Background
Ferdinand was born in Munich, one of the sons of William V, Duke of Bavaria.
Ferdinand was born in Munich, one of the sons of William V, Duke of Bavaria.
Foreign the article on Ferdinand of Bavaria 1884-1958, Infante of Spain, see Prince Ferdinand of Bavaria. Ferdinand of Bavaria (German: Ferdinand von Bayern) (6 October 1577 – 13 September 1650) was Prince-elector archbishop of the Archbishopric of Cologne (Holy Roman Empire) from 1612 to 1650 as successor of Ernest of Bavaria. He was also prince-bishop of Hildesheim, Liège, Münster, and Paderborn.
He quickly became a canon in: Mainz, Cologne, Würzburg, Trier, Salzburg, and Passau.
When Ernest died in 1612, Ferdinand was elected the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne and the Prince-Bishop of Liège, Hildesheim, Münster, and, from 1618, Paderborn. Ferdinand never received priest or bishop consecration in his lifetime though.
Ferdinand is responsible for numerous executions due to fanatic Witch-hunt in his dioceses. In 1618 the Thirty Years" War broke out.
Ferdinand had initial success in supporting the Catholic leaders and keeping his dioceses safe from war with Spanish aid, although after Sweden entered the war the lands were devastated.
By the end of the war, Swedish, Spanish, French and Imperial armies had all fought in and raided the bishoprics. In the period of the persecution of witches (1435 – 1655) 37 people were executed in Cologne, mostly during the reign of the Archbishop of Cologne Ferdinand of Bavaria. The most famous victim of his witch hunt was Katharina Henot.
Ferdinand died in 1650 in the ducal Westphalian capital Arnsberg and was buried in Cologne Cathedral.
He was succeeded by Maximilian Henry of Bavaria.