Maximilian's rule was shaped by theconfessionalization process after the 1555Peace of Augsburg. Though a Habsburg and a Catholic, he approached theLutheran Imperialestates with a view to overcome the denominational schism, which ultimately failed. He also was faced with the ongoingOttoman–Habsburg wars and rising conflicts with hisSpanish Habsburg cousins.
According to Fichtner, Maximilian failed to achieve his three major aims: rationalizing the government structure, unifying Christianity, and evicting the Turks from Hungary.[3] Peter Marshall opines that it is wrong to dismiss Maximilian as a failure. According to Marshall, through hisreligious tolerance as well as his encouragement of arts and sciences, he succeeded in maintaining a precarious peace.[4]
On 13 September 1548 Emperor Charles V married Maximilian to Charles's daughter (Maximilian's cousin)Maria of Spain[5] in theCastile residence ofValladolid. Through the marriage, his uncle intended to strengthen the ties with the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs, but also to consolidate his nephew's Catholic faith. Maximilian temporarily acted as theemperor's representative in Spain, but not asstadtholder of theHabsburg Netherlands as he had hoped. To his indignation, King Ferdinand appointed his younger brotherFerdinand II administrator in the Kingdom of Bohemia, but Maximilian's right of succession as the future king was nevertheless recognised in 1549. He returned to Germany in December 1550 in order to take part in the discussion over the Imperial succession.
Archduke Maximilian, portrait byWilliam Scrots, about 1544
Maximilian's relations with his uncle worsened, as Charles V, again embattled by rebellious Protestant princes led by ElectorMaurice of Saxony, wished his sonPhilip II of Spain to succeed him as emperor. However, Charles' brother Ferdinand, who had already beenelected as the next occupant of the imperial throne, and his son Maximilian objected to this proposal. Maximilian sought the support of the Germanprinces such asAlbert V, Duke of Bavaria and even contacted Protestant leaders like Maurice of Saxony andChristoph, Duke of Württemberg. At length a compromise was reached: Philip was to succeed Ferdinand, but during the former's reign Maximilian, asKing of the Romans, was to govern Germany. This arrangement was not carried out, and is only important because the insistence of the emperor seriously disturbed the harmonious relations that had hitherto existed between the two branches of the Habsburg family; an illness that befell Maximilian in 1552 was attributed to poison given to him in the interests of his cousin and brother-in-law, Philip II of Spain.
The relationship between the two cousins was uneasy. While Philip had been raised a Spaniard and barely travelled out of the kingdom during his life, Maximilian identified himself as the quintessential German prince and often displayed a strong dislike of Spaniards, whom he considered as intolerant and arrogant.[6] While his cousin was reserved and shy, Maximilian was outgoing and charismatic. His adherence to humanism and religious tolerance put him at odds with Philip who was more committed to the defence of the Catholic faith.[7] Also, he was considered a promising commander, while Philip disliked war and only once personally commanded an army. Nonetheless, the two remained committed to the unity of their dynasty.
Stallburg
In 1551 Maximilian attended theCouncil of Trent and the next year took up his residence at theHofburg palace in Vienna, celebrated by a triumphal return into the city with a large entourage including the elephantSuleiman. While his father Ferdinand concluded the 1552Treaty of Passau with the Protestant estates and finally reached thePeace of Augsburg in 1555, Maximilian was engaged mainly in the government of theAustrian hereditary lands and in defending them againstOttoman incursions. In Vienna, he had his Hofburg residence extended with theRenaissanceStallburg wing, the site of the laterSpanish Riding School, and also ordered the construction ofNeugebäude Palace inSimmering. In the 1550s, Vienna had more than 50,000 inhabitants, making it the largest city in Central Europe with Prague and before Nuremberg (40,000 inhabitants).
The religious views of the future King of Bohemia had always been somewhat uncertain, and he had probably learned something ofLutheranism in his youth; but his amicable relations with several Protestant princes, which began about the time of the discussion over the succession, were probably due more to political than to religious considerations. However, in Vienna he became very intimate withSebastian Pfauser [de], a court preacher influenced byHeinrich Bullinger with strong leanings towards Lutheranism, and his religious attitude caused some uneasiness to his father. Fears were freely expressed that he would definitely leave the Catholic Church, and when his father Ferdinand became emperor in 1558 he was prepared to assurePope Paul IV that his son should not succeed him if he took this step. Eventually Maximilian remained nominally an adherent of the older faith, although his views were tinged with Lutheranism until the end of his life. After several refusals he consented in 1560 to the banishment of Pfauser, and began again to attend theMasses of the Catholic Church.
In November 1562 Maximilian waschosen King of the Romans, or German king, by theelectoral college[5] atFrankfurt, where he was crowned a few days later, after assuring the Catholic electors of his fidelity to their faith, and promising the Protestant electors that he would publicly accept the confession of Augsburg when he became emperor. He also took the usual oath to protect the Church, and his election was afterwards confirmed by the papacy. He was the first King of the Romans not to be crowned inAachen. In September 1563 he was crowned King of Hungary by theArchbishop of Esztergom,Nicolaus Olahus, and on his father's death, in July 1564, he succeeded to the empire and to the kingdoms of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia.
The new emperor had already shown that he believed in the necessity for a thorough reform of the Church. He was unable, however, to obtain the consent ofPope Pius IV to the marriage of the clergy, and in 1568 the concession of communion in both kinds to the laity was withdrawn. On his part Maximilian granted religious liberty to the Lutheran nobles and knights in Austria, and refused to allow the publication of the decrees of theCouncil of Trent. Amidst general expectations on the part of the Protestants he met his first summonedDiet of Augsburg in March 1566. He refused to accede to the demands of the Lutheran princes; on the other hand, although the increase of sectarianism was discussed, no decisive steps were taken to suppress it, and the only result of the meeting was a grant of assistance for thewar with the Turks, which had just been renewed. Maximilian gathered a large army and marched to fight the Ottomans. The Ottomansbesieged and conquered Szigetvár in 1566, but theirsultan,Suleiman the Magnificent, died of old age during the siege. With neither side winning a decisive engagement, Maximilian's ambassadorsAntun Vrančić andChristoph Teuffenbach met with the OttomanGrand VizierSokollu Mehmed Pasha inAdrianople to negotiate a truce in 1568. The terms of theTreaty of Adrianople required the emperor to recognise Ottoman suzerainty overTransylvania,Wallachia, andMoldavia.
Meanwhile, the relations between Maximilian and Philip of Spain had improved, and the emperor's increasingly cautious and moderate attitude in religious matters was doubtless because the death of Philip's son,Don Carlos, had opened the way for the succession of Maximilian, or of one of his sons, to the Spanish throne. Evidence of this friendly feeling was given in 1570, when the emperor's daughter,Anna, became the fourth wife of Philip; but Maximilian was unable to moderate the harsh proceedings of the Spanish king against the revolting inhabitants of theNetherlands. In 1570 the emperor met theDiet of Speyer and asked for aid to place hiseastern borders in a state of defence, and also for power to repress the disorder caused by troops in the service of foreign powers passing through Germany. He proposed that his consent should be necessary before any soldiers for foreign service were recruited in the empire; but the estates were unwilling to strengthen the imperial authority, the Protestant princes regarded the suggestion as an attempt to prevent them from assisting their co-religionists inFrance and theNetherlands, and nothing was done in this direction, although some assistance was voted for the defense of Austria. The religious demands of the Protestants were still unsatisfied, while the policy of toleration had failed to give peace to Austria. Maximilian's power was very limited; it was inability rather than unwillingness that prevented him from yielding to the entreaties ofPope Pius V to join in an attack on the Turks both before and after thevictory of Lepanto in 1571; and he remained inert while the authority of the empire in north-eastern Europe was threatened.
In 1576, Maximilian waselected by the part of Polish and Lithuanian magnates to be theKing of Poland in opposition toStephan IV Bathory, but he did not manage to become widely accepted there and was forced to leave Poland.
Maximilian died on 12 October 1576 inRegensburg while preparing to invade Poland. On his deathbed he refused to receive the last sacraments of the Church. He is buried inSt. Vitus Cathedral inPrague.
By his wife Maria he had a family of ten sons and six daughters. He was succeeded by his eldest surviving son,Rudolf, who had been chosen king of the Romans in October 1575. Another of his sons,Matthias, also became emperor; three others,Ernest,Albert andMaximilian, took some part in the government of the Habsburg territories or of the Netherlands. His eldest daughter, Anna, married Philip II of Spain. Another daughter,Elizabeth, marriedCharles IX of France.
Maximilian's policies of religious neutrality and peace in the empire afforded itsRoman Catholics andProtestants a breathing space after the first struggles of theReformation. His reign also saw the high point of Protestantism in Austria and Bohemia and unlike his successors, Maximilian did not try to suppress it.
He disappointed the German Protestantprinces by his refusal to investLutheran administrators ofprince-bishoprics with their imperial fiefs. Yet on a personal basis he granted freedom of worship to the Protestant nobility and worked for reform in the Roman Catholic Church, including the right of priests to marry. This failed because ofSpanish opposition.
UnderFerdinand I and Maximilian II, the imperial court itself became the centre ofhumanist scholarship. The court held close ties to theUniversity of Vienna but the university, that reached its summit underMaximilian I, had been severely diminished due to wars and civil disturbances.[8][9]
On 13 September 1548, Maximilian married his first cousinMaria of Spain, daughter of EmperorCharles V andIsabella of Portugal. Despite Maria's commitment toHabsburg Spain and her strongCatholic manners, the marriage was a happy one. The couple had sixteen children in just nineteen years, but only nine of them lived to adulthood:
Anna (1 November 1549 – 26 October 1580), who became queen of Spain
Ferdinand (28 March 1551 – 25 June 1552), who died in early childhood.
Rudolf (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612), who became emperor
Generations are numbered by male-line descent from the first archdukes. Later generations are included although Austrian titles of nobility were abolished in 1919.
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