|
|
|
|
Habsburg
|
| |
|
| |
The House of Habsburg (sometimes spelled Hapsburg in English) was an important royal house of Europe and is best known as supplying all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1452 and 1740, as well as rulers of Spain and the Austrian Empire. Originally from Switzerland, the dynasty first reigned in Austria, which they ruled for over six centuries, but a series of dynastic marriages brought Burgundy, Spain, Bohemia, Hungary and other territories into the inheritance.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Habsburg' Start a new discussion about 'Habsburg' Answer questions from other users |
Timeline
|
|
1250 Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, dies, beginning a 23-year-long interregnum known as the '''great interregnum'''. Frederick II is the last Holy Roman Emperor of the Hohenstaufen dynasty; after the interregnum, the empire passes to the Habsburgs.
1273 Rudolph I of Germany is elected King of Germany over rival candidate King Otakar II of Bohemia, ending the Interregnum; Otakar refuses to acknowledge Rudolph as the new king, leading to the outbreak of war in 1276. Rudolph is the first of many Habsburgs to hold the throne.
1278 Kings Rudolph I of Germany and Ladislaus IV of Hungary defeat King Otakar II of Bohemia in the Battle of Marchfield, a match of over 80,000 men and the largest battle of knights in the Middle Ages. The battle ends a power struggle between Rudolph and Otakar over the fate of central Europe, and Rudolph's Habsburg family will continue to rule Austria and other captured territories until the end of World War I in 1918.
1282 Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph I of Germany invests his sons Albert I of Germany and Rudolph II of Austria as co-rulers of the duchies of Austria and Styria, thus founding the Habsburg dynasty in those territories.
1335 Charles I of Hungary allies with Poland against the Habsburgs and Bohemians
1335 Carinthia and Carniola come under Habsburg rule. After the death of Duke Henry, the duchies are bestowed by Louis the Bavarian on the dukes of Austria. From that time onwards, what is today Slovenia was ruled jointly with Austria until 1918.
1379 Treaty of Neuberg, splitting the Austrian Habsburg lands between the Habsburg Dukes Albert III and Leopold III
1379 Treaty of Neuberg, splitting the Austrian Habsburg lands between the Habsburg Dukes Albert III and Leopold III
1382 September, 30: Trieste being donated by his inhabitants to Leopold III von Habsburg.
1386 Battle of Sempach: Swiss safeguard independence from Habsburg rule.
|
Encyclopedia
The House of Habsburg (sometimes spelled Hapsburg in English) was an important royal house of Europe and is best known as supplying all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1452 and 1740, as well as rulers of Spain and the Austrian Empire. Originally from Switzerland, the dynasty first reigned in Austria, which they ruled for over six centuries, but a series of dynastic marriages brought Burgundy, Spain, Bohemia, Hungary and other territories into the inheritance. In the sixteenth century the senior Spanish and junior Austrian branches of the family separated.
As royal houses are by convention determined via the male line, the Spanish branch ended upon the death of Charles II in 1700 and was replaced by the Anjou branch of the House of Bourbon in the person of his great-nephew Philip V. The Austrian branch technically ended in 1780 with the death of Maria Theresa of Austria and was replaced by the Veaudemont branch of the House of Lorraine in the person of her son Joseph II . However, in practice, the new successor house styled itself as Habsburg-Lorraine (Habsburg-Lothringen in German).
Principal roles
Their principal roles were as:
- German Kings (1273-1291, 1298-1308, 1314-1330, 1438-1740, 1745-1806), mostly also as
- Holy Roman Emperors
- Rulers of Austria (as Dukes 12821453, Archdukes)
- Kings of Bohemia (13061307, 14371439, 14531457, 15261918),
- Kings of Hungary (14371439, 14451457, 15261918),
- Kings of Croatia (14371439, 14451457, 15271918),
- Kings of Spain (15161700),
- Kings of Portugal (15801640),
- Kings of Galicia and Lodomeria (17721918), and
- Grand Princes of Transylvania (16901918).
Other crowns held briefly by the House included:
- King-consort of England (15541558)
- Queens consort of Portugal and the Algarve (1518-1521, 1525-1557, 1708-1750)
- Emperor of Mexico (1864-1867)
Numerous other titles were attached to the crowns listed above.
History
From Counts of Habsburg to Holy Roman Emperors
The dynasty is named after their seat of origin, the Habsburg Castle in the Swiss Canton of Aargau. The origins of the name of the castle are uncertain. Most people assume the name to be derived from the High German Habichtsburg (Hawk Castle), but some historians and linguists are convinced that the name comes from the Middle High German word 'hab/ hap' meaning ford, 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.
The Habsburg Castle was the family seat in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries in the former duchy of Swabia, which incorporated present-day Aargau, at the time of the Holy Roman Empire. From southwestern Germany (mainly Alsace, Breisgau, Aargau and Thurgau) the family extended its influence and holdings to the southeastern reaches of the Holy Roman Empire, roughly today's Austria (12781382). Within only two or three generations, the Habsburgs had managed to secure an initially intermittent grasp on the imperial throne that would last for centuries (12731291, 12981308, 14381740, and 17451806).
Maximilian I
On the evening of August 16, 1477, by marrying Mary, Duchess of Burgundy, Archduke Maximilian I acquired control of the Low Countries, effectively establishing the Habsburg Dynasty by extending their territories outside Austria. Maximilian's son, Philip the Handsome (also known as Phillip the Fair) married Joanna of Castile, also known as Joan the Mad, heiress of Castile, Aragon and most of Spain. Phillip and Joan had six children, the eldest of whom became Charles V and inherited the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, Southern Italy, Austria and the Low Countries.
Division of the House: Austrian and Spanish Habsburgs
After the April 21, 1521 assignment of the Austrian lands to Ferdinand I by his brother Emperor Charles V (also King Charles I of Spain) (15161556), the dynasty split into the minor branch of the Austrian Habsburgs and the major branch of the Spanish Habsburgs. The Austrian Habsburgs held the title of Holy Roman Emperor after Charles' death in 1558, as well as the Habsburg Hereditary Lands and the Kingdoms of Bohemia and Hungary, while the Spanish major branch ruled over the Spanish kingdoms, the Netherlands, the Habsburgs' Italian possessions, and, for a time, Portugal. Hungary was partly under Habsburg rule from 1526. For 150 years most of the country was occupied by the Ottoman Turks but these territories were re-conquered in 16831699.
The Spanish Habsburgs died out in 1700 (prompting the War of the Spanish Succession), as did the last male of the Austrian Habsburg line in 1740 (prompting the War of the Austrian Succession), and consequently the entire line itself in 1780. The heiress of the last Austrian Habsburg (Maria Theresa) had married Francis Stephan, Duke of Lorraine, (both of them were great-grandchildren of Habsburg Emperor Ferdinand III, but from different empresses) and their descendants carried on the Habsburg tradition from Vienna under the dynastic name Habsburg-Lorraine, although technically a new ruling house came into existence in the Austrian territories, the House of Lorraine (see Dukes of Lorraine family tree). It is thought that extensive intra-family marriages within both lines contributed to their extinctions.
=House of Habsburg-Lorraine=
On August 6, 1806 the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved under the French Emperor Napoleon I's reorganization of Germany. However, in anticipation of the loss of his title of Holy Roman Emperor, Francis II declared himself hereditary Emperor of Austria (as Francis I) on August 11, 1804, three months after Napoleon had declared himself Emperor of the French on May 18, 1804.
Emperor Francis I of Austria used the official full list of titles: "We, Francis the First, by the grace of God Emperor of Austria; King of Jerusalem, Hungary, Bohemia, Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, Galicia and Lodomeria; Archduke of Austria; Duke of Lorraine, Salzburg, Wόrzburg, Franconia, Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola; Grand Duke of Cracow; Grand Prince of Transylvania; Margrave of Moravia; Duke of Sandomir, Masovia, Lublin, Upper and Lower Silesia, Auschwitz and Zator, Teschen, and Friule; Prince of Berchtesgaden and Mergentheim; Princely Count of Habsburg, Gorizia, and Gradisca and of the Tirol; and Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia and Istria".
Under the terms of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 effective autonomy was given to Hungary (see Austria-Hungary). Under this arrangement, the Hungarians referred to their ruler as king and never emperor. This prevailed until the Habsburgs' deposition from both Austria and Hungary in 1918 following defeat in World War I.
On November 11, 1918, with his empire collapsing around him, the last Habsburg ruler, Charles I (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 officially abdicate, this is considered the end of the Habsburg dynasty. In 1919, the new republican 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 of Hungary, and in 1921 the Hungarian government passed a law which revoked Charles' rights and dethroned the Habsburgs.
The Habsburgs did not formally abandon all hope of returning to power until Otto von Habsburg, Emperor Charles' eldest son, renounced all claims to the throne.
The dynasty's motto is "Let others wage wars, but you, happy Austria, shall marry", which indicates the talent of the Habsburgs to have their members intermarry into other royal houses, to make alliances and inherit territory. Empress Maria Theresa is recognized quite notably for it and is sometimes referred to as the 'Great-Grandmother of Europe'.
Family tree
This family tree only includes male scions of the direct House of Habsburg who survived to adulthood.
Main line
Before Rudolph rose to German king, the Habsburgs were Counts in what is today southwestern Germany and Switzerland.
Ancestors
- Guntram the Rich (ca. 930985 / 990) Father of:
- Lanzelin of Altenburg (d. 991). Besides Radbot, he had sons named Rudolph I, Wernher, and Landolf.
Counts of Habsburg
- Radbot of Klettgau, built the Habsburg castle (ca. 9851035). Besides Werner I, he had two other sons: Otto I, who would become Count of Sundgau in the Alsace, and Albrecht I.
- Werner I, Count of Habsburg (1025 / 10301096). Besides Otto II, there was another son, Albert II, who was reeve of Muri from 11111141 after the death of Otto II.
- Otto II of Habsburg; first to name himself as "of Habsburg" (d. 1111) Father of:
- Werner II of Habsburg (around 1135; d. 1167) Father of:
- Albrecht III of Habsburg (the Rich), d. 1199. Under him, the Habsburg territories expanded to cover most of what is today the German-speaking part of Switzerland. Father of:
- Rudolph II of Habsburg (d. 1232) Father of:
- Albrecht IV of Habsburg, (d. 1239 / 1240); father of Rudolph IV of Habsburg, who would later become king Rudolph I of Germany. Between Albrecht IV and his brother Rudolph III, the Habsburg properties were split, with Albrecht keeping the Aargau and the western parts, the eastern parts going to Rudolph III. Albrecht IV was also an ancestor of Sophia Chotek wife of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
German kings
- Rudolph I was elected king of Germany in 1273 and reigned until 1291.
Dukes of Austria
In the late Middle Ages, when the Habsburgs expanded their territories in the east, they often ruled as dukes of the Duchy of Austria which covered only what is today Lower Austria and the eastern part of Upper Austria. The Habsburg possessions also included Styria, and then expanded west to include Carinthia and Carniola in 1335 and Tirol in 1363. Their original scattered possessions in the southern Alsace, south-western Germany and Vorarlberg were collectively known as Further Austria. The Habsburg dukes gradually lost their homelands south of the Rhine and Lake Constance to the expanding Old Swiss Confederacy. Unless mentioned explicitly, the dukes of Austria also ruled over Further Austria until 1379, after that year, Further Austria was ruled by the Princely Count of Tyrol. Names in italics designate dukes who never actually ruled.
- Rudolph II, son of Rudolph I, duke of Austria and Styria together with his brother 12821283, was dispossessed by his brother, who eventually would be murdered by one of Rudolph's sons.
- Albert I (Albrecht I), son of Rudolph I and brother of the above, duke from 12821308; was Holy Roman Emperor from 12981308. See also below.
- Rudolph III, oldest son of Lenihan I, designated duke of Austria and Styria 12981307
- Frederick the Handsome (Friedrich der Schφne), brother of Rudolph III. Duke of Austria and Styria (with his brother Leopold I) from 13081330; officially co-regent of emperor Louis IV since 1325, but never ruled.
- Leopold I, brother of the above, duke of Austria and Styria from 13081326.
- Albert II (Albrecht II), brother of the above, duke of Vorderφsterreich from 13261358, duke of Austria and Styria 13301358, duke of Carinthia after 1335.
- Otto the Jolly (der Frφhliche), brother of the above, duke of Austria and Styria 13301339 (together with his brother), duke of Carinthia after 1335.
- Rudolph IV the Founder (der Stifter), oldest son of Albert II. Duke of Austria and Styria 13581365, Duke of Tirol after 1363.
After the death of Rudolph IV, his brothers Albert III and Leopold III ruled the Habsburg possessions together from 1365 until 1379, when they split the territories in the Treaty of Neuberg, Albert keeping the Duchy of Austria and Leopold ruling over Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, the Windish March, Tirol, and Further Austria.
Albertine line: Dukes of Austria
- Albert III (Albrecht III), duke of Austria until 1395, from 1386 (after the death of Leopold) until 1395 also ruled over the latter's possessions.
- Albert IV (Albrecht IV), duke of Austria 13951404, in conflict with Leopold IV.
- Albert V (Albrecht V), duke of Austria 14041439, Holy Roman Emperor from 14381439 as Albert II. See also below.
- Ladislaus Posthumus, son of the above, duke of Austria 14401457.
Leopoldine line: Dukes of Styria, Carinthia, Tyrol
- Leopold III, duke of Styria, Carinthia, Tyrol, and Further Austria until 1386, when he was killed in the Battle of Sempach.
- William (Wilhelm), son of the above, 13861406 duke in Inner Austria (Carinthia, Styria)
- Leopold IV, son of Leopold III, 1391 regent of Further Austria, 13951402 duke of Tyrol, after 1404 also duke of Austria, 14061411 duke of Inner Austria
- Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hanover, duke of Brunswick-Lόneburg father of King George I of Great Britain who was the ancestor of the House of Windsor; Ernest Augustus was the ancestor of King Christian VII of Denmark and Norway, and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein ; King George I of Greece and German Emperor Wilhelm II of the House of Hohenzollern. Ernest Augustus sister was the great-grandmother of Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp ancestor of the House of Romanov Czar Nicholas II whose wife Alexandra Feodorovna (Alix of Hesse) was a descendant of King George I of Great Britain.
Leopoldine-Inner Austrian sub-line
- Ernest the Iron (der Eiserne), 14061424 duke of Inner Austria, until 1411 together and competing with his brother Leopold IV.
- Frederick V (Friedrich), son of Ernst, became emperor Frederick III in 1440. He was duke of Inner Austria from 1424 on. Guardian of Sigismund 14391446 and of Ladislaus Posthumus 14401452. See also below.
- Albert VI (Albrecht VI), brother of the above, 14461463 regent of Further Austria, duke of Austria 14581463
- Ernestine line of Saxon princes, ancestor of George I of Great Britain-descended from sister of Frederick III
Leopoldine-Tyrol sub-line
- Frederick IV (Friedrich), brother of Ernst, 14021439 duke of Tyrol and Further Austria
- Sigismund, also spelled Siegmund or Sigmund, 14391446 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.
Reuniting of Habsburg possessions
Sigismund had no children and adopted Maximilian I, son of duke Frederick V (emperor Frederick III). Under Maximilian, the possessions of the Habsburgs would be united again under one ruler, after he had re-conquered the Duchy of Austria after the death of Matthias Corvinus, who resided in Vienna and styled himself duke of Austria from 14851490.
German Kings and Holy Roman Emperors previous to the reunion of the Habsburg possessions
- Rudolph I, emperor 12731291 (never crowned)
- Albert I, emperor 12981308 (never crowned)
- Albert II, emperor 14381439 (never crowned)-ancestor of Empress Catherine II of Russia great-great-great-grandmother of Nicholas II of Russia
- Frederick III, emperor 14401493
Kings of Hungary previous to the reunion of the Habsburg possessions
- Albert, king of Hungary 14371439
- Ladislaus V Posthumus, king of Hungary 14441457
Holy Roman Emperors, Archdukes of Austria
Spanish Habsburgs: Kings of Spain, Kings of Portugal (15801640)
See also: Portuguese House of Habsburg
The War of the Spanish Succession took place after the extinction of the Spanish Habsburg line, to determine the inheritance of Charles II.
Austrian Habsburgs: Holy Roman Emperors, Archdukes of Austria
- Ferdinand I, emperor 15561564 (?Family Tree)
- Maximilian II, emperor 15641576
- Rudolf II, emperor 15761612
- Matthias, emperor 16121619
- Ferdinand II, emperor 16191637
- Ferdinand III, emperor 16371657 (?Family Tree)
- Leopold I, emperor 16581705
- Josef I, emperor 17051711
- Charles VI, emperor 17111740
- Maria Theresa of Austria, Habsburg heiress and wife of emperor Francis I Stephen, reigned as Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia 17401780.
The War of the Austrian Succession took place after the extinction of the male line of the Austrian Habsburg line upon the death of Charles VI. The direct Habsburg line itself became totally extinct with the death of Maria Theresa of Austria, when it was followed by the House of Lorraine, styled of Habsburg-Lorraine.
House of Habsburg-Lorraine, main line: Holy Roman Emperors, Archdukes of Austria
Queen Maria Christina of Austria of Spain, great-granddaughter of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor above. Wife of Alfonso XII of Spain and mother of Alfonso XIII of the House of Bourbon. Alfonso XIII's wife Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg was descended from King George I of Great Britain from the Habsburg Leopold Line .
The House of Habsburg-Lorraine retained Austria and attached possessions after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire; see below.
A son of Leopold II was Archduke Rainer of Austria whose wife was from the House of Savoy; a daughter Adelaide, Queen of Sardina was the wife of King Victor Emmanuel II of Piedmont, Savoy, and Sardinia and King of Italy. Their Children married into the Royal Houses of Bonaparte; House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha ]
- ) eLibrary Austria Project full text (ebook)
-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
|-
Last held by House of Iturbide
|
| |
|
|
