House of Habsburg

House of Habsburg
Armoiries Habsbourg.svg
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
Coats of arms of a Habsburg Emperor showing the variety of his territories.
Arms of the Dukes of Habsburg-Este as borne by Archduke Franz Ferdinand during his lifetime.

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.

Contents

Principal roles

Their principal roles were as:

Other crowns held briefly by the House included:

Numerous other titles were attached to the crowns listed above.

History

From Counts of Habsburg to Holy Roman Emperors

The Habsburg dominions around AD 1200 are shown as      Habsburg, among the houses of      Savoy,      Zähringer and      Kyburg
The Habsburg dominions within the Holy Roman Empire acquired before AD 1378 are shown as      Habsburg, among the houses of      Luxembourg and      Wittelsbach

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).

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 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]

Division of the House: Austrian and Spanish Habsburgs

A map of the dominion of the Habsburgs following the Battle of Mühlberg (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 Castilian holdings outside of Europe, and particularly in the New World, shown.

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: the Austrian Empire

House of Habsburg-Lorraine
Wappen Habsburg-Lothringen Schild.svg
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'.

Family tree

This family tree only includes male scions of the direct House of Habsburg who survived to adulthood. Habsburg Family Tree.jpg

Main line

Before Rudolph rose to German king, the Habsburgs were Counts in what is today southwestern Germany and Switzerland.

Ancestors

Counts of Habsburg

German kings

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 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.

Albertine line: Dukes of Austria

Leopoldine line: Dukes of Styria, Carinthia, Tyrol

Leopoldine-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 1458–1463
  • 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, 1402–1439 duke of Tyrol and Further Austria
  • 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 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 1485–1490.

German Kings and Holy Roman Emperors previous to the reunion of the Habsburg possessions

Kings of Hungary previous to the reunion of the Habsburg possessions

Holy Roman Emperors, Archdukes of Austria

Spanish Habsburgs: Kings of Spain, Kings of Portugal (1580–1640)

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

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, 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 {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.

House of Habsburg-Lorraine: Grand dukes of Tuscany

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.

House of Habsburg-Lorraine: Tuscany line, post monarchy

see Line of succession to the Tuscan Throne

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.

House of Habsburg-Lorraine: Modena line, post monarchy
House of Habsburg-Lorraine: Empress consort of France
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. 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.

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, 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.

House of Habsburg-Lorraine, main line: Emperors of Austria

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.

see Line of succession to the Austro-Hungarian throne

Burials

See Imperial Crypt in Vienna.

Kings of Hungary

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

Austrian Habsburgs: Kings of Hungary

House of Habsburg-Lorraine, main line: Kings of Hungary

Kings of Bohemia

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.

Main line

Albertine line: Kings of Bohemia

Austrian Habsburgs: Kings of Bohemia

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.

Queens Consort of France

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.

Pre-division Habsburgs

Austrian Habsburgs

Spanish Habsburgs

Habsburg-Lorraine

Queens Consort of Portugal

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.

Pre-division Habsburgs

Austrian Habsburgs

Habsburg-Lorraine

Habsburgs today (non main line)

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.

See also

Further reading

Notes

  1. "Habsburger-Gedenkjahr im Aargau", Neue Zürcher Zeitung, (page 17) 23 May 2008.
  2. [1]
  3. [2]
  4. Great Events from History, The Renaissance & Early Modern Era, Vol I, p. 112-114, author-Clare Callaghan, ISBN 1-58765-214-5.

External links

— 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
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Ruling House of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia
1815–1866
Kingdom Abolished
Italy united under the House of Savoy
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Ruling House of the Empire of Mexico
1864–1867
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