The House of Councillors () was the upper house of the Landtag of the Kingdom of Bavaria during its existence both as an independent state and as a federal subject of the German Empire. The House of Councillors was established by the 1818 Constitution of the Kingdom, and its composition and powers remained unchanged until its abolition under the 1919 .
History
Modeled after the British House of Lords, the House of Councillors was intended to serve as an intermediary between the Crown and the Chamber of Deputies, and formally served as the lower house's equal.Bavarian Law Gazette 1818, p. 101. Its members comprised the aristocracy and noblemen, including the royal princes, holders of the crown offices, archbishops, members of the mediatized houses in Bavaria and hereditary and lifelong nominees of the crown.
The House of Councillors held its sessions in secret, which is one of the reasons why it received little public attention during the Vormärz in Bavaria. Recent research suggests that the power of the House of Councillors far exceeded that of the Chamber of Deputies.
Abolition From 1919 on under the in the Weimar Republic, the upper house of the Landtag was abolished and its lower house became a unicameral democratic elected assembly.Bayerisches Jahrbuch 1918 (31. Jahrgang) Buchdruckerei und Verlagsanstalt Carl Gerber, München 1917, S. 281/282.
Presidents of the Imperial Council 1819–1837: Prince Karl Philipp von Wrede 1840: Sebastian von Schrenck 1842–1848: Prince Karl zu Leiningen 1848–1881: Franz von Stauffenberg 1881–1890: Georg von und zu Franckenstein 1891–1893: Karl Fugger von Babenhausen 1893–1904: Ludwig von Lerchenfeld-Köfering 1905–1911: Ernst zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg 1911–1918: Carl Fugger von Glött
References
See also Bavarian Senate