Birth Place: | Munich, Duchy of Bavaria, Holy Roman Empire |
Death Place: | Graz, Archduchy of Austria, Holy Roman Empire |
House: | Wittelsbach |
Succession: | Archduchess consort of Inner Austria |
Reign: | 23 April 1600 - 8 March 1616 |
Reign-Type: | Tenure |
Father: | William V, Duke of Bavaria |
Mother: | Renata of Lorraine |
Maria Anna of Bavaria (18 December 1574 – 8 March 1616) was a German princess, a member of the House of Wittelsbach by birth and an Archduchess consort of Inner Austria by marriage.
Born in Munich, she was the fourth child and second (but eldest surviving) daughter of William V, Duke of Bavaria and Renata of Lorraine.
On 23 April 1600, Maria Anna married her first cousin[1] Ferdinand, Archduke of Inner Austria at Graz Cathedral. This marriage reaffirmed the alliance between the House of Habsburg and House of Wittelsbach. Without interfering in politics, Maria Anna lived in her husband's shadow. She gave him seven children, five of whom lived to adulthood.
Maria Anna died in Graz aged 41, three years before the coronation of her husband as King of Bohemia and King of Hungary and his elevation to Holy Roman Emperor, so she was never a Holy Roman Empress. She was buried in the Mausoleum near the Cathedral in Graz.