Meinhard, Duke of Upper Bavaria and Count of Tyrol, was born on 9 February 1344. A member of the House of Wittelsbach, his short life and early death nevertheless played a significant role in the rise of the House of Habsburg.
Had events unfolded as expected, Meinhard would one day have succeeded his grandfather, Emperor Ludwig IV “the Bavarian”. Unfortunately for him, his father was pushed aside by the House of Luxembourg. Instead, he formed an alliance with Albert II, Duke of Habsburg, and married his fifteen-year-old son Meinhard to Albert’s thirteen-year-old daughter Margaret. After his father’s unexpected death, young Meinhard succeeded him as Duke of Bavaria, but soon found himself in confrontation with part of the Bavarian nobility, backed by his ambitious uncles and cousins. These violent power struggles even led to Meinhard’s imprisonment, from which he managed to escape with Habsburg assistance. Soon afterwards, he died in 1363, just a month before his eighteenth birthday.
Through his mother, Margaret, Countess of Tyrol, Meinhard was the sole surviving son and heir of this strategically crucial county. After the death of her childless son, Margaret bequeathed Tyrol to Rudolf IV Duke of Austria, the brother of her daughter-in-law. Several more years of armed conflict followed before the Habsburgs were able to establish firm control over the region. From then on, Tyrol remained fully united with Austria and an integral part of the Habsburg hereditary lands until the end of the monarchy.
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