- Louis I, Duke of Bavaria
Duke Louis I of Bavaria ( _de. Ludwig I der Kelheimer, Herzog von Bayern, Pfalzgraf bei Rhein) (
Kelheim ,23 December ,1173 –15 September 1231 in Kelheim) was the Duke ofBavaria in 1183 and Count Palatine of the Rhine in 1214. He was a son of Otto I and his wifeAgnes of Loon .Biography
Louis extended the duchy of Bavaria and founded many cities. Among the cities he founded were
Landshut in 1204,Straubing in 1218 andLandau an der Isar in 1224. He supported the Welf Emperor Otto IV, who therefore confirmed the everlasting reign of theWittelsbach family inBavaria . But in 1211 Louis joined theHohenstaufen party; Emperor Frederick II rewarded him with the Palatinate of the Rhine in 1214: His son Otto was married with Agnes of the Palatinate, a granddaughter of DukeHenry the Lion andConrad of Hohenstaufen . With this marriage, the Wittelsbach inherited the 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.In 1221 Louis participated in the
Fifth Crusade and was imprisoned inEgypt . Louis was murdered in 1231 on a bridge in Kelheim. The crime was never cleared up since the murderer was immediately lynched. Due to the following aversion of the Wittelsbach family the city of Kelheim lost its status as one of the ducal residences. Louis was buried in the crypt ofScheyern Abbey .
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