What is Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria?
[[File:Ferdinand Maria of Bavaria.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria]] '''Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria''' (31 October 1636 – 26 May 1679) was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and an elector (Kurfürst) of the Holy Roman Empire from 1651 to 1679. ==Biography== He was born in [[Munich]] and was the eldest son of [[Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria]] and [[Maria Anna of Austria (1610-1665)|Maria Anna of Austria]] a daughter of [[Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor]]. On 8 December 1650 he married [[Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy|Henriette Adelaide of Savoy]], daughter of [[Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy|Victor Amadeus I of Savoy]] and [[Christine Marie of France]]. The couple had seven children. Still a minor he succeeded his father in 1651, his mother and his uncle [[Albert VI of Bavaria]] served as [[regent]]s of Bavaria for three years. Ferdinand Maria was crowned on 31 October 1654. He was an [[Political absolutism|absolute monarch]]. He allied with France. Ferdinand Maria supported the wars of the [[Habsburg]]s against the [[Ottoman Empire]] with Bavarian forces (1662-1664). During the [[Franco-Dutch War]] since 1672 Bavaria became [[neutral]]. The marriage of his eldest daughter [[Duchess Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria|Maria Anna]] and her cousin ''[[Louis, Grand Dauphin]]'' in 1680 cemented the alliance with France. Ferdinand Maria modernised the army and introduced the first Bavarian local government code. He made Bavaria a rich nation. He died in [[Schleissheim Palace]] and was succeeded by his son [[Maximilian II Emanuel, elector of Bavaria|Maximilian II Emanuel]]. He is buried at the [[Theatiner Church]]. ==Issue== * [[Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria]] (28 November 1660 – 20 April 1690) married [[Louis, Grand Dauphin]] and had issue; King [[Juan Carlos I of Spain]] descends from her. * [[Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria]] (11 July 1662 – 26 February 1726), next Elector of Bavaria; married [[Maria Antonia of Austria]] and had issue; married [[Theresa Kuneg