Left: Habsburg "ancient" coat of arms of theCounts of Habsburg:Or, a lion rampant gules crowned azure ("Lion of Habsburg"); Right: Habsburg "modern"/Austria, coat of arms of the House of Habsburg, Archdukes of Austria:Gules, a fess argent ("Bindenschild"); originally the arms of theHouse of Babenberg, Dukes of Austria and Styria
TheHouse of Habsburg (/ˈhæpsbɜːrɡ/;German:Haus Habsburg[haʊsˈhaːbsbʊrɡ]ⓘ), also known as theHouse of Austria,[note 6] was one of the most powerfuldynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe during the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period, including the Holy Roman Empire and Spain.[3][4]
The house takes its name fromHabsburg Castle, a fortress built in the 1020s in present-daySwitzerland byRadbot of Klettgau, who named his fortress Habsburg. His grandsonOtto II was the first to take the fortress name as his own, adding "Count of Habsburg" to his title. In 1273, Count Radbot's seventh-generation descendant,Rudolph of Habsburg, was electedKing of the Romans. Taking advantage of the extinction of theBabenbergs and of his victory overOttokar II of Bohemia at theBattle on the Marchfeld in 1278, he appointed his sons asDukes of Austria and moved the family's power base toVienna, where the Habsburg dynasty gained the name of "House of Austria" and ruled until 1918.
The throne of theHoly Roman Empire was continuously occupied by the Habsburgs from 1440 until their extinction in the male line in 1740, and, as theHabsburg-Lorraines from 1765 until itsdissolution in 1806. The house also produced kings ofBohemia,Hungary,Croatia,Slavonia,Dalmatia,Spain,Portugal,Sicily,Lombardy-Venetia andGalicia-Lodomeria, with their respective colonies; rulers of several principalities in theLow Countries and Italy; numerousPrince-Bishoprics in the Holy Roman Empire, and in the 19th century,emperors of Austria and ofAustria-Hungary, as well as oneemperor of Mexico. The family split several times into parallel branches, most consequentially in the mid-16th century between its Spanish and German-Austrian branches following the abdication of EmperorCharles V in 1556. Although they ruled distinct territories, the different branches nevertheless maintained close relations and frequently intermarried.
The origins ofHabsburg Castle's name are uncertain. There is disagreement on whether the name is derived from theHigh GermanHabichtsburg (hawk castle), or from the Middle High German wordhab/hap meaningford, as there is a river with a ford nearby. The first documented use of the name by the dynasty itself has been traced to the year 1108.[5][6][7]
The Habsburg name was not continuously used by the family members, since they often emphasized their more prestigious princely titles. The dynasty was thus long known as the "House of Austria". Complementary, in some circumstances the family members were identified by their place of birth.Charles V was known in his youth after his birthplace as Charles ofGhent. When he became king of Spain he was known as Charles of Spain, and after he was elected emperor, as Charles V (in French,Charles Quint).
In Spain, the dynasty was known as theCasa de Austria, includingillegitimate sons such asJohn of Austria andJohn Joseph of Austria. The arms displayed in their simplest form were those of Austria, which the Habsburgs had made their own, at times impaled with the arms of theDuchy of Burgundy (ancient).
AfterMaria Theresa married DukeFrancis Stephen of Lorraine, the idea of "Habsburg" as associated with ancestral Austrian rulership was used to show that the old dynasty continued as did all its inherited rights. Some younger sons who had no prospects of the throne were given the personal title of "count of Habsburg".
The surname of more recent members of the family such asOtto von Habsburg andKarl von Habsburg is taken to be "von Habsburg" or more completely "von Habsburg-Lothringen". Princes and members of the house use the tripartite arms adopted in the 18th century by Francis Stephen.
The name of the dynasty is sometimes spelled in English publications asHapsburg.[8][9][10]
In the 12th century, the Habsburgs became increasingly associated with theStaufer emperors, participating in the imperial court and the emperor's military expeditions;Werner II, Count of Habsburg died fighting for EmperorFrederick I Barbarossa in Italy. This association helped them to inherit many domains as the Staufers caused the extinction of many dynasties, some of which the Habsburgs were heirs to. In 1198,Rudolf II, Count of Habsburg fully dedicated the dynasty to the Staufer cause by joining theGhibellines and funded the Staufer emperorFrederick II's war for the throne in 1211. The emperor was made godfather to his newly born grandson, the future KingRudolf.[12][13]
The Habsburgs expanded their influence through arranged marriages and by gaining political privileges, especially countship rights inZürichgau,Aargau andThurgau. In the 13th century, the house aimed its marriage policy at families inUpper Alsace andSwabia. They were also able to gain high positions in the church hierarchy for their members. Territorially, they often profited from the extinction of other noble families such as theHouse of Kyburg.[14][15]
Following Rudolph's death in 1291,Albert I's assassination in 1308, andFrederick the Fair's failure to secure the German/Imperial crown for himself, the Habsburgs temporarily lost their supremacy in the Empire. In the early 14th century, they also focused on theKingdom of Bohemia. AfterVáclav III's death on 4 August 1306, there were no male heirs remaining in thePřemyslid dynasty. Habsburg scionRudolph I was then elected but only lasted a year. The Bohemian kingship was an elected position,[18] and the Habsburgs were only able to secure it on a hereditary basis much later in 1626, following their reconquest of the Czech lands during theThirty Years' War. After 1307, subsequent Habsburg attempts to gain the Bohemian crown were frustrated first byHenry of Bohemia (a member of the House of Gorizia) and then by theHouse of Luxembourg.
Instead, they were able to expand southwards: in 1311, they took overSavinja; after the death of Henry in 1335, they assumed power inCarniola andCarinthia; and in 1369, they succeeded his daughterMargaret inTyrol. After the death ofAlbert III of Gorizia in 1374, they gained a foothold atPazin in centralIstria, followed byTrieste in 1382. Meanwhile, the original home territories of the Habsburgs in what is now Switzerland, including theAargau with Habsburg Castle, were lost in the 14th century to the expandingSwiss Confederacy after the battles ofMorgarten (1315) andSempach (1386). Habsburg Castle itself was finally lost to the Swiss in 1415.
Albertinian / Leopoldian split and Imperial elections
Rudolf IV's brothersAlbert III andLeopold III ignored his efforts to preserve the integrity of the family domains and enacted the separation of the so-calledAlbertinian andLeopoldian family lines on 25 September 1379 by theTreaty of Neuberg. The former would maintain Austria proper (then calledNiederösterreich but comprising modernLower Austria and most ofUpper Austria), while the latter would rule over lands then labeledOberösterreich, namelyInner Austria (Innerösterreich) comprising Styria, Carinthia and Carniola, andFurther Austria (Vorderösterreich) consisting of Tyrol and the western Habsburg lands inAlsace andSwabia.[14]
By marryingElisabeth of Luxembourg, the daughter of EmperorSigismund, in 1437 DukeAlbert V of the Albertine line (1397–1439) became the ruler of Bohemia and Hungary, again expanding the family's political horizons. The next year Albert was crownedKing of the Romans, known as such asAlbert II. Following his early death in a battle against the Ottomans in 1439 and that of his sonLadislaus Postumus in 1457, the Habsburgs lost Bohemia once more as well as Hungary for several decades. However, with the extinction of theHouse of Celje in 1456 and theHouse of Wallsee-Enns in 1466/1483, they managed to absorb significant secular enclaves into their territories and create a contiguous domain stretching from the border with Bohemia to the Adriatic Sea.
After the death of Leopold's eldest son,William, in 1406 the Leopoldian line was further split among his brothers into the Inner Austrian territory underErnest the Iron and a Tyrolean/Further Austrian line underFrederick of the Empty Pockets. In 1440 Ernest's sonFrederick III was chosen by theelectoral college to succeed Albert II as the king. Several Habsburg kings had attempted to gain the imperial dignity over the years, but success finally arrived on 19 March 1452, whenPope Nicholas V crowned Frederick III as the Holy Roman Emperor in a grand ceremony held in Rome. In Frederick III the Pope found an important political ally with whose help he was able to counter theconciliar movement.[14]
While in Rome Frederick III marriedEleanor of Portugal, enabling him to build a network of connections with dynasties in the west and southeast of Europe. Frederick was rather distant to his family; Eleanor, by contrast, had a great influence on the raising and education of Frederick's children and therefore played an important role in the family's rise to prominence. After Frederick III's coronation the Habsburgs were able to hold the imperial throne almost continuously until 1806.[14]
Archdukes
Through the forged document calledprivilegium maius (1358/59),Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria (1339–1365) introduced the title ofArchduke to place the Habsburgs on a par with thePrince-electors of the Empire, since EmperorCharles IV had omitted to give them the electoral dignity in hisGolden Bull of 1356. Charles, however, refused to recognize the title, as did his immediate successors.
DukeErnest the Iron and his descendants unilaterally assumed the title "archduke". That title was only officially recognized in 1453 by EmperorFrederick III, the ruler of Austria himself.[19] Frederick himself used just "Duke of Austria", neverArchduke, until his death in 1493. The title was first granted to Frederick's younger brother,Albert VI of Austria (died 1463), who used it at least from 1458. In 1477, Frederick granted the titlearchduke to his first cousinSigismund of Austria, ruler ofFurther Austria. Frederick's son and heir, the futureMaximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, apparently only started to use the title after the death of his wifeMary of Burgundy in 1482, asArchduke never appears in documents issued jointly by Maximilian and Mary as rulers in theLow Countries (where Maximilian is still titled "Duke of Austria"). The title appears first in documents issued under the joint rule of Maximilian andPhilip (his under-age son) in the Low Countries.
Archduke was initially borne by those dynasts who ruled aHabsburg territory, i.e., only by males and their consorts,appanages being commonly distributed toCadets. These "junior"archdukes did not thereby become independent hereditary rulers, since all territories remained vested in the Austrian crown. Occasionally a territory might be combined with a separate gubernatorial mandate ruled by an archducal cadet. From the 16th century onward,archduke and its female form,archduchess, came to be used by all the members of the House of Habsburg (e.g., QueenMarie Antoinette of France was bornArchduchess Maria Antonia of Austria).
In 1457 DukeFrederick V of Inner Austria also gained the Austrian archduchy after his Albertine cousinLadislaus the Posthumous had died without issue. 1490 saw the reunification of all Habsburg lines when ArchdukeSigismund of Further Austria and Tyrol resigned in favor of Frederick's sonMaximilian I.
As emperor, Frederick III took a leading role in the family and positioned himself as the judge over the family's internal conflicts, often making use of theprivilegium maius. He was able to restore the unity of the house's Austrian lands, since the Albertinian line was now extinct. Territorial integrity was also strengthened by the extinction of the Tyrolean branch of the Leopoldian line. Frederick's aim was to make Austria a united country stretching from theRhine to theMur andLeitha.[14]
Externally, one of Frederick's main achievements was theSiege of Neuss (1474–75), in which he coercedCharles the Bold of Burgundy to give his daughterMary of Burgundy as wife to Frederick's sonMaximilian.[14] The wedding took place on the evening of 16 August 1477, and ultimately resulted in the Habsburgs acquiring control of theBurgundian Netherlands. After Mary's early death in 1482, Maximilian attempted to secure the Burgundian inheritance for one of his and Mary's childrenPhilip the Handsome.Charles VIII of France contested this, using both military and dynastic means, but the Burgundian succession was finally ruled in favor of Philip in theTreaty of Senlis in 1493.[20]
After the death of his father in 1493, Maximilian was proclaimed the newKing of Germany, asMaximilian I. Maximilian was initially unable to travel to Rome to receive the Imperial title from the Pope, owing to opposition fromVenice and from the French who were occupyingMilan, as well a refusal from the Pope owing to enemy forces being present on his territory. In 1508, Maximilian proclaimed himself to be the 'chosen Emperor', and this was also recognized by the Pope owing to changes in political alliances. This had the consequence of the Roman king automatically becoming emperor without needing the Pope's consent. Emperor Charles V would be thelast to be crowned by the Pope himself, atBologna in 1530.[20]
Maximilian's rule (1493–1519) was a time of dramatic expansion for the Habsburgs. In 1497, Maximilian's sonPhilip, known as the Handsome or the Fair, marriedJoanna of Castile, also known as Joanna the Mad, heiress ofCastile andAragon. Phillip and Joan had six children, the eldest of whom became EmperorCharles V in 1516 and ruled the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon (including their colonies in theNew World), Southern Italy, Austria and theHabsburg Netherlands with his mother and nominal coruler, Joanna, who was kept under confinement.[21]
The foundations for the later empire ofAustria-Hungary were laid in 1515 by a double wedding betweenLouis, only son ofVladislaus II, King of Bohemia and Hungary, and Maximilian's granddaughterMary and between her brother ArchdukeFerdinand and Louis's sisterAnna. The wedding was celebrated in grand style on 22 July 1515. All these children were still minors, so the wedding was formally completed in 1521. Vladislaus died on 13 March 1516, and Maximilian on 12 January 1519, but the latter's designs were ultimately successful: on Louis's death in battle in 1526 Ferdinand became king of Bohemia and Hungary.
The Habsburg dynasty achieved its highest position whenCharles V waselectedHoly Roman Emperor in 1519. Much of Charles's reign was dedicated to the fight againstProtestantism, which led to its eradication throughout vast areas under Habsburg control.
Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs
TheIberian Union in 1598, underPhilip II, King of Spain and PortugalThe Spanish and Austrian Habsburg European lands, ca 1700
Charles formally became the sole monarch of Spain upon the death of his imprisoned mother Queen Joan in 1555.
After the abdication of Charles V in 1556, the Habsburg dynasty split into the branch of the Austrian (or German) Habsburgs, led by Ferdinand, and the branch of the Spanish Habsburgs, initially led by Charles's sonPhilip.[22]Ferdinand I, King of Bohemia, Hungary,[23] and archduke of Austria in the name of his brother Charles V becamesuo jure monarch as well as the HabsburgHoly Roman Emperor (designated as successor alreadyin 1531). Philip became King of Spain and its colonial empire asPhilip II, and ruler of the Habsburg domains in Italy and the Low Countries. The Spanish Habsburgs alsoruled Portugal for a time, known there as thePhilippine dynasty (1580–1640).
TheSeventeen Provinces and theDuchy of Milan were in personal union under theKing of Spain but remained part of theHoly Roman Empire. Furthermore, the Spanish king had claims on Hungary and Bohemia. In the secretOñate treaty of 29 July 1617, the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs settled their mutual claims.
Habsburg inbreeding and extinction of the male lines
The Habsburgs sought to consolidate their power by frequentconsanguineous marriages, resulting in a cumulatively deleterious effect on theirgene pool. Health impairments due to inbreeding included epilepsy, insanity and early death. A study of 3,000 family members over 16 generations by theUniversity of Santiago de Compostela suggests inbreeding may have played a role in their extinction.[24] Numerous members of the family showed specific facial deformities: an enlarged lower jaw with an extended chin known asmandibular prognathism or 'Habsburg jaw', a large nose with hump and hanging tip ('Habsburg nose') and an everted lower lip ('Habsburg lip'). The last two are signs ofmaxillary deficiency. A 2019 study found that the degree of mandibular prognathism in the Habsburg family shows a statistically significant correlation with the degree of inbreeding. A correlation between maxillary deficiency and degree of inbreeding was also present but was not statistically significant.[25][26] Other scientific studies, however, dispute the ideas of any linkage between fertility andconsanguinity.[27]
The gene pool eventually became so small that the last of the Spanish line,Charles II, who was severely disabled from birth (perhaps bygenetic disorders), possessed agenome comparable to that of a child born to a brother and sister, as did his father, probably because of 'remoteinbreeding'.[28][24]
TheAustro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 created areal union, whereby theKingdom of Hungary was granted co-equality with theEmpire of Austria, that henceforth didn't include the Kingdom of Hungary as acrownland anymore. The Austrian and the Hungarian lands became independent entities enjoying equal status.[31] Under this arrangement, the Hungarians referred to their ruler as king and never emperor (seek. u. k.). This prevailed until the Habsburgs' deposition from both Austria and Hungary in 1918 following defeat in World War I.
An ethno-linguistic map of Austria–Hungary, 1910
On 11 November 1918, with his empire collapsing around him, the last Habsburg ruler,Charles I of Austria (who also reigned as Charles IV of Hungary) issued a proclamation recognizing Austria's right to determine the future of the state and renouncing any role in state affairs. Two days later, he issued a separate proclamation for Hungary. Even though he did not officiallyabdicate, this is considered the end of the Habsburg dynasty.
In 1919, the newrepublican Austrian government subsequently passed a law banishing the Habsburgs from Austrian territory until they renounced all intentions of regaining the throne and accepted the status of private citizens. Charles made several attempts to regain the throne ofHungary, and in 1921 the Hungarian government passed a law that revoked Charles' rights and dethroned the Habsburgs, although Hungary remained a kingdom, albeit without a king, until 1946. The Habsburgs did not formally abandon all hope of returning to power untilOtto von Habsburg, the eldest son of Charles I, on 31 May 1961 renounced all claims to the throne.
In the interwar period, the House of Habsburg was a vehement opponent ofNazism andCommunism. In Germany,Adolf Hitler diametrically opposed the centuries-old Habsburg principles of largely allowing local communities under their rule to maintain traditional ethnic, religious and language practices, and he bristled with hatred against the Habsburg family.[32] During the Second World War there was a strong Habsburg resistance movement in Central Europe, which was radically persecuted by theNazis and theGestapo. The unofficial leader of these groups was Otto von Habsburg, who campaigned against the Nazis and for a free Central Europe inFrance and theUnited States. Most of the resistance fighters, such asHeinrich Maier, who successfully passed on production sites and plans forV-2 rockets,Tiger tanks and aircraft to theAllies, were executed. The Habsburg family played a leading role in the fall of theIron Curtain and the collapse of the CommunistEastern Bloc.[33][34][35][36][37]
As they accumulated crowns and titles, the Habsburgs developed a family tradition ofmultilingualism that evolved over the centuries. TheHoly Roman Empire had been multilingual from the start, even though most of its emperors were native German speakers.[38] The language issue within the Empire became gradually more salient as the non-religious use ofLatin declined and that ofnational languages gained prominence during theHigh Middle Ages.
EmperorCharles IV of Luxembourg was known to be fluent in Czech, French, German, Italian and Latin.[39] The last section of hisGolden Bull of 1356 specifies that the Empire's secularprince-electors "should be instructed in the varieties of the different dialects and languages" and that "since they are expected in all likelihood to have naturally acquired the German language, and to have been taught it from their infancy, [they] shall be instructed in the grammar of the Italian and Slavic tongues, beginning with the seventh year of their age so that, before the fourteenth year of their age, they may be learned in the same".[40] In the early 15th century,Strasbourg-based chroniclerJakob Twinger von Königshofen asserted thatCharlemagne had mastered six languages, even though he had a preference for German.[38]: 306
In the early years of the family's ascendancy, neitherRudolf I norAlbert I appears to have spoken French.[38]: 278 By contrast,Charles V of Habsburg is well known as having been fluent in several languages. He was a native speaker ofFrench and also knewDutch from his youth inFlanders. He later added someCastilian Spanish, which he was required to learn by theCastilianCortes Generales. He could also speak someBasque, acquired by the influence of theBasque secretaries serving in the royal court.[41] He gained a decent command ofGerman following the Imperial election of 1519.[42] A witticism sometimes attributed to Charles was: "I speak Spanish/Latin [depending on the source] to God, Italian to women, French to men and German to my horse."[43]
Latin was the administrative language of the Empire until the aggressivepromotion of German byJoseph II in the late 18th century, which was partly reversed by his successors. From the 16th century most if not all Habsburgs spoke French as well as German and many also spoke Italian.[citation needed]Ferdinand I,Maximilian II andRudolf II addressed theBohemian Diet in Czech, even though it is not clear that they were fluent. By contrast there is little evidence that later Habsburgs in the 17th and 18th centuries spoke Czech, with the probable exception ofFerdinand III, who had several stays in Bohemia and appears to have spoken Czech while there. In the 19th centuryFrancis I had some Czech andFerdinand I spoke it decently.[44]
Franz Joseph received a bilingual early education in French and German, then added Czech and Hungarian and later Italian and Polish. He also studied Latin and Greek.[45] After the end of the Habsburg MonarchyOtto von Habsburg was fluent in English, French, German, Hungarian, Croatian, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.[46]
Burials
TheImperial Crypt (German:Kaisergruft), also called theCapuchin Crypt (Kapuzinergruft), is located beneath the unassuming church and monastery of the Order of the Capuchin Friars, provides an immersive exploration of 400 years of Austrian and European history.[47] It covers pivotal events such as theThirty Years' War and the rise of revolutionary ideals, offering insight into the concept of a united Europe.[48] Designed by prominent artists of their time, thecrypt's chambers display symbols of authority, reflecting the ambitions of the Habsburg dynasty. Amidst this historical backdrop, artifacts within the crypt subtly acknowledge mortality and faith, underscoring a personal trust in the divine and a humble reverence for the Creator.[49] Today, the crypt serves as the final resting place for 150 Habsburg figures.[50]
TheDucal Crypt (German: Herzogsgruft), founded byDuke Rudolf IV before 1363 inSt. Stephen's Cathedral, served as the principalburial site for the Habsburg family until 1576.[51] Notable members interred here includeRudolf IV,Albert III,Albert IV,Leopold IV. Frederick III was initially laid to rest here before being moved to the High Tomb in the cathedral's southern choir. From 1564 to 1878, the crypt housed the intestines of deceased Habsburgs in urns.Maria Theresa expanded and renovated the crypt in 1754/1755, relocating the ancestors' remains into new coffins.[52]
ThePalatinal Crypt, alternatively referred to as the Nádori kripta in Hungarian, situated within Buda Castle in Budapest,[53] serves as the burial site for the Hungarian branch of the Habsburg dynasty.[54] Established byArchduke Joseph, who held the title ofPalatine of Hungary, thecrypt accommodates the remains of 26 individuals. Significantly, it stands as one of the few interior sections ofBuda Castle that withstood the destruction ofWorld War II and remained preserved during subsequent reconstruction endeavors.[55]
Guntram the Rich (ca. 930–985 / 990) Father of:[58] The chronology of theMuri Abbey, burial place of the early Habsburgs, written in the 11th century, states thatGuntramnus Dives (Guntram the Rich), was the ancestor of the House of Habsburg. Many historians believe this indeed makes Guntram the progenitor of the House of Habsburg. However, this account was 200 years after the fact, and much about him and the origins of the Habsburgs is uncertain.[59] If true, as Guntram was a member of theEtichonider family, it would link the Habsburg lineage to this family.
Lanzelin ofAltenburg (died 991). Besides Radbot, below, he had sons named Rudolph I,Wernher, and Landolf.
Before the Albertine/Leopoldine division
Counts
Arms of the Counts of Habsburgs. The Habsburgs all but abandoned this for the arms of Austria. It only reappeared in their triarch family arms in 1805.
Radbot ofKlettgau, built theHabsburg Castle (c. 985 – 1035). Besides Werner I, he had two other sons: Otto I, who would become Count ofSundgau in theAlsace, and Albrecht I. Founded theMuri Abbey, which became the first burial place of members of the House of Habsburg. It is possible that Radbot founded the castleHabichtsburg, the residence of the House of Habsburg, but another possible founder isWerner I.[60]
Werner I, Count of Habsburg (1025/1030–1096). Besides Otto II, there was another son, Albert II, who wasreeve ofMuri from 1111 to 1141 after the death of Otto II.
Otto II of Habsburg; first to name himself as "of Habsburg"[61] (died 1111) Father of:
Werner II of Habsburg (around 1135; died 1167) Father of:
Albrecht III of Habsburg (the Rich), died 1199. Under him, the Habsburg territories expanded to cover most of what is today theGerman-speaking part ofSwitzerland. Father of:
Rudolph II of Habsburg (b. c. 1160, died 1232) Father of:
Albrecht IV of Habsburg, (died 1239 / 1240); father of Rudolph IV of Habsburg, who would later become kingRudolph I of Germany. BetweenAlbrecht IV and his brother Rudolph III, the Habsburg properties were split, with Albrecht keeping theAargau and the western parts, the eastern parts going to Rudolph III. Albrecht IV was also a mutual ancestor ofSophia Chotek and of her husbandArchduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
Rudolph II, son ofRudolph I, duke of Austria and Styria together with his brother 1282–1283, was dispossessed by his brother, who eventually would be murdered by one of Rudolph's sons.
Rudolph III, the oldest son of Albert I, designated duke of Austria and Styria 1298–1307
Frederickthe Handsome (Friedrich der Schöne), brother of Rudolph III. Duke of Austria and Styria (with his brother Leopold I) from 1308 to 1330; officially co-regent of the emperorLouis IV since 1325, but never ruled.
Leopold I, brother of the above, duke of Austria and Styria from 1308 to 1326.
Albert II (Albrecht II), brother of the above, duke of Further Austria from 1326 to 1358, duke of Austria and Styria 1330–1358, duke of Carinthia after 1335.
Ottothe Jolly (der Fröhliche), brother of the above, duke of Austria and Styria 1330–1339 (together with his brother), duke of Carinthia after 1335.
Rudolph IVthe Founder (der Stifter), oldest son of Albert II. Duke of Austria and Styria 1358–1365, Duke ofTirol after 1363.
Dukes of Styria, Carinthia, Tyrol / Inner Austria (Leopoldian line)
Leopold III, duke of Styria, Carinthia, Tyrol, and Further Austria until 1386, when he was killed in theBattle of Sempach.
William (Wilhelm), son of the above, 1386–1406 duke inInner Austria (Carinthia, Styria)
Leopold IV, son of Leopold III, 1391 regent of Further Austria, 1395–1402 duke of Tyrol, after 1404 also duke of Austria, 1406–1411 duke of Inner Austria
Leopoldian-Inner Austrian sub-line
Ernestthe Iron (der Eiserne), 1406–1424 duke ofInner Austria, until 1411 together and competing with his brother Leopold IV.
Frederick IV (Friedrich), brother of Ernst, 1402–1439 duke of Tyrol and Further Austria
Sigismund, also spelledSiegmund orSigmund, 1439–1446 under the tutelage of the Frederick V above, then duke of Tyrol, and after the death of Albrecht VI in 1463 also duke of Further Austria.
Reunited Habsburgs until extinction of agnatic lines
Sigismund had no children and adoptedMaximilian I, son of Emperor Frederick III. Under Maximilian, the possessions of the Habsburgs would be united again under one ruler, after he had re-conquered theDuchy of Austria after the death ofMatthias Corvinus, who resided inVienna and styled himself duke of Austria from 1485 to 1490.
Titular Dukes of Burgundy, Lords of theNetherlands
Charles the Bold controlled the widespread lands of theBurgundian State. Frederick III managed to secure the marriage of Charles's only daughter,Mary of Burgundy, to his son Maximilian. The wedding took place on the evening of 16 August 1477, after the death of Charles.[63] Mary and the Habsburgs lost theDuchy of Burgundy to France, but managed to defend and hold onto the rest what became the 17 provinces of theHabsburg Netherlands. After Mary's death in 1482, Maximilian acted as regent for his son Philip the Handsome.
The Netherlands was frequently governed directly by aregent or governor-general, who was a collateral member of the Habsburgs. By thePragmatic Sanction of 1549 Charles V combined the Netherlands into one administrative unit, to be inherited by his son Philip II. Charles effectively united the Netherlands as one entity. The Habsburgs controlled the 17 Provinces of the Netherlands until theDutch Revolt in the second half of the 16th century, when they lost the seven northern Protestant provinces. They held onto the southern Catholic part (roughly modernBelgium andLuxembourg) as theSpanish andAustrian Netherlands until they were conquered by theFrench Revolutionary Army in 1795. The one exception to this was the period of (1601–1621), when shortly beforePhilip II died on 13 September 1598, he renounced his rights to the Netherlands in favor of his daughterIsabella and her fiancé, ArchdukeAlbert of Austria, a younger son of EmperorMaximilian II. The territories reverted to Spain on the death of Albert in 1621, as the couple had no surviving offspring, and Isabella acted as regent-governor until her death in 1633:
Grand dukes of Tuscany (House of Habsburg-Lorraine)
Francis Stephen 1737–1765(later Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor)
Francis Stephen assigned theGrand Duchy of Tuscany to his second son Peter Leopold, who in turn assigned it to his second son upon his accession as Holy Roman Emperor. Tuscany remained the domain of this cadet branch of the family untilItalian unification.
Peter Leopold I 1765–1790(later Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor)
^Title given to Philip II by his father, Charles V, prior to his marriage with Mary of England. This was to ensure that Philip would not be outranked by his wife.
^Mandell Creighton; Justin Winsor; Samuel Rawson Gardiner; Reginald Lane Poole; Sir John Goronwy Edwards (1887).The English Historical Review, Volume 2. Oxford University Press. p. 670.
^Martyn Rady (2020). "1, Castle Habsburg and the 'fortinbras Effect'".The Habsburgs: The Rise and Fall of a World Power. Penguin UK.ISBN978-0141987194.
^France Dolinar & al,Slovenski zgodovinski atlas (Ljubljana: Nova revija, 2011), p. 72.
^Hugh Agnew.The Czechs and the Lands of the Bohemian Crown. Studies of Nationalities. Stanford: Hoover Institution Press, 2004. p. 29.
^Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Furstliche Hauser Band XIV. Limburg ad der Lahn, Germany: C. A. Starke Verlag. 1991. pp. 91–93.ISBN978-3-7980-0700-0.
^TheKingdom of Hungary was partly under Habsburg rule from 1526. For 150 years most of the country was occupied by theOttoman Turks but these territories were re-conquered in 1683–1699.
^Microsoft Encarta: The height of the dual monarchy.
^Igor Lukes, "Central Europe Has Joined NATO: The Continuing Search for a More Perfect Habsburg Empire."SAIS Review (1999): 47–59.
^Timothy Snyder "The Red Prince: The Secret Lives of a Habsburg Archduke" (2008); James Longo "Hitler and the Habsburgs: The Fuhrer's Vendetta Against the Austrian Royals" (2018); Bob Carruthers "Hitler's Violent Youth: How Trench Warfare and Street Fighting Moulded Hitler" (2015).
^On Habsburg and the diversity: Pieter M. Judson "The Habsburg Empire. A New History" (Harvard 2016); Christopher Clark "The Sleepwalkers" (New York 2012).
^Wolfgang Mueller "Die sowjetische Besatzung in Österreich 1945–1955 und ihre politische Mission" (German – "The Soviet occupation in Austria 1945–1955 and its political mission"), 2005, p. 24.
^Otmar Lahodynsky: Paneuropäisches Picknick: Die Generalprobe für den Mauerfall (Pan-European picnic: the dress rehearsal for the fall of the Berlin Wall – German), in: Profil 9 August 2014; Thomas Roser: DDR-Massenflucht: Ein Picknick hebt die Welt aus den Angeln (German – Mass exodus of the GDR: A picnic clears the world) in:Die Presse, 16 August 2018.
^Elisabeth Boeckl-Klamper, Thomas Mang, Wolfgang Neugebauer:Gestapo-Leitstelle Wien 1938–1945. Vienna 2018,ISBN978-3-902494-83-2, pp. 299–305.
^abcJean-Marie Moeglin (2011).L'Empire et le Royaume: Entre indifférence et fascination 1214-1500. Villeneuve-d'Ascq: Presses universitaires du Septentrion.
^The Kingdom of Germany formed the central part of the Holy Roman Empire. Its rulers were styledKing of the Romans before their coronation as emperors.
^Geoffrey Parker.The Grand Strategy of Philip II, (2000)
Evans, Robert J. W.The Making of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1550–1700: An Interpretation. Clarendon Press, 1979.
Fichtner, Paula Sutter (1976). "Dynastic Marriage in Sixteenth-Century Habsburg Diplomacy and Statecraft: An Interdisciplinary Approach".The American Historical Review.81 (2):243–265.doi:10.2307/1851170.JSTOR1851170.
Kos, Milko (1985).Srednjeveška kultur, družbena in politična zgodovina Slovencev. Slovenska Matica.
Naumann, Karl Gottfried (1855).Genealogische geschichte der Europäischen staaten als hülfsmittel bei Historischen studien und zum Gebrauch höherer Lehranstalten. F. Mauke.
Palmer, Alan.Napoleón and Marie Louise: The Emperor's Second Wife. St. Martin's Press, 2001.
Rady, Martyn.The Habsburgs: To Rule the World. Basic Books, 2020.
Wandruszka, Adam.The House of Habsburg: Six Hundred Years of a European Dynasty. Doubleday, 1964 (Greenwood Press, 1975).
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