List of rulers of Austria
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This is a list of margraves, dukes, archdukes, and emperors of Austria.
These are articles of the List of Austrians series |
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[edit] Origins
Austria became one of the marches (in later times sometimes called the Ostmark) of the Holy Roman Empire after the Battle of Lechfeld in 955, and was given a margrave around 960. In 976 Austria became independent from the duchy of Bavaria as the Margravate of Austria. Until 1246 Austria was ruled by the Babenberg family.
[edit] Margraves of Austria
- Aribo (880-909)
- to Hungary (909-955)
- to Holy Roman Empire (955- c.960)
- Burkhard (c. 960-975)
- Leopold I (976-994)
- Henry I (994-1018)
- Adalbert (1018-1055)
- Ernest (1055-1075)
- Leopold II (1075-1095)
- Leopold III (Saint Leopold) (1095-1136)
- Leopold IV (1136-1141) (Duke of Bavaria, 1139-1141)
[edit] Dukes of Austria (from 1155)
[edit] Babenberg Dukes
- Henry II Jasomirgott (1141-1177) (Duke of Bavaria, 1143-1156)
- Leopold V (1177-1194)
- Frederick I (1195-1198)
- Leopold VI (1198-1230)
- Frederick II the Quarrelsome (1230-1246)
[edit] Interregnum
The inheritance of the duchy passed to the Margraves of Baden through Frederick II's sister, Gertrude of Austria, but they did not manage to establish themselves in the country and were rejected by the estates
In 1251, Przemysl Ottokar II, ruler of the neighbouring Kingdom of Bohemia, took control of the country.
[edit] Habsburg Dukes and Archdukes of Austria
In 1278, Rudolph I defeated Ottokar and secured the duchy for the Habsburg dynasty, whose heads were often also Holy Roman Emperors. When the patrimony was divided, its usual partitions were:
- The Duchy of Austria, later Archduchy of Austria, which was always the main line's possession and was centered around Vienna and was somewhat larger than the modern Lower Austria
- Further Austria, sometimes (particularly when including Tyrol) called Upper Austria (not to be confused with the namesake modern state)
- Inner Austria which included Styria and usually Carniola and Carinthia
- Rudolph I (Rudolph I of the Holy Roman Empire) (1278-1282)
- Albert I (King of Germany from 1298) (1282-1308) jointly with
- Frederick I (Frederick (III) as King of the Romans, but never ruled the empire) (1308-1330) jointly with
- Albert II (1330-1358) jointly with
- Rudolph IV (1358-1365)
In the Privilegium Maius of 1359, Rudolf attempted to elevate Austria to an archduchy. The title of Archduke was first used by him, then sometimes by Ernest the Iron and formally recognized at the level of the Holy Roman Empire by Emperor Frederick III only in 1453.
Many of the dukes and archdukes were also Holy Roman Emperors.
The territories were split among different lines of the dynasty after 1379 (Treaty of Neuberg)
- Albertinian Line (Duke of Austria: the Duchy of Austria, i.e. Austria proper):
- Leopoldinian Line (Duke of Inner Austria: Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, Tyrol, and Further Austria):
- Leopold III 1365-1386
- William 1386-1406
- Leopold IV 1386-1411
- In 1402, there was a split in the Leopoldinian Line:
- Inner Austrian line (Styria, Carinthia and Carniola):
- Ernest the Iron, 1402-1424
- Frederick V (Frederick III of the Holy Roman Empire) (1458-1493)
- Albert VI 1446-1463, became officially Archduke
- Duke of Further Austria Elder Tyrolean Line:
- Between 1485 and 1490, Matthias Corvinus of Hungary resided in Vienna as duke of Austria.
After 1490, the Austrian territories were reunified under Habsburg rule:
- Maximilian I (1493-1519), was officially Archduke
- Charles I (Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire) (1519-1520)
- Ferdinand I (1520-1564)
- Maximilian II (1564-1576)
- Charles II: Archduke of Inner Austria (1564-1590) (Styria, Carinthia and Carniola); succeeded by Emperor Ferdinand II (Archduke Ferdinand III)
- Ferdinand II: Archduke of Further Austria (including Tirol, 1564-1595)
- Rudolph V (Rudolf II of the Holy Roman Empire) (1576-1608)
- Matthias (1608-1619)
- Maximilian III: Governor of Tyrol, Archduke of Further Austria (1612-1618)
- Archduke of Further Austria, Younger Tyrolean Line:
- Ferdinand III (=Ferdinand II of the Holy Roman Empire) (1619-1637)
- Ferdinand IV (=Ferdinand III of the Holy Roman Empire) (1637-1657)
- Leopold VI (Leopold I of the Holy Roman Empire) (1657-1705)
- Joseph I (1705-1711)
- Charles III (Charles VI of the Holy Roman Empire) (1711-1740)
- Maria Theresa (1740-1780)
- Joseph II (1780-1790)
- Leopold VII (Leopold II of the Holy Roman Empire) (1790-1792)
[edit] Emperors of Austria
The Holy Roman Empire was abolished in 1806. Francis II had already taken the title of Francis I, Emperor of Austria, in 1804 (see Austrian Empire).
- Francis I (1792-1835) (Emperor of Austria from 1804)
- Ferdinand I (1835-1848)
- Francis Joseph I (1848-1916)
- Charles I (1916-1918)
[edit] Republic of Austria
In 1918, a republic was established which lasted until 1938. Following World War II, a republic was reestablished in 1945. The head of state is the Federal President (Bundespräsident), the (in practice much more important) head of government is the Federal Chancellor (Bundeskanzler).
For lists of officeholders, see
