The Habsburg monarchy , also known as Habsburg Empire , or Habsburg Realm , was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities that were ruled by the House of Habsburg . From the 18th century it is also referred to as the Austrian monarchy ( Latin : Monarchia Austriaca ) or the Danubian monarchy .
54-690: The history of the Habsburg monarchy can be traced back to the election of Rudolf I as King of Germany in 1273 and his acquisition of the Duchy of Austria for the Habsburgs in 1282. In 1482, Maximilian I acquired the Netherlands through marriage. Both realms passed to his grandson and successor, Charles V , who also inherited the Spanish throne and its colonial possessions , and thus came to rule
108-510: A period of several decades during which the status of the country's rulers was disputed. While in the following years several candidates were elected King of the Romans , none of them were able to control the Empire. It was the ambitious Přemyslid ruler Ottokar II of Bohemia , son of King Wenceslaus I, who took the occasion to take over the rule in the "princeless" lands of late Duke Frederick II
162-840: The Erblande , from before 1526; the Lands of the Bohemian Crown ; the formerly Spanish Austrian Netherlands from 1714 until 1794; and some fiefs in Imperial Italy . Outside the empire, they encompassed all the Kingdom of Hungary as well as conquests made at the expense of the Ottoman Empire . The dynastic capital was Vienna , except from 1583 to 1611, when it was in Prague . The first Habsburg who can be reliably traced
216-683: The Archduchy proper, Inner Austria that included Styria and Carniola , and Further Austria with Tyrol and the Swabian lands. The territorial possessions of the monarchy were thus united only by virtue of a common monarch. The Habsburg realms were unified in 1804 with the formation of the Austrian Empire and later split in two with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 . The monarchy began to fracture in
270-700: The Burgundian Netherlands into the Habsburg possessions. Their son, Philip the Handsome , married Joanna the Mad of Spain (daughter of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile ). Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor , the son of Philip and Joanna, inherited the Habsburg Netherlands in 1506, Habsburg Spain and its territories in 1516, and Habsburg Austria in 1519. At this point, the Habsburg possessions were so vast that Charles V
324-594: The County of Tyrol was ceded to Duke Rudolf IV of Austria by Countess Margaret in 1363. These territories, together, became known as the Habsburg 'Hereditary Lands', although they were sometimes referred to in sum as Austria. Rudolf established his residence at the Vienna Hofburg Palace and in 1358/59 he had the Privilegium Maius forged to elevate himself to a privileged " archduke " of
378-628: The Diet of Augsburg (1282), thus establishing the " Austrian hereditary lands ". From that moment, the Habsburg dynasty was also known as the House of Austria . Between 1438 and 1806, with few exceptions, the Habsburg Archduke of Austria was elected as Holy Roman Emperor . The Habsburgs grew to European prominence as a result of the dynastic policy pursued by Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor . Maximilian married Mary of Burgundy , thus bringing
432-805: The Duchy of Parma and Piacenza between 1814 and 1847. Also, the Second Mexican Empire , from 1863 to 1867, was headed by Maximilian I of Mexico , the brother of Emperor Franz Josef of Austria . The so-called "Habsburg monarchs" or "Habsburg emperors" held many different titles and ruled each kingdom separately through a personal union . The decline of the Habsburg Empire is given in Stefan Zweig's The World of Yesterday . Stefan Zweig, l'autore del più famoso libro sull'Impero asburgico, Die Welt von Gestern Rudolf I of Germany Too Many Requests If you report this error to
486-458: The Grand Duchy of Tuscany between 1765 and 1801, and again from 1814 to 1859. While exiled from Tuscany, this line ruled at Salzburg from 1803 to 1805, and in Grand Duchy of Würzburg from 1805 to 1814. The House of Austria-Este ruled the Duchy of Modena from 1814 to 1859, while Empress Marie Louise , Napoleon 's second wife and the daughter of Austrian Emperor Francis I , ruled over
540-795: The Habsburg dynasty , Austria was, until 1246, a feudal possession of the younger House of Babenberg. Margrave Leopold the Generous (1136–1141) was a loyal vassal of the imperial House of Hohenstaufen in the struggle against the Bavarian Welf dynasty . In 1139, after King Conrad III of Germany deposed the Welf duke Henry the Proud , he gave the Bavarian duchy to his half-brother Margrave Leopold. Leopold's brother and successor Henry Jasomirgott
594-507: The Holy Roman Empire , Hungary, Bohemia and various other lands) was itself split into different branches in 1564 but reunited 101 years later. It became extinct in the male line in 1740, but continued through the female line as the House of Habsburg-Lorraine . The Habsburg monarchy was a union of crowns, with only partial shared laws and institutions other than the Habsburg court itself; the provinces were divided in three groups:
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#1732780230148648-577: The Holy Roman Empire , established in 1156 by the Privilegium Minus , when the Margraviate of Austria ( Ostarrîchi ) was detached from Bavaria and elevated to a duchy in its own right. After the ruling dukes of the House of Babenberg became extinct in male line, there was as much as three decades of rivalry on inheritance and rulership, until the German king Rudolf I took over
702-532: The Luxembourg and Wittelsbach dynasties. The Habsburg Albertinian line was again elevated to the Imperial throne in 1438. Duke Albert V of Austria was chosen King of the Romans as the successor to his House of Luxembourg father-in-law, Emperor Sigismund . Although Albert's reign spanned only one year, he was succeeded by his Leopoldian cousin, Duke Ernest's son, Frederick V , who eventually reunified
756-698: The Manhartsberg range, marked the border with the Duchy of Bohemia (elevated to a Kingdom in 1198) and the Moravian lands, both of which were held by the Czech Přemyslid dynasty . In the east, the Imperial border with the Kingdom of Hungary (present-day Slovakia ) had gradually shifted towards the plains of the Morava River and the eastern rim of the Vienna Basin . On the right shore of
810-543: The Treaty of Neuberg , signed in 1379. Albert retained Austria proper, while Leopold took the remaining territories. In 1402, there was another split in the Leopoldian line , when Duke Ernest took Inner Austria (i.e. the duchies of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola) and Duke Frederick IV became the ruler of Tyrol and Further Austria . The partitions decisively weakened the Habsburg position, in favour of their rivals from
864-640: The flag of Austria . His son Leopold VI, sole ruler of the Austrian and Styrian lands from 1198, married the Byzantine princess Theodora Angelina and later married his daughter Margaret to Henry of Hohenstaufen , son of Emperor Frederick II , in 1225. Notable minnesingers like Reinmar von Hagenau and Walther von der Vogelweide were regular guests at the Vienna court and Middle High German poetry flourished. The poem Nibelungenlied probably arose in
918-497: The "Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council". When Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed (after 30 years of occupation and administration ), it was not incorporated into either half of the monarchy. Instead, it was governed by the joint Ministry of Finance. During the dissolution of Austria-Hungary , the Austrian territories collapsed under the weight of the various ethnic independence movements that came to
972-637: The 17th century: Following victory in the Battle of White Mountain (1620) over the Bohemian rebels, Ferdinand II promulgated a Renewed Land Ordinance (1627/1628) that established hereditary succession over Bohemia. Following the Battle of Mohács (1687) , in which Leopold I reconquered almost all of Ottoman Hungary from the Turks, the emperor held a diet in Pressburg to establish hereditary succession in
1026-586: The Austrian lands, acclaimed by the local nobility. To substantiate his claims, he married Margaret (about 30 years his senior) in 1252. King Béla IV of Hungary contested this, referring to the Gertrude's third marriage with his relative Roman Danylovich and occupied the Styrian lands. However, Ottokar prevailed as he defeated the Hungarian troops at the Battle of Kressenbrunn . Bohemian king since 1253, he now
1080-556: The Austrian lands. However, Leopold's son, Duke Frederick II the Warlike , entered into fierce conflicts soon after his accession in 1230, not only with the Austrian nobility, but also with King Wenceslaus I of Bohemia , King Andrew II of Hungary and even with Emperor Frederick II for the alleged entanglement in the rebellion of the duke's brother-in-law Henry of Hohenstaufen. The latter earned him an Imperial ban and an expulsion from Vienna in 1236. Though he could later reconcile with
1134-461: The Austrian monarchy changed over the centuries, but the core always consisted of four blocs: Over the course of its history, other lands were, at times, under Austrian Habsburg rule (some of these territories were secundogenitures , i.e. ruled by other lines of Habsburg dynasty): The boundaries of some of these territories varied over the period indicated, and others were ruled by a subordinate (secundogeniture) Habsburg line. The Habsburgs also held
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#17327802301481188-837: The Bavarian March of Austria after King Otto I of Germany 's victory at the 955 Battle of Lechfeld . In 976 Emperor Otto II enfeoffed the Babenberg count Leopold the Illustrious with the Austrian margraviate. A large-scale German settlement ( Ostsiedlung ) along the Danube down to the border with Hungary followed, which ultimately disrupted the Slavic continuity between the West Slavic ( Slovak ) and South Slavic ( Slovene ) lands. Although today closely associated with
1242-655: The Danube, the lower Leitha River marked the Imperial–Hungarian border for centuries. In the south, Austria bordered the Styrian lands which were likewise elevated to a duchy, and unified with Austria in 1192. The territory originally inhabited by Celts was conquered by the Roman Empire at the end of the 1st century BC . Following the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the late 5th century,
1296-693: The Emperor, the border conflict with Hungary culminated in several clashes of arms after 1242, after King Béla IV of Hungary marched into Austria to reconquer occupied lands. Duke Frederick was killed at the 1246 Battle of the Leitha River , whereby the Babenberg line became extinct in the male line. According to feudal law, the immediate heritable fees fell back to the suzerain , the Holy Roman Emperor . However, Emperor Frederick II, in
1350-580: The Empire, peaking under the reign of Leopold V the Virtous (1177–1194) and Leopold VI the Glorious (1194–1230). In 1186, they signed the Georgenberg Pact with the first and last Otakar duke Ottokar IV of Styria and, upon his death in 1192, acquired the adjacent Styrian lands in the south, which were ruled with Austria in personal union until 1918. They also expanded their territory into
1404-405: The Empire. The following two centuries were turbulent for the duchy. Under Habsburg rule, several inquisitorial persecutions against Waldensians were carried out, notably by the cleric Petrus Zwicker in the late 14th century. Following the brief, yet eventful, rule of Duke Rudolf IV, his brothers Albert III and Leopold III divided the Austrian domains between themselves, in accordance with
1458-585: The English king passed through Austria on his way home, Leopold had him abducted and arrested at Dürnstein Castle . Handed over to Emperor Henry VI , Richard was only released after paying an enormous ransom, and the duke used his share to lay out the Wiener Neustadt fortification near the Hungarian border. According to legend, the emperor granted him permission to bear the red-white-red colors that became
1512-485: The Habsburg empire at its greatest territorial extent. The abdication of Charles V in 1556 led to a division within the dynasty between his son Philip II of Spain and his brother Ferdinand I , who had served as his lieutenant and the elected king of Hungary , Croatia and Bohemia . The Spanish branch (which held all of Iberia , the Netherlands , and lands in Italy) became extinct in 1700. The Austrian branch (which ruled
1566-597: The Holy Roman Empire . The right of primogeniture was implemented with the Treaty of Rheinfelden one year later. Rudolf's descendants ruled Austria and Styria until 1918. In the 14th and 15th centuries, the Habsburgs accumulated further provinces in the southeastern part of the Empire: the Duchy of Carinthia with the March of Carniola , initially ceded to the House of Gorizia , came under Habsburg rule in 1335;
1620-424: The Holy Roman Empire, Hungary and Bohemia) was itself divided between different branches of the family from 1564 until 1665, but thereafter it remained a single personal union . It became extinct in the male line in 1740, but through the marriage of Queen Maria Theresa with Francis of Lorraine , the dynasty continued as the House of Habsburg-Lorraine . Names of some smaller territories: The territories ruled by
1674-699: The Hungarian kingdom. Charles V divided the House in 1556 by ceding Austria along with the Imperial crown to Ferdinand (as decided at the Imperial election, 1531 ), and the Spanish Empire to his son Philip . The Spanish branch (which also held the Netherlands, the Kingdom of Portugal between 1580 and 1640, and the Mezzogiorno of Italy) became extinct in 1700. The Austrian branch (which also ruled
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1728-509: The Warlike. Referring to the Privilegium Minus , Pope Innocent IV, against the feudal principle of patrilineal inheritance, confirmed the hereditary rights of Frederick's sister Margaret, widow of Henry of Hohenstaufen, and his niece Gertrude , widow of Ottokar's elder brother Přemyslid Margrave Vladislaus of Moravia who died in 1247. Upon the death of Gertrude's second husband, Margrave Herman VI of Baden , in 1250, Ottokar invaded
1782-508: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.237 via cp1104 cp1104, Varnish XID 207659204 Upstream caches: cp1104 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 07:50:30 GMT Duchy of Austria The Duchy of Austria ( Austriae Ducatus ( Latin ) ; Herzogtuom Osteriche ( Middle High German ) ) was a medieval principality of
1836-478: The area was invaded by several Germanic tribes and from the 6th century onward settled by Avars as well as by Slavic tribes, who about 600 founded the independent principality of Carantania in the south. The Avar Khaganate established in 567 comprised most of the later Austrian march up to the Enns river, where it bordered on the German stem duchy of Bavaria. Temporarily part of Samo's Empire from 631 to 658,
1890-402: The dominion as the first monarch of the Habsburg dynasty in 1276. Thereafter, Austria became the patrimony and ancestral homeland of the dynasty and the nucleus of the Habsburg monarchy . In 1453, the archducal title of the Austrian rulers, invented by Duke Rudolf IV in the forged Privilegium Maius of 1359, was officially acknowledged by the Habsburg emperor Frederick III . Initially,
1944-622: The duchy was comparatively small in area, roughly comprising the modern-day Austrian state of Lower Austria . As a former border march , it was located on the eastern periphery of the Empire, on the northern and southern shores of the Danube River, east of ("below") the Enns tributary. Drosendorf , Raabs , Laa and other fortifications along the Thaya River , north of the historic Waldviertel and Weinviertel regions and separated by
1998-753: The early 1860s, the famous Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 was arrived at, by which the so-called dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary was set up. In this system, the Kingdom of Hungary ("Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen.") was an equal sovereign with only a personal union and a joint foreign and military policy connecting it to the other Habsburg lands. Although the non-Hungarian Habsburg lands were referred to as "Austria", received their own central parliament (the Reichsrat , or Imperial Council ) and ministries, as their official name –
2052-460: The face of inevitable defeat during the final years of World War I and ultimately disbanded with the proclamation of the Republic of German-Austria and the First Hungarian Republic in late 1918. In historiography , the terms "Austria" or "Austrians" are frequently used as shorthand for the Habsburg monarchy since the 18th century. From 1438 to 1806, the rulers of the House of Habsburg almost continuously reigned as Holy Roman Emperors . However,
2106-508: The fore with its defeat in World War I. After its dissolution, the new republics of Austria (the German-Austrian territories of the Hereditary lands) and the First Hungarian Republic were created. In the peace settlement that followed, significant territories were ceded to Romania and Italy and the remainder of the monarchy's territory was shared out among the new states of Poland , the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia), and Czechoslovakia . A junior line ruled over
2160-399: The last years of his rule, was weakened by the struggle against Pope Innocent IV , and was stuck in the Italian Wars between the Guelphs and Ghibellines . His death in 1250 and the death of his only surviving son King Conrad IV four years later ended the line of Hohenstaufen rulers, only eight years after the extinction of the Babenberg dynasty. The extinction led to the Great Interregnum ,
2214-438: The mid to late 18th century, but many of these were abandoned following large scale resistance to Joseph's more radical reform attempts, although a more cautious policy of centralization continued during the revolutionary period and the Metternichian period that followed. Another attempt at centralization began in 1849 following the suppression of the various revolutions of 1848 . For the first time, ministers tried to transform
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2268-456: The monarchy into a centralized bureaucratic state ruled from Vienna. The Kingdom of Hungary was placed under martial law , being divided into a series of military districts, the centralized neo-absolutism tried to as well to nullify Hungary's constitution and Diet . Following the Habsburg defeats in the Second Italian War of Independence (1859) and Austro-Prussian War (1866), these policies were step by step abandoned. After experimentation in
2322-431: The old Bavarian lands west of the Enns River, along the Traun to the city of Linz , the future capital of Upper Austria . In 1191, Duke Leopold V joined the Third Crusade and the siege of Acre . Once the city was conquered and occupied, he picked a fierce quarrel with King Richard the Lionheart , allegedly over Leopold's raising of his Babenberg banner beside the royal flags of Richard and Philip II of France . When
2376-412: The realms of the Holy Roman Empire were mostly self-governing and are thus not considered to have been part of the Habsburg monarchy. Hence, the Habsburg monarchy (of the Austrian branch) is often called "Austria" by metonymy . Around 1700, the Latin term monarchia austriaca came into use as a term of convenience. Within the empire alone, the vast possessions included the original Hereditary Lands,
2430-422: The site of the later Hofburg Palace . He also founded Schottenstift Abbey as the Babenberg proprietary church , settled with Irish monks. The Austrian lands prospered, due to their favorable location on the Danube, as an important trade route from Krems and Mautern via Vienna down to Hungary and the Byzantine Empire . For a short time, the Babenbergs came to be one of the most influential ruling families in
2484-420: The south. When he failed to be elected King of the Romans in 1273, he contested the election of the successful candidate, the Swabian count Rudolf of Habsburg . Nevertheless, Rudolf was able to secure his rule as the first actual German king after the Great Interregnum. By his Imperial authority he seized Ottokar's "alienated" territories and added them to his already extensive homelands in Swabia. King Ottokar
2538-444: The territory was under constant attack by the Carolingian forces of Charlemagne from 791 onward. About 800, Charlemagne, having won several victories against the Avars, established a frontier march in the region between the Enns and Raab rivers, called the Avar March , part of the marcha orientalis . The East Frankish margraviate was again lost to the invading Magyars at the 907 Battle of Pressburg , and re-established as
2592-512: The title of Holy Roman Emperor between 1438 and 1740, and again from 1745 to 1806. Within the early modern Habsburg monarchy, each entity was governed according to its own particular customs. Until the mid 17th century, not all of the provinces were even necessarily ruled by the same person—junior members of the family often ruled portions of the Hereditary Lands as private apanages. Serious attempts at centralization began under Maria Theresa and especially her son Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor in
2646-417: Was Radbot of Klettgau , who was born in the late 10th century; the family name originated with Habsburg Castle , in present-day Switzerland , which was built by Radbot. After 1279, the Habsburgs came to rule in the Duchy of Austria , which was part of the elective Kingdom of Germany within the Holy Roman Empire . King Rudolf I of Germany of the Habsburg family assigned the Duchy of Austria to his sons at
2700-416: Was constantly travelling throughout his dominions and therefore needed deputies and regents, such as Isabella of Portugal in Spain and Margaret of Austria in the Low Countries, to govern his various realms. At the Diet of Worms in 1521, Emperor Charles V came to terms with his younger brother Ferdinand . According to the Habsburg compact of Worms (1521), confirmed a year later in Brussels , Ferdinand
2754-476: Was enfeoffed with Bavaria in 1141. In 1156, Hohenstaufen Emperor Frederick Barbarossa approached a settlement with the Welfs. At the 1156 Imperial Diet in Regensburg , Henry Jasomirgott had to renounce the Bavarian duchy in favor of Henry the Lion . In compensation, the Babenberg margraviate was elevated to an equal duchy, confirmed by numerous privileges granted by the Privilegium Minus on 17 September. The new Austrian duke took his residence at Vienna at
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#17327802301482808-413: Was finally defeated and killed by the united Austrian and Hungarian forces in the 1278 Battle on the Marchfeld . Rudolf married his daughter Judith off to Ottokar's son Wenceslaus II , who retained the Bohemian kingdom. Having reached an agreement with the prince-electors , he granted the Austrian domains to his sons Albert and Rudolf II at the 1282 Diet of Augsburg, elevating them to Princes of
2862-482: Was made Archduke , as a regent of Charles V in the Austrian hereditary lands. Following the death of Louis II of Hungary in the Battle of Mohács against the Ottoman Turks , Archduke Ferdinand (who was his brother-in-law by virtue of an adoption treaty signed by Maximilian and Vladislaus II , Louis's father at the First Congress of Vienna ) was also elected the next king of Bohemia and Hungary in 1526. Bohemia and Hungary became hereditary Habsburg domains only in
2916-405: Was sole ruler of the Bohemian, Moravian, Austrian and Styrian lands—an anticipation of the early modern Habsburg monarchy after 1526. In 1269, Ottokar also effectively controlled the Duchy of Carinthia , with Carniola and the Windic March further in the south. He controlled, in all, a Central European realm stretching from the Polish border in the Sudetes towards the Adriatic coast in
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