaatlichkeit

The House of Wittelsbach was perhaps the most Important popular symbol of the traditional Bavarian Eigenstaatlichkeit. “Right into the present century, the history of Bavaria was one and the same with the history of the Wittelsbachs.” Few European dynasties surpassed the proud Wittelsbach line in longevity and in richness of tradition. The Wittelsbach monarchy and its agencies of state administration therefore were vital instruments of integration: perhaps the crowning achievement of the Wittelsbachs and their ministers was the forging of a strong Bavarian state identity. Practical political and economic ties combined with the emotive bond of Wittelsbach constitutional monarchy to generate a strong sense of common Bavarian identity by the mid-nineteenth century. The Wittelsbach monarchy and its agencies of state administration therefore were vital instruments of integration: perhaps the crowning achievement of the Wittelsbachs and their ministers was the forging of a strong Bavarian state identity.