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( Kingdom of Bavaria)
The Kingdom of Bavaria (German Königreich Bayern) was a German state that existed from 1806–1918. Elector Maximilian I Joseph of the House of Wittelsbach became the first King of Bavaria in 1806. The monarchy would remain held by the Wittelsbachs until the kingdom's dissolution in 1918. Most of Bavaria's modern-day borders were established after 1814 with the Treaty of Paris, in which Bavaria ceded Tyrol and Vorarlberg to the Austrian Empire while receiving Aschaffenburg and parts of Hesse-Darmstadt. As a state within the German Empire, the kingdom was second in size only to the Kingdom of Prussia. Since the unification of Germany in 1871, Bavaria has remained part of Germany to the present day. The 1805 Peace of Pressburg recognized Maximilian I's claim to be King of Bavaria. The elector declared himself to be king on 1 January 1806, officially changing the Electorate of Bavaria to being the Kingdom of Bavaria. The new kingdom faced challenges from the outset of its creation, relying on the support of Napoleonic France and having to change its constitution in accordance with France's wishes. The kingdom faced war with Austria in 1808 and from 1810 to 1814, lost territory to Württemberg, Italy, and then Austria. However with the defeat of Napoleon's France in 1814, Bavaria was compensated for some of its losses, and received new territories such as the Grand Duchy of Würzburg, the Archbishopric of Mainz (Aschaffenburg), parts of the Grand Duchy of Hesse, and in 1816, the Rhenish Palatinate from France. On 26 May 1818, the constitution of the Kingdom of Bavaria was proclaimed. The parliament would have two houses, an upper house comprising the aristocracy and noblemen, including the high-class hereditary landowners, government officials and nominees of the crown. The second house, a lower house, would include representatives of small landowners, the towns and the peasants. The rights of Protestants were safeguarded in the constitution with articles supporting the equality of all religions, despite opposition by supporters of the Roman Catholic Church. The initial constitution almost proved disastrous for the monarchy, with controversies such as the army having to swear allegiance to the new constitution. The monarchy appealed to the Kingdom of Prussia and the Austrian Empire for advice, the two refused to take action on Bavaria's behalf, but the debacles lessened and the state stabilized with the accession of Ludwig I to the throne following the death of Maximilian in 1825.
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The Kingdom of Heaven by Steven Sadleir
After years of studying and writing about world religions and spiritual paths a common message appears in each of the world’s major teachings, whether it be an eastern or western religion, spiritual group or master, and that is that one day we humans...
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