Otto II, Duke of Bavaria

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

Otto II Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria
Portrait from Die Chronik Bayerns
Born	(1206-04-07)7 April 1206 Kelheim
Died	29 November 1253(1253-11-29) (aged 47) Landshut
Buried	crypt of Scheyern Abbey
Noble family	House of Wittelsbach
Spouse(s)	Agnes of the Palatinate
Father	Louis I Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria
Mother	Ludmilla of Bohemia

Otto II with his wife Agnes

Otto II of Bavaria (German: Otto II der Erlauchte , Herzog von Bayern, Pfalzgraf bei Rhein, 7 April 1206 in Kelheim – 29 November 1253) known as Otto the Illustrious was the Duke of Bavaria and Count Palatine of the Rhine (see Electorate of the 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 which since that time 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 was convinced by Bertold of Regensburg to repent in 1250.

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

Family and children

Otto married Agnes, the daughter of Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (a son of Henry the Lion) and Agnes of Hohenstaufen, 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).

Ancestors

Family of Otto II, Duke of Bavaria

16. Eckhard I, Count of Scheyern 8. Otto IV, Count of Wittelsbach 17. Richardis of Carniola-Orlamünde 4. Otto I, Duke of Bavaria 18. Frederick III of Pettendorf-Lengenfeld-Hopfenohe 9. Heilika of Pettendorf-Lengenfeld 19. Heilika of Swabia 2. Louis I, Duke of Bavaria 20. Arnold II, Count of Loon 10. Louis I, Count of Loon 21. Agnes 5. Agnes of Loon 22. Folmar V of Metz 11. Agnes of Metz 23. Matilda of Dagsburg 1. Otto II Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria 24. Vladislav I of Bohemia 12. Vladislaus II, King of Bohemia 25. Richeza of Berg 6. Frederick, Duke of Bohemia 26. Leopold III, Margrave of Austria 13. Gertrude of Babenberg 27. Agnes of Germany 3. Ludmilla of Bohemia 28. Béla II of Hungary 14. Géza II of Hungary 29. Helena of Raška 7. Elizabeth of Hungary 30. Mstislav I of Kiev 15. Euphrosyne of Kiev 31. Liubava Dmitrievna