While direct connectors and odbc currently don't work, jdbc remains as a last resort.
For all companions in misfuture, as there are many details to miss a successful setup, a short summary: 1) apt-get install oracle-java8-installer 2) Download "mariadb mariadb-connector-j" from https://mariadb.com/kb/en/library/about-mariadb-connector-j/ 3) Run LibreOffice (Base or any other module): open Tools/Options/LibreOffice/Advanced/Class Path; 4) Add "/your/path/to/mariadb-java-client-2.2.1.jar" (from step 2) as "file" to the classpath, 5) Select your installed Java version 6) restart LibreOffice To start a new database file, use: URL: jdbc://mariadb://localhost:3306/your_db_name driver class: org.mariadb.jdbc.Driver To reconnect an existing database file, 1) open it with lobase, 2) select "Edit/Database/Connection type" and enter : Database type: [JDBC] (not mysql(JDBC)! ) Datasource URL: jdbc:mariadb://localhost:3306/your_db_name User name:your_db_username JDBC driver class: org.mariadb.jdbc.Driver [instead of "com.mysql.jdbc.Driver"!]
