Happy Birthday to the Blue Duke
The baroque splendour of Schloss Schleissheim was intended to express Max's grand imperial vision, for he was one of the last Bavarian rulers to play the game of thrones - apologies to HBO - and aspire to pan-European greatness. An astute military commander, he participated in the successful defence of Vienna against the Ottoman Turks, led his armies to victory against the same empire in his capture of Belgrade, and won the governership of the Spanish Netherlands.
His ultimate ambition was to displace the Habsburgs and win the crown of the Holy Roman Empire for himself and his descendants. In this he failed. His dreams were dashed when he and his French allies suffered a catastrophic defeat at the hands of British forces at Blindheim in the Bavarian district of Dillingen. This is remembered in Britain as the Battle of Blenheim, and made the reputation of one of the most famous generals in British history - the Duke of Marlborough, an ancestor of Winston Churchill. Max had hoped to win an empire, but instead lost Bavaria, and was forced to nurse his regrets in exile at the king of France's court in Versailles while his fellow Bavarians suffered the indignity of partition and Austrian occupation.
He was eventually restored to power in Munich, and spent the remaining years of his life compensating for his military and political failures by building a glittering cultural legacy. A great patron of the arts, we owe many of the masterpieces of Dutch and Flemish painting today on display in Munich galleries to Max - acquired by him in his capacity as ruler of the Spanish Netherlands. He also expressed his Dutch influences by building a network of canals between the palaces at Nymphenburg, Schleissheim and Dachau.
Max Emanuel is buried in the crypt at Theatinerkirche on Odeonsplatz.
Jubiläumswoche, 7th - 15th July. Details of various events can be found in Tourist Information on Marienplatz.