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 …

Ludwig was born in Munich, the eldest son of Prince Luitpold of Bavaria and of his wife, Archduchess Augusta of Austria (daughter of Grand Duke Leopold II of Tuscany).He was a descendant of both Louis XIV of France and William the Conqueror.Hailing from Florence, Augusta always spoke in Italian to her four children.Ludwig was named after his grandfather, …