All About Royal Families

On September 23rd. 1625, a boy was born in Baden-Baden ( a spa town in southwestern Germany). The boy received the name Ferdinand Maximilian. Source picture- Wikipedia His parents were William, Margrave of Baden-Baden and  Catherina Ursula of Hohenzollern-Hechingen. On March 15th. 1653 Ferdinand Maximilian of Baden-Baden married at the Église Saint-Sulpice in Paris, Princess Louise Christine of Savoy. This marriage wasn't successful because Princess Louise refused to leave the French Court. Although on April 8th. 1655 she gave birth to a son, who was called Louis William of Baden-Baden. He was named after his godfather, the French King Louis XIV. Ferdinand Maximilian gave order to smuggle his son (then 3 months old) out of France to raise him in Baden-Baden. So, Louis didn't grew up by his  mother but by the second wife of his paternal grandfather. On November 4th. 1669 Ferdinand Maximilian died due to an hunting accident in Heidelberg

In May 1187 a girl was born. She received the name Urraca of Castile. Urraca of Castile - Source picture: Wikipedia Her parents were Alfonso VIII of Castile and Eleanor of England. She also had important maternal grandparents: King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. As always with such a genealogy, an appropriate suitor was important. Urraca was considered as a possible bride for Louis VIII of France, but he married Urraca's sister Blanca, also called Blanche. Finally, in 1206, Urraca married Alfonso, who became later King of Portugal. They had 5 children, 4 of them survived childhood. Urraca died on November 3rd. 1220 in Coimbra (Portugal). She was buried in the Alcobaça Monastery.

My happy Sunday picture was taken near Kitzbühel in Tyrol (Austria). own picture On the picture you can see the amazing landscape around Kitzbühel. The Kitzbühel alps are around 80 km long and 25 to 35 km wide. They are bordered by the Ziller Valley and the Tux Alps in the west and the Saalach river and Zell am See in the east. There also is a Royal Link in Kitzbühel. Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria gave the order for the railway station construction and the construction of the Salzburg-Tyroler-Bahn. So, this was my Happy Sunday picture blogpost. I wish you all a very good day and a nice start of the week.

Today many people are 'celebrating' All Saints' Day, which also is known as All Hallows, Solemnity of All Saints or Feast of All Saints. Kizbühel - Austria - own picture All Saints' Day is a national Holiday inter alia in Belgium, Austria, Spain and many other countries. All Saints' Day is a Christian festival to honour all the Saints. In many traditions All Saints' Day is a part of the Allhallowtide (from 31st. October till 2 November). In the 9th century the celebrations around All Saints' Day gained much  importance especially during the reign of Byzantine Emperor  Leo VI 'the Wise'. When his wife Empress Theophano died, he built a church to honour her, but this was not allowed, so he called the new church: All Saints. On November 1st. and November 2nd. it is the habit in Belgium to visit the graveyard and to clean the grave of deceased relatives in order to honour them. Then many people put some flowers on it too.

On October 31st. 1636 the eldest son of Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria and his second wife, Maria Anna of Austria was born. He received the name: Ferdinand Maria. Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria - Source picture: Wikipedia Through his mother, Ferdinand Maria was a first cousin of: Queen Mariana of Spain; Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. With such a an ancestry it wasn't difficult to find an appropriate wife. On December 8th. 1650 Ferdinand Maria of Bavaria married  Henriette Adelaide of Savoy.  She was the daughter of Victor Amadeus I of Savoy and Princess  Christine of France (daughter of Henry IV and Marie de' Medici). Ferdinand Maria and Henriette - Source picture: Wikipedia Ferdinand Maria and Henriette Adelaide of Savoy had 7 children, 2 of them would have progeny. In 1651 Ferdinand Maria succeeded his father as elector of Bavaria, but he still was a minor. His mother and his uncle Albert VI of Bavaria served as regents