Archduke Ernest of Austria

Portrait of Archduke Ernest of Austria by Alonso Sánchez Coello c. 1580
Engraving of Archduke Ernest of Austria

Archduke Ernest of Austria (German Ernst von Österreich; 15 June 1553[1] – 20 February 1595) was an Austrian prince, the son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria of Spain.

Born at Vienna, he was educated with his brother Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, in the court of Spain. In 1573 and 1587, he was a candidate for the throne of Poland. From 1576 onwards, he was governor in the Archduchy of Austria, where he promoted the counterreformation. In 1590, he became governor of Inner Austria as regent for his young cousin Ferdinand, and from 1594 to 1595 he served as governor of the Spanish Netherlands.

He died at Brussels in 1595.

Ancestry

References

  1. Joseph Haydn, James Bertrand Payne: Haydn's universal index of biography from the creation to the present time: for the use of the statesman, the historian, and the journalist, E. Moxon, 1868. pp. 156


Preceded by
Count Peter Ernst von Mansfeld
Governors of the Habsburg Netherlands
1594–1595
Succeeded by
Pedro Henriquez de Acevedo, Count of Fuentes