Otto II Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria

Portrait from Die Chronik Bayerns

Otto II with his wife Agnes

Not to be confused with Duke Otto II 1061-1070, Duke of Bavaria (as Otto II).

Otto II of Bavaria (German: Otto II der Erlauchte , Herzog von Bayern, Pfalzgraf bei Rhein) (7 April 1206, Kelheim – 29 November 1253) was the Duke of Bavaria and Count Palatine of the Rhine (see Palatinate). He was a son of Louis I and Ludmilla of Bohemia and a member of the Wittelsbach dynasty.

Biography

Otto was born at Kelheim.

At the age of sixteen, he was married to Agnes of the Palatinate, a granddaughter of Duke Henry the Lion and Conrad of Hohenstaufen. With this marriage, the Wittelsbach inherited Palatinate and kept it as a Wittelsbach possession until 1918. Since that time also the lion has become a heraldic symbol in the coat of arms for Bavaria and the Palatinate.

Otto acquired the rich regions of Bogen in 1240, and Andechs and Ortenburg in 1248 as possessions for the Wittelsbach and extended his power base in Bavaria this way. With the county of Bogen the Wittelsbach acquired also the white and blue coloured lozenge flag, since that time it has been the flag of Bavaria (and of the Palatinate).

After a dispute with emperor Frederick II was ended, he joined the Hohenstaufen party in 1241. His daughter, Elizabeth, was married to Frederick's son Conrad IV. Because of this, Otto was excommunicated by the pope.

He died in Landshut in 1253. Like his forefathers, Otto was buried in the crypt of Scheyern Abbey.

Family and children

Otto married Agnes, daughter of Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (a son of Henry the Lion) and Agnes von Staufen, in Worms in 1222. Their children were:

1. Louis II, Duke of Bavaria (13 April 1229, Heidelberg–2 February 1294, Heidelberg).
2. Henry XIII, Duke of Bavaria (19 November 1235, Landshut–3 February 1290, Burghausen).
3. Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Germany (c. 1227, Landshut–9 October 1273), married to:
   1. 1246 in Vohburg to Conrad IV of Germany;
   2. 1259 in Munich to Count Meinhard II of Gorizia-Tyrol, Duke of Carinthia.
4. Sophie (1236, Landshut–9 August 1289, Castle Hirschberg), married 1258 to Count Gerhard IV of Sulzbach and Hirschberg.
5. Agnes (c. 1240–c. 1306).

Otto II Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria House of Wittelsbach Born: 1206 Died: 1253
German royalty
Regnal titles
Preceded by Louis I	Duke of Bavaria Count Palatine of the Rhine 1231–1253	Succeeded by Louis II and Henry XIII