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Karl Theodor, Prince-Elector, Count Palatine and Duke of Bavaria (December, 1724 – February 16, 1799) reigned as Prince-Elector and Count Palatine from 1742, as Duke of Jülich and Berg from 1742 and also as Prince-Elector and Duke of Bavaria from 1777, until his death.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Cultural legacy 3 Family and children 3.1 Issue 3.2 Illegitimate children 4 References 5 See also

He was of the Wittelsbach house Palatinate-Sulzbach.^[1] His parents were John Christian, Count of Palatinate-Sulzbach and Marie Anne Henriëtte Leopoldine de La Tour d'Auvergne, a grandniece of Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne. Born in Drogenbos near Brussels, and educated in Mannheim, Karl Theodor inherited Electoral Palatinate and the duchies of Jülich and Berg in 1742. As reigning Prince of the Palatinate, he won the hearts of his subjects by founding an academy of science, stocking up the museums' collections and supporting the arts. When Maximilian III Joseph of Bavaria died in 1777, Karl Theodor became also Elector and Duke of Bavaria and moved to Munich.

He instantly managed to make everyone in Bavaria his enemy by proposing to Emperor Joseph II to exchange parts of Bavaria for some Austrian possessions along the Rhine and in today Belgium close to his dominions the Palatinate, Jülich and Berg. The ensuing diplomatic crisis led to the outbreak of the War of the Bavarian Succession; in the Peace of Teschen (1779), it was established that Karl's descendants (he had no surviving legitimate children) would not inherit the throne of Bavaria.

Silver thaler coin of Charles Theodore, 1778.
Obverse CAR[OLUS] TH[EODORUS] D[EI] G[RATIA] C[OMES] P[ALATINUS] R[HENI] U[TRIUSQUE] B[AVARIAE] D[UX] S[ACRI] R[OMANI] I[MPERII] A[RCHIDAPIFER] & EL[ECTOR] D[UX] I[ULIACI] C[LIVIAE] & M[ONTIUM]."Charles Theodore, by the Grace of God, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of both (Upper and Lower) Bavaria, Archsteward and Elector of the Holy Roman Empire, Duke of Jülich, Cleves and Berg." Right profile of Karl Theodor in armor with sash and decoration.	Reverse PATRONA BAVARIAE 1778. "Patroness of Bavaria 1778." Image of the crowned Virgin with the Christ child, bearing orb and sceptre, seated upon clouds before a sunburst, and treading on a crescent moon..

Karl Theodor never became popular as a ruler in Bavaria; in the following years, he constantly tried without success to exchange the ducal lands of Bavaria for the Austrian Netherlands and a royal crown, and he never managed to control the mounting social tensions in Bavaria. After a dispute with Munich's city council Karl Theodor even moved the residence in 1788 to Mannheim but returned only one year later.

Since 1785 Count Rumford reorganized the state. Karl Theodor is also known for disbanding Adam Weishaupt's order of the Illuminati in 1785.

When the revolutionary armies of France occupied the Duchy of Jülich in 1794 and invaded the Palatinate in 1795 and then proceeded towards Bavaria in 1796, Karl Theodor begged Francis II for help which in essence would have made Bavaria a puppet state of Austria. When he died of a stroke in Munich in 1799, the population in Munich celebrated for several days. He is buried in the crypt of the Theatinerkirche in Munich.

Despite the mutual dislike and distrust between the Duke and his Bavarian subjects, Karl Theodor left a distinctive mark on the city of Munich: it was under his reign that the English Garden, Munich's largest park, was created, and the city's old fortifications were dismantled to make place for a modern, expanding city. One of Munich's major squares, Karlsplatz, is named after Karl Theodor. Munich natives, however, seldom use that name, calling the square instead Stachus, after the pub "Beim Stachus" that was located there until construction work for Karlsplatz began. One of the main reasons for this is that Karl Theodor, as noted above, never enjoyed the popularity in Bavaria that he enjoyed in the Palatinate.

Karl Theodor was a great lover of the arts, including drama and especially music. He commissioned Idomeneo from Mozart in 1780. Mozart quotes him as saying "No music has ever made such an impression on me. It is magnificent." (David Cairns, Mozart and his operas, 2006, p.48)

Charles Theodore married 17. January 1742 in Mannheim princess Elisabeth Auguste, daughter of Joseph Karl Emanuel von Pfalz-Sulzbach and his consort Elisabeth Auguste Sophie of Palatinate, they had a son:

• Franz Ludwig Joseph (* 28./† 29. June 1762 in Schwetzingen)

His second marriage was concluded in Innsbruck 15. February 1795 with Maria Leopoldine of Austria-Este. They had no children.

From his liaison with the actress Françoise Després-Verneuil († 1765), later countess of Parkstein:

1. Karoline Franziska Dorothea, Gräfin von Parkstein (* 1762; † 7. September 1816 Ickelheim) - verheiratet mit Friedrich Wilhelm, Prinz zu Isenburg-Büdingen-Birstein (* 13. Dezember 1730 Birstein; † 12. Oktober 1804 in Mannheim)
2. son(1764-1765)

From his liaison with Maria Josefa Seyfert, Countess von Heydeck (1748–1771):

1. Karoline Josepha von Bretzenheim (* 27. January 1768-1786) 1784 ∞ Maximilian Josef Graf von Holnstein († 1838)
2. Karl August, Graf von Heydeck und Reichsfürst von Bretzenheim, (* 24. December 1769) ∞ am 27.4.1788 in Oettingen Maria Walburga von Oettingen-Spielberg (* 29.8.1766; † 8.5.1833)
3. Eleonore Karoline von Bretzenheim (* November 1770) ∞ 21.11.1787 (Scheidung 1801) Fürst Wilhelm Karl von Leiningen (*5.7.1737; † 26.1.1809)
4. Friederike Karoline von Bretzenheim (* 9. December 1771) ∞ 1796 Graf Maximilian von Westerholt-Gysenberg († 1854)

1. ^ (German) Brockhaus Geschichte Second Edition

• History of Bavaria

Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria House of Wittelsbach Born: 12 December 1724 Died: 16 February 1799
German nobility
Preceded by Johann Christian	Count Palatine of Sulzbach 1733–99	Succeeded by Maximilian IV Joseph
Preceded by Charles III Philip	Elector Palatine 1742–99
Preceded by Charles III Philip	Duke of Jülich and Duke of Berg 1742–99
Preceded by Charles III Philip	Count Palatine of Neuburg 1742–99
Preceded by Maximilian III Joseph	Elector of Bavaria 1777–99