House of Habsburg | |||
---|---|---|---|
![]() |
|||
Country | Austria, Hungary, Spain | ||
Titles |
|
||
Founder | Otto II, Count of Habsburg | ||
Final ruler | Emperor Charles I in Austria Charles II in Spain |
||
Current head | Otto of Habsburg as head of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine | ||
Founding year | 1100s AD | ||
Dissolution | 1918 deposed in Austria, 1700 extinct in Spain | ||
Ethnicity | Austrian, Spanish, German | ||
Cadet branches | Leopoldian line Albertine line Spanish Habsburgs |
The House of Habsburg (sometimes spelled Hapsburg in English) and the successor family, Habsburg-Lorraine, were important royal houses of Europe and are best known as supplying all but one of the Holy Roman Emperors between 1452 and 1806, and rulers of Habsburg Spain, Austria, the Austrian Empire and its successors. Originally from Switzerland, the dynasty first reigned in Austria, which they ruled for over six centuries, but a series of dynastic marriages brought the Duchy of Burgundy, Spain and other territories into the inheritance. In the sixteenth century the Austrian Habsburgs and the senior Spanish branch of the family separated, although the two branches continued to operate as close allies until 1700, when the Spanish branch died out.
Their principal roles were as:
Other crowns held briefly by the House included:
Numerous other titles were attached to the crowns listed above.
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.[1][2][3] 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 (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).
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 Juana, 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.[4]
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) (1516–1556), the dynasty split into a Austrian and a Spanish branch. 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 Habsburgs 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 reconquered 1683–1699.
The Spanish Habsburgs died out in 1700 (prompting the War of the Spanish Succession), as did the main Austrian Habsburg line 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. (see Dukes of Lorraine family tree) (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 | |||
---|---|---|---|
![]() |
|||
Country | Austria, Hungary | ||
Parent house | House of Lorraine | ||
Titles | Archduke of Austria, King of Hungary, King of Bohemia, Emperor of Austria | ||
Founder | Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor | ||
Final ruler | Karl I of Austria | ||
Current head | Otto von Habsburg | ||
Founding year | 1780 | ||
Dissolution | 1918 | ||
Ethnicity | Austrian, Hungarian, German | ||
Cadet branches | House of Austria-Este |
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, Würzburg, 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 Tyrol; 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. He is still the head of the house of Habsburg today.
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'.
This family tree only includes male scions of the direct House of Habsburg who survived to adulthood.
Before Rudolph rose to German king, the Habsburgs were Counts in what is today southwestern Germany and Switzerland.
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 Tyrol 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.
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, Tyrol, and Further Austria.
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 1485–1490.
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.
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.
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 {above}.
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 {Braganza {Portugal}; House of Savoy {Spain}; and the Dukedoms of Montferrat and Chablis.
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.
see Line of succession to the Tuscan Throne
The duchy of Modena was assigned to a minor branch of the family by the Congress of Vienna. It was lost to Italian unification.
The duchy of Parma was likewise assigned to a Habsburg, but did not stay in the House long before succumbing to Italian unification. It was granted to the second wife of Napoleon I of France, Maria Luisa Duchess of Parma, a daughter of the Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, who was the mother of Napoleon II of France. Napoleon had divorced his wife Rose de Tascher de la Pagerie (better known to history as Josephine de Beauharnais) in her favour.
Maximilian, an adventurous younger son, was invited as part of Napoleon III's manipulations to take the throne of Mexico, becoming Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico. The conservative Mexicans, as well as the clergy, supported this Second Mexican Empire. His consort, Empress Carlota of Mexico, born a Belgian princess of the House of Saxe-Coburg Gotha, encouraged her husband's acceptance of the Mexican crown and accompanied him to Mexico. The adventure did not end well. Maximilian was shot in "Cerro de las Campanas" in 1867 by the republican forces of Benito Juárez.
Charles I was expelled from his domains after World War I and the empire was abolished.
see Line of succession to the Austro-Hungarian throne
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.
The kingship of Bohemia was from 1306 a position elected by its nobles. As a result, it was not an automatically inherited position. Until rule of the Ferdinand I Habsburgs didn't gain hereditary accession to the throne and were shifted by other dynasties. Hence, the kings of Bohemia and their ruling dates are listed separately.
From the accession of Maria Theresa, the kingship of Bohemia became united with the Austrian possessions.
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.
Due to its proximaty (geographic, strategic and religious) the Habsburgs always consolidated their aliances with the portuguese Royal House of Aviz, which gave them this Kingdom in 1580. When the Braganzas expelled the Spanish Habsburgs (1640), new alliances were set-up, this time with the Austrian Habsburgs.
The House is still very prominent in Europe, with many members living in America and even as far afield as Southern Africa. The Habsburg art of marriage lead to countless morgantic marriages creating many demi lines of the House, such as those of Habsburg-Snyder, Habsburg-Rogers, and Habsburg-Lorena. Little is known of these families today as they have since their morgantic origins lost touch with the main line. The Southern African branch was a child of colonialism, taking full advantage of European Colonial interests in Africa.
— ROYAL HOUSE —
House of Habsburg
Founding year: 12th century
|
||
Preceded by Přemyslid dynasty |
Ruling House of the Duchy of Austria 1282–1453 |
Duchy Elevated Became Archduchy |
New title | Ruling House of Archduchy of Austria 1453–1780 |
House of Habsburg-Lorraine Extinction of direct male line |
Preceded by House of Jagiellon |
Ruling House of Kingdom of Hungary 1526–1780 |
|
Ruling House of Kingdom of Bohemia 1526–1780 |
||
Preceded by House of Aviz |
Ruling House of Kingdom of Portugal 1580–1640 |
Succeeded by House of Braganza |
Preceded by House of Trastámara |
Ruling House of Kingdom of Spain 1504–1700 |
Succeeded by House of Bourbon |
Preceded by House of Valois |
Ruling House of the Duchy of Burgundy and the Burgundian Netherlands 1477–1700 |
|
Preceded by House of Bourbon |
Ruling House of the Duchy of Burgundy and the Burgundian Netherlands 1713–1780 |
Succeeded by House of Habsburg Lorraine |
— ROYAL HOUSE —
House of Habsburg-Lorraine
Cadet branch of the House of Lorraine
|
||
Preceded by House of Habsburg |
Ruling House of the Archduchy of Austria 1780–1804 |
Archduchy Elevated Became Empire |
Ruling House of Kingdom of Bohemia 1780–1918 |
Monarchy Abolished | |
Ruling House of the Duchy of Burgundy and the Burgundian Netherlands 1780–1795 |
Duchy Abolished | |
Ruling House of the Kingdom of Hungary 1780–1849 |
Kingdom incorporated into Empire of Austria | |
Kingdom given autonomy as part of Ausgleich | Ruling House of the Kingdom of Hungary 1867–1918 |
Monarchy Abolished |
New title | Ruling House of the Empire of Austria 1804–1918 |
|
Preceded by House of Bonaparte |
Ruling House of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia 1815–1866 |
Kingdom Abolished Italy united under the House of Savoy |
New title Last held by House of Iturbide |
Ruling House of the Empire of Mexico 1864–1867 |
Empire Abolished |
|