Habsburg
|
Flag of the Habsburg Monarchy; also used as the flag of the Austrian Empire until the Ausgleich of 1867. |
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Coats of arms of an Habsburg Emperor showing the variety of his territories. |
Habsburg (in English speaking countries sometimes spelled
Hapsburg, but never so in official use) was an important
ruling house of
Europe.
Their principal roles were as:
* Kings of
Germany, (several centuries to
1806), mostly also crowned as
*
Holy Roman Emperors, and
*
Rulers of Austria (as
dukes
1282–
1453,
archdukes
1453–
1804, and
emperors
1804–
1918),
* Kings of
Croatia (
1437–
1439,
1445–
1457,
1526–
1918),
* Kings of
Hungary (
1437–
1439,
1445–
1457,
1526–
1918),
* Kings of
Spain (
1516–
1700),
* Kings of
Portugal (
1580–
1640),
* Kings of
Bohemia (
1526–
1618 and
1621–
1918) and
* Grand Princes of
Transylvania (
1690–
1867).
Other crowns held briefly by the House included:
* Emperor of
Mexico (
1864â€"
1867)
* Grand Dukes of
Tuscany (
1790â€"
1859)
* Dukes of
Parma (
1814â€"
1847)
* Dukes of
Modena (
1814â€"
1859)
Numerous other titles were attached to the crowns listed above.
From Counts of Habsburg to Holy Roman Emperors
|
Coats of arms of early counts of Habsbourg |
The name is derived from the Swiss
Habichtsburg (Hawk Castle), the family seat in the
11th,
12th and
13th centuries at
Habsburg in the former duchy of
Swabia in present-day
Switzerland (Switzerland did not then exist in its present form, and the Swiss lands were part of the mainly Germanic
Holy Roman Empire). From Southwest-Germany the family extended its influence and holdings to the south-eastern reaches of the
Holy Roman Empire, roughly today's
Austria (
1278 -
1382). 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 (
1273 -
1291,
1298 -
1308,
1438 -
1740, and
1745 -
1806).
After the marriage of
Maximilian I with
Mary, heiress of
Burgundy (the Low Countries) and the marriage of his son
Philipp the Handsome with
Juana, heiress of
Spain and its newly-founded empire,
Charles V inherited Spain, Southern
Italy,
Austria and the
Low Countries. In
1580 his son
Philip II inherited
Portugal and its colonies, thus ruling over an empire where "the sun does not set".
Under
Maximilian II, the Habsburgs first acquired the land upon which would later be erected the
Schönbrunn Palace: the Habsburgs' summer palace in
Vienna and one of the most enduring symbols of the dynasty.
Division of the House: Austrian and Spanish Habsburgs
 |
A map of the dominion of the Habsburgs following the Battle of MĂĽhlberg (1547) as depicted in The Cambridge Modern History Atlas (1912); Habsburg lands are shaded green. Not shaded are the lands of the Holy Roman Empire over which the Habsburgs presided, nor are the vast Spanish holdings of the New World shown. |
After the
April 21,
1521 assignment of the Austrian lands to
Ferdinand I from his brother Emperor
Charles V (also King Charles I of Spain) (
1516 -
1556), the dynasty split into one
Austrian and one
Spanish branch. The Austrian Habsburgs held (after 1556) the title of
Holy Roman Emperor, as well as the Habsburg Hereditary Lands and the Kingdoms of Bohemia and Hungary, while the Spanish Habsburgs ruled over the Spanish kingdoms, the Netherlands, the Habsburgs' Italian possessions, and, for a time, Portugal.
Hungary, nominally under Habsburg kingship from
1526 but mostly under
Ottoman Turkish occupation for 150 years, was reconquered in
1683 -
1699.
The Spanish Habsburgs died out in
1700 (prompting the
War of the Spanish Succession), as did the Austrian Habsburgs in
1740 (prompting the
War of the Austrian Succession). However, 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. (It is often speculated that extensive intra-family marriages within both lines contributed to their extinctions, but there were few such marriages in the Austrian line. Smallpox killing young heirs was a greater cause.)
House of Habsburg-Lorraine: the Austrian Empire
On
August 6 1806 the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved under the French Emperor
Napoleon I's reorganisation 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, thereof) on
August 11,
1804, three months after Napoleon had declared himself Emperor of France on
May 18,
1804.
Emperor
Francis I of Austria used the official great title: "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,
WĂĽrzburg,
Franconia,
Styria,
Carinthia, and
Carniola; Grand Duke of
KrakĂłw; 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
Tyrol; and Margrave of Upper and Lower
Lusatia and
Istria".
In
1867 effective autonomy was given to Hungary under the terms of the
Ausgleich or "compromise" (
see Austria-Hungary) until the Habsburgs' deposition from both Austria and Hungary in
1918 following defeat in
World War I.
The current head of the Habsburg family is
Otto von Habsburg,
Emperor Karl's eldest son.
Before
Rudolph rose to
German king, the Habsburgs were
Counts in what is today south-western
Germany and
Switzerland.
Ancestors
*
Guntram the Rich (ca.
930 -
985 /
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.
985 -
1035). 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 /
1030 -
1096). Besides Otto II, there was another son,
Albert II, who was
reeve of
Muri from
1111 -
1141 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.
Kings of Germany
*
Rudolph I was king of Germany (then an elective position, as its successive post, the Holy Roman Emperor, would be) from
1273 -
1291.
Dukes of Austria
In the late
Middle Ages, when the Habsburgs expanded their territories in the east, they often ruled as dukes. "Duke of Austria" is a bit misleading, though: Austria at the time covered 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
Tyrol in
1363. Their original scattered possessions in the southern
Alsace, south-western Germany and
Vorarlberg were collectively known as
Vorderösterreich. 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
Vorderösterreich until
1379, after that year, Vorderösterreich was ruled by the Princely Count of
Tyrol. Names in
italics designate dukes that never actually ruled.
*
Rudolph II, son of
Rudolph 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.
*
Albert I (
Albrecht I), son of
Rudolph I and brother of the above, duke from
1282 -
1308; was
Holy Roman Emperor from
1298 -
1308. See also
below.
*
Rudolph III, oldest son of Albert I, designated duke of Austria and Styria
1298 -
1307*
Frederick the Handsome (
Friedrich der Schöne), brother of Rudolph III. Duke of Austria and Styria (with his brother Leopold I) from
1308 -
1330; officially co-regent of emperor
Louis IV since
1325, but never ruled.
*
Leopold I, brother of the above, duke of Austria and Styria from
1308 -
1326.
*
Albert II (
Albrecht II), brother of the above, duke of Vorderösterreich from
1326 -
1358, duke of Austria and Styria
1330 -
1358, duke of Carinthia after
1335.
*
Otto the Jolly (
der Fröhliche), brother of the above, duke of Austria and Styria
1330 -
1339 (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
1358 -
1365, Duke of
Tyrol 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 Austria proper and Leopold ruling over
Styria,
Carinthia,
Carniola, the
Windish March,
Tyrol, and
Vorderösterreich.
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 latters possessions.
*
Albert IV (
Albrecht IV), duke of Austria 1395 -
1404, in conflict with Leopold IV.
*
Albert V (
Albrecht V), duke of Austria
1404 -
1439,
Holy Roman Emperor from
1438 -
1439 as
Albert II. See also
below.
*
Ladislaus Posthumus, son of the above, duke of Austria
1440 -
1457.
Leopoldine line: Dukes of Styria, Carinthia, Tyrol
*
Leopold III, duke of Styria, Carinthia, Tyrol, and Vorderösterreich until 1386, when he was killed in the
Battle of Sempach.
*
William (
Wilhelm), son of the above,
1386 -
1406 duke in Innerösterreich (Carinthia, Styria)
*
Leopold IV, son of Leopold III,
1391 regent of Vorderösterreich,
1395 -
1402 duke of Tyrol, after
1404 also duke of Austria,
1406 -
1411 duke of
InnerösterreichLeopoldine-Inner Austrian sub-line
:*
Ernest the Iron (
der Eiserne),
1406 -
1424 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 1439 -
1446 and of
Ladislaus Posthumus 1440 -
1452. See also
below.:*
Albert VI (
Albrecht VI), brother of the above,
1446 -
1463 regent of
Further Austria, duke of Austria
1458 -
1463Leopoldine-Tyrol sub-line
:*
Frederick IV (
Friedrich), brother of Ernst,
1402 -
1439 duke of Tyrol and Vorderösterreich:*
Sigismund, also spelled
Siegmund or
Sigmund,
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 Vorderösterreich.
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
Lower Austria after the death of
Matthias Corvinus, who resided in
Vienna and styled himself duke of Austria from
1485 -
1490.
German Kings and Holy Roman Emperors previous to the reunion of the Habsburg possessions
*
Rudolph I, emperor 1273 - 1291 (never crowned)
*
Albert I, emperor 1298 - 1308 (never crowned)
*
Albert II, emperor 1438 - 1439 (never crowned)
*
Frederick III, emperor 1440 - 1493
Kings of Hungary previous to the reunion of the Habsburg possessions
*
Albert, king of Hungary 1437 - 1439
*
Ladislaus V Posthumus, king of Hungary 1444 - 1457
*
Maximilian I, emperor 1493 - 1519
*
Charles V, emperor 1519 - 1556
Spanish Habsburgs: Kings of Spain, Kings of Portugal (1580-1640)
See also: Portuguese House of Habsburg*
Philip I of Castile, second son of
Maximilian I, founded the Spanish Habsburgs in 1506 by marrying
Joanna the Mad, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella. Philip promptly died, leaving the thrones of Castile and Aragon to be inherited and united into the nation of Spain by his son:
*
Charles I 1516-1556,
aka Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor; converdivided the House into Austrian and Spanish lines*
Philip II of Spain 1556-1598, also
Philip I of Portugal 1580-1598
*
Philip III, also
Philip II of Portugal 1598-1621
*
Philip IV 1621-1665, also
Philip III of Portugal 1621-1640
*
Charles II 1665-1700
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 1556 - 1564 (
â†'Family Tree)
*
Maximilian II, emperor 1564 - 1576
*
Rudolph II, emperor 1576 - 1612
*
Matthias, emperor 1612 - 1619
*
Ferdinand II, emperor 1619 - 1637
*
Ferdinand III, emperor 1637 - 1657 (
â†'Family Tree)
*
Leopold I, emperor 1658 - 1705
*
Josef I, emperor 1705 - 1711
*
Charles VI, emperor 1711 - 1740
Maria Theresa of Austria, Habsburg heiress and wife of emperor
Francis I Stephen, reigned as Archduchess of Austria and Queen of
Hungary and
Bohemia 1740 - 1780.
House of Habsburg-Lorraine (Lothringen), main line: Holy Roman Emperors, Archdukes of Austria
*
Francis I Stephen, emperor 1745 - 1765 (â†'
Family Tree)
*
Joseph II, emperor 1765 - 1790
*
Leopold II, emperor 1790 - 1792 (â†'
Family Tree)
*
Francis II, emperor 1792 - 1806 (â†'
Family Tree)Queen
Maria Christina of Austria of Spain-great-granddaugther of
Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor above. Wife of
Alfonso XII of Spain and mother of
Alfonso XIII.
The House of Habsburg-Lorraine retained Austria and attached possessions after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire; see below.
House of Habsburg-Lorraine: Grand dukes of Tuscany
*
Francis Stephen 1737-1765
(later Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor)Francis Stephen assigned the grand 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 until
Italian unification.
*
Peter Leopold 1765-1790
(later Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor)*
Ferdinand III 1790-1800, 1814-1824 (â†'
Family Tree)
*
Leopold II 1824-1849, 1849-1859
*
Ferdinand IV 1859
House of Habsburg-Lorraine: Dukes of Modena
The duchy of Modena was assigned to a minor branch of the family by the
Congress of Vienna. It was lost to
Italian unification.
*
Francis IV 1814-1831, 1831-1846 (â†'
Family Tree)
*
Francis V 1846-1848, 1849-1859
House of Habsburg-Lorraine: Duchess of Parma
The duchy of Parma was likewise assigned to a Habsburg, but did not stay in the House long before succumbing to
Italian unification.
*
Maria Luisa 1814-
1847 (â†'
Family Tree)
House of Habsburg-Lorraine: Emperor of Mexico
Maximilian, an adventurous younger son, was invited as part of
Napoleon III's manipulations to take the throne of Mexico. The adventure did not end well. Maximilian was shot in "Cerro de las Campanas" in 1867.
*
Maximilian I 1864-
1867) (â†'
Family Tree)
House of Habsburg-Lorraine, main line: Emperors of Austria
*Franz I, emperor of Austria 1804 - 1835: was
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (â†'
Family Tree)
*
Ferdinand I, emperor of Austria 1835 - 1848
*
Franz Joseph, emperor of Austria 1848 - 1916, sometimes referred to in English as "Francis Joseph"
*
Karl, emperor of Austria 1916 - 1918, sometimes referred to in English as "Charles". He died in exile in 1922.
House of Habsburg-Lorraine, main line: Heads of the House of Habsburg (post-monarchy)
Charles I was expelled from his domains after World War I and the empire was abolished.
*
Charles I (
1918-
1922) (â†'
Family Tree)
*
Otto von Habsburg (
1922-present)
*
Zita of Bourbon-Parma, guardian, (
1922-
1930)
*
Karl Habsburg-Lothringen, successor in due course to Otto
Burials
See
Imperial Crypt in
Vienna.
The kingship of Hungary remained in the Habsburg family for centuries; but as the kingship was not strictly inherited (Hungary was an elective monarchy till 1687) and was sometimes used as a training ground for young Habsburgs, the dates of rule do not always match those of the primary Habsburg possessions. Therefore, the kings of Hungary are listed separately.
Albertine line: Kings of Hungary
*
Albert, king of Hungary 1437 - 1439
*
Ladislaus V Posthumus, king of Hungary 1444 - 1457
Austrian Habsburgs: Kings of Hungary
*
Ferdinand I, king of Hungary 1526 - 1564
*
Maximilian I, king of Hungary 1563 - 1576
*
Rudolf I, king of Hungary 1572 - 1608
*
Matthias, king of Hungary 1608 - 1619
*
Ferdinand II, king of Hungary 1618 - 1637
*
Ferdinand III, king of Hungary 1625 - 1657
*
Ferdinand IV, king of Hungary 1647 - 1654
*
Leopold I, king of Hungary 1655 - 1705
*
Joseph I, king of Hungary 1687 - 1711
*
Charles III, king of Hungary 1711 - 1740
House of Habsburg-Lorraine, main line: Kings of Hungary
*
Maria Theresa, queen of Hungary 1741 - 1780
*
Joseph II, king of Hungary 1780 - 1790
*
Leopold II, king of Hungary 1790 - 1792
*
Francis, king of Hungary 1792 - 1835
*
Ferdinand V, king of Hungary 1835 - 1848
*
Francis Joseph I, king of Hungary 1848 - 1916
*
Charles IV, king of Hungary 1916 - 1918
The kingship of Bohemia was for centuries a position elected by its nobles. As a result, it was not an automatically inherited position. The king of Bohemia tended to be a Habsburg, but was not always. Hence, the kings of Bohemia and their ruling dates are listed separately.
Main line: Kings of Bohemia
*
Rudolph I, king of Bohemia 1306-1307
Albertine line: Kings of Bohemia
*
Albert, king of Bohemia 1437 - 1439
*
Ladislaus Posthumus, king of Bohemia 1444 - 1457
Austrian Habsburgs: Kings of Bohemia
*
Ferdinand I, king of Bohemia 1526 - 1564
*
Maximilian I, king of Bohemia 1563 - 1576
*
Rudolph II, king of Bohemia 1572 - 1611
*
Matthias, king of Bohemia 1611 - 1618
*
Ferdinand II, king of Bohemia 1621 - 1637
*
Ferdinand III, king of Bohemia 1625 - 1657
*
Ferdinand IV, king of Bohemia 1647 - 1654
*
Leopold I, king of Bohemia 1655 - 1705
*
Joseph I, king of Bohemia 1687 - 1711
*
Charles II, king of Bohemia 1711 - 1740
House of Habsburg-Lorraine, main line: Kings of Bohemia
From the accession of Maria Theresa, the kingship of Bohemia became united with the Austrian possessions.
*
Maria Theresa, queen of Bohemia 1743 - 1780
*
Joseph II, king of Bohemia 1780 - 1790
*
Leopold II, king of Bohemia 1790 - 1792
*
Francis, king of Bohemia 1792 - 1835
*
Ferdinand V, king of Bohemia 1835 - 1848
*
Francis Joseph I, king of Bohemia 1848 - 1916
*
Charles III, king of Bohemia 1916 - 1918
From the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries, the greatest non-Habsburg power in Europe was usually
France. As a result, in usually futile attempts to either unite Europe under the Habsburg family or to prevent French enmity, Habsburg daughters were wed to successive kings of France.
Austrian Habsburgs
*
Elisabeth of Austria (1554-1592), wife of King
Charles IX of France*
Leonor of Austria, Infanta of Spain (1498-1558), wife of King
Francis I of France.
Spanish Habsburgs
*
Anne of Austria, infanta of Spain, (
1601 -
1666), wife of King
Louis XIII*
Maria Theresa of Spain (
1638 -
1683), wife of King
Louis XIVHabsburg-Lorraine
*
Marie Antoinette (
1755 -
1793), wife of King
Louis XVI*
List of rulers of Austria*
Habsburg Monarchy*
Austrian Empire*
Austria-Hungary*
Thirty Years' War*
Habsburg Family Tree*
Mandibular prognathism ("Habsburg lip")
*Brewer-Ward, Daniel A.
The House of Habsburg: A Genealogy of the Descendants of Empress Maria Theresia. Clearfield, 1996.
*Evans, Robert J. W.
The Making of the Habsburg Monarchy, 1550-1700: An Interpretation. Clarendon Press, 1979.
*McGuigan, Dorothy Gies.
The Habsburgs. Doubleday, 1966.
*Wandruszka, Adam.
The House of Habsburg: Six Hundred Years of a European Dynasty. Doubleday, 1964 (Greenwood Press, 1975).
*
"Erzherzog Dr. Otto von Habsburg" (Autorisierte Ehrenseite) in german*
Habsburg Biographies*
Habsburg Resource Centre on SurnameWeb* http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~stephan/Rulers/hapsburg3.html
*
Genealogical tree of the house of Habsburg (till Maria Theresia)*
The Hapsburg Monarchy (Wickham Steed, 1913)) eLibrary Austria Project full text (ebook)
