Charles II, Archduke of Inner Austria
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Charles II, Archduke of Inner Austria (Vienna June 3, 1540 – July 10, 1590 in Graz) was an Archduke of Austria and ruler of Inner Austria (Styria, Carniola and Carinthia) from the House of Habsburg from 1564.
He was the third son of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary(1503–1547), daughter of King Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary and his wife Anne de Foix.
Unlike his brother Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles was a religious Catholic and promoted the Counterreformation, e.g. by inviting the Jesuits to his realm. However, in 1572, he had to make significant concessions to the Inner Austrian Estates in the Religious Pacifications of Graz, and 1576 and the Libellum of Bruck. In practice, this resulted in tolerance towards Protestantism.
As the Inner Austrian line had to bear the major burden of the wars against the Turks, the fortress of Karlstadt/Karlovac in Croatia was founded.
Charles is also remembered as a benefactor of the arts and sciences. In particular, the composer Orlando di Lasso was one of his proteges, as was the music theorist Lodovico Zacconi. In 1585, Charles founded the University of Graz, which is named Karl-Franzens-Universität after him.
His mausoleum in Seckau, in which also other members of the Habsburg family are buried, is one of the most important edifices of the early baroque in the South-Eastern Alps. It was built from 1587 onwards by Alessandro de Verda and completed by Sebastiano Carlone by 1612.
[edit] Marriages and children
Charles married his niece Maria Anna of Bavaria (1551-1608), daughter of Albert V, Duke of Bavaria and Anne of Austria. Anne was an older sister of Charles. They had fifteen children:
- Ferdinand of Austria (July 15 - August 3, 1572).
- Anna of Austria (August 16, 1573 - February 2, 1598). She married Sigismund III Vasa.
- Maria Christina of Austria (November 10, 1574 - April 6, 1621). Married Sigismund Báthory.
- Katharina Renata of Austria (January 4, 1576 - June 29, 1599).
- Elisabeth of Austria (March 13, 1577 - January 29, 1586).
- Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor (July 9, 1578 - February 15, 1637). Named after deceased older brother.
- Karl of Austria (July 17, 1579 - May 17, 1580).
- Gregoria Maximiliana of Austria(March 22, 1581 - September 20, 1597).
- Eleonora of Austria (September 25, 1582 - January 28, 1620). A nun.
- Maximilian Ernst of Austria (November 17, 1583 - February 18, 1616).
- Margarita of Austria (December 25, 1584-October 3, 1611). Married Philip III of Spain.
- Leopold V, Archduke of Austria (October 9, 1586 - September 13, 1632).
- Constance of Austria (December 24, 1588-July 10, 1631). Married Sigismund III Vasa, widower of her sister Anna.
- Maria Magdalena of Austria (October 10, 1589 - November 1, 1631). Married Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany.
- Karl of Austria (August 7, 1590 - December 28, 1624). Bishop of Breslau and Brixen since 1608, Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights since 1618.
He also had at least one illegitimate daughter, Elizabeth. She married Sigmund Stubich zu Zmöll.
| Preceded by: Ferdinand I |
Archduke of Inner Austria | Succeeded by: Ferdinand II |
