Louis I of Wittelsbach, king of Bavaria. - Son of King Maximilian I Joseph; first he fought in the Napoleonic army; contrary to the French hegemony, he then sided in the coalition (1813), entering Paris with his army.
Protector of artists and art enthusiast, he founded the glittoteca of Monaco and spent a long time in Italy. Having become king in 1825, he had several monumental buildings built in Munich. At first liberal and reformer, from 1830 he impressed a reactionary course on domestic politics, and linked himself to ultramontanism.
The relationship with the dancer Lola Montes made him even more unpopular to his subjects. The popular movements of 1848 led him to abdicate. He then lived in Italy.
In 1827 he established the royal order of Louis of the Kingdom of Bavaria.