Ernest of Bavaria, Archbishop of Cologne

Ernest of Bavaria
Prince-Elector-Archbishop of Cologne
Ernestus (ca. 1600-02)
Reign	April 1583 – 17 February 1612
Predecessor	Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg
Successor	Ferdinand of Bavaria
Born	(1554-12-17)17 December 1554 Munich, Duchy of Bavaria
Died	17 February 1612(1612-02-17) (aged 57) Arnsberg, Archbishopric of Cologne
Burial	Cologne Cathedral
German	Ernst von Bayern, Kurerzbischof von Köln
House	House of Wittelsbach and House of Habsburg
Father	Albert V, Duke of Bavaria
Mother	Anna von Habsburg

Ernest of Bavaria (German: Ernst von Bayern) (17 December 1554 – 17 February 1612) was Prince-elector-archbishop of the Archbishopric of Cologne from 1583 to 1612 as successor of the expelled Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg. He was also bishop of Münster, Hildesheim, Freising and Liège.

Ernest was born in Munich, the son of Albert V, Duke of Bavaria, and Anna of Austria. Duke Albert had destined his third son, Ernest, for the clerical vocation. He was educated and trained by the Jesuits. In 1565 he became a canon at Salzburg, and soon afterward at Cologne, Treves, and Würzburg as well; in the autumn of 1565, at the age of twelve, he likewise was elected bishop of Freising. Albert's wishes no doubt centered upon the neighboring archdiocese of Salzburg; but in 1569, when Elector Salentin VII of Isenburg-Grenzau incurred difficulties with the curia for non-recognition of the Council of Trent and was contemplating resignation, Ernest was proposed by his father, who had the support of the Spanish government at Brussels, as Salentin's successor. At the imperial Diet of Speyer (1570), the negotiations with Salentin were so far advanced that Ernest went to Cologne in November, and served his first residence there as canon till May 1571, such being the preliminary condition in the line of election.