The Crown of Bavaria (1806)

The crown of the King of Bavaria was ordered and designed in 1806-1807 by Maximilien I after Napoleon had raised Bavaria to the status of 'Kingdom'. It was commissioned to the French goldsmith Jean-Baptiste de Lasne, who drew inspiration from the crown of Louis XV of France.

The crown is studded with precious stones, emeralds and sapphires of notable dimensions. Like other royal insignia, the crown was not worn by the sovereign. It was placed on a cushion at his feet during official ceremonies in the throne room of his official residence.

Maximilien's alliance with Emperor Napoleon earned him the royal title and vast territiorial increases at the Treaty of Pressburg (1805). This made him one of the chief members of the Confederation of the Rhine. His daughter was married to Napoleon's stepson, Eugène de Beauharnmais.

In 1813, after Napoleon's retreat from Russia, he joined the coalition against Napoleon a few days before the Battle of Leipzig. At the Congress of Vienna (1814/15) Maximilien lost some of his territorial gains.

Devoted to Bavarian independence, he opposed all moves to unite Germany. With his Minister, Maximilian von Montgelas, he carried out important social reforms and abolished most of the relics of feudalism in Bavaria. In 1818 he granted a liberal constitution and, uklike the neibouring reactionary rulers, he continued to rule as an 'enlighttened' monarch. On his death he was succeeded by his son, Louis I.