Category Archives: Austrian Royals

Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria, Margrave of Moravia

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, circa 1576-1580; Credit – Wikipedia

The Holy Roman Empire was a limited elective monarchy composed of hundreds of kingdoms, principalities, duchies, counties, prince-bishoprics, and Free Imperial Cities in central Europe. The Holy Roman Empire was not really holy since, after Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1530, no emperors were crowned by the pope or a bishop. It was not Roman but rather German because it was mainly in the regions of present-day Germany and Austria. It was an empire in name only – the territories it covered were mostly independent each with its own rulers. The Holy Roman Emperor directly ruled over only his family territories, and could not issue decrees and rule autonomously over the Holy Roman Empire. A Holy Roman Emperor was only as strong as his army and alliances, including marriage alliances, made him, and his power was severely restricted by the many sovereigns of the constituent monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century, prince-electors, or electors for short, elected the Holy Roman Emperor from among the sovereigns of the constituent states.

Frequently but not always, it was common practice to elect the deceased Holy Roman Emperor’s heir. The Holy Roman Empire was an elective monarchy. No person had a legal right to the succession simply because he was related to the current Holy Roman Emperor. However, the Holy Roman Emperor could and often did, while still alive, have a relative (usually a son) elected to succeed him after his death. This elected heir apparent used the title King of the Romans.

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Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1576 – 1612), King of Bohemia (reigned 1576 – 1611), King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria, Margrave of Moravia (reigned 1576 – 1608) was born on July 18, 1552, in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, now in Austria. He was third of the fifteen children and the second but the eldest surviving of the ten sons of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria and his first cousin Maria, Infanta of Spain, Archduchess of Austria. Rudolf’s paternal grandparents were Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. His maternal grandparents were Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (also Carlos I, King of Spain; Karl I, Archduke of Austria; Charles II, Lord of the Netherlands, Duke of Burgundy, among many other titles) and Isabella of Portugal.

Rudolf’s parents with their three eldest surviving children Anna (in the red), Rudolf (in the middle), and Ernst (in the cradle); Credit – Wikipedia

Rudolf had fourteen siblings:

Rudolf at age fifteen, while at the court of his uncle King Felipe II of Spain, by Alonso Sánchez Coello, 1567; Credit – Wikipedia

Rudolf spent his early years at the courts of his grandfather Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and father Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor. There was a pro-Protestant contingent among the nobility at Maximilian II’s court in Vienna. Johann Sebastian Pfauser, Maximilian’s court chaplain, had originally been Roman Catholic but converted to Lutheranism. Through his influence, Maximilian abandoned purely Catholic customs, read Protestant writings, and refused to receive Communion according to the Catholic rite. To protect Rudolf and Ernst, Maximilian II’s two eldest sons, from Protestant influences, King Felipe II of Spain, the boys’ maternal uncle, urged that they leave their father’s court. From 1563 – 1571, Rudolf and Ernst lived in Spain at the Roman Catholic court of their maternal uncle King Felipe II of Spain.

Rudolf never married. In 1568, as part of the Habsburg marriage policy, sixteen-year-old Rudolf had been betrothed to his first cousin, two-year-old Isabella Clara Eugenia of Spain, the daughter of Rudolf’s maternal uncle King Felipe II of Spain. Isabella Clara Eugenia had to wait for more than twenty years before Rudolf declared that he had no intention of marrying anybody. In 1599, 31-year-old Isabella Clara Eugenia married Albrecht VII, Archduke of Austria, Governor of the Low Countries, one of Rudolf’s younger brothers.

Rudolf’s father Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1572, Rudolf’s father Maximilian II passed the crown of Hungary to his son, and in 1575, Rudolf was also granted the crown of Bohemia and the Habsburg hereditary territories. Rudolf was elected King of the Romans in 1575, ensuring that he would succeed his father as Holy Roman Emperor. Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor died, aged forty-nine, in the Imperial City of Regensburg, now in the German state of Bavaria, on October 12, 1576.

Rudolf is considered an ineffective ruler whose mistakes directly led to the Thirty Years’ War (1618 – 1648), one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, with an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians dying as a result of battle, famine, and disease. However, Rudolf was a major patron of the arts and sciences, and his support helped foster the Scientific Revolution. Although raised in his uncle’s Catholic court in Spain, Rudolf was tolerant of Protestantism and other religions including Judaism. His tolerance toward the Jews resulted in the flourishing of Jewish cultural life and an increase in the Jewish population during Rudolf’s reign. Rudolf’s conflict with the Islamic Ottoman Empire was his undoing. He was unwilling to compromise with the Ottomans and was determined to unify all of Christendom with a new crusade, so he started a long and indecisive war against the Ottomans, the Long Turkish War (1593 – 1606).

Rudolf’s brother, the future Holy Roman Emperor Matthias; Credit – Wikipedia

Rudolf’s Hungarian subjects were tired of the Long Turkish War and revolted in 1604. In 1605, Habsburg family members forced Rudolf to give control of Hungary to his brother Archduke Matthias. By 1606, Matthias had negotiated peace with the Hungarian rebels (1606 Treaty of Vienna) and the Ottomans (1606 Peace of Zsitvatorok). However, Rudolf was angry with Matthias’s concessions and his hold on power and he prepared to start a new war against the Ottoman Empire. With support from the Hungarians, Matthias forced Rudolf to cede the crowns of Hungary, Austria, and Moravia to him. Meanwhile, the Bohemian Protestants demanded greater religious liberty, which Rudolf granted in the Letter of Majesty in 1609. However, when the Bohemians Protestants asked for further freedom, Rudolf used his army against them. The Bohemian Protestants then appealed to Matthias for help. Matthias’ army held Rudolf prisoner at his usual residence, Prague Castle in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic, until 1611 when Rudolf ceded the crown of Bohemia to Matthias. Rudolf lost what was left of his power and lived in isolation at Prague Castle in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic.

Rudolf, Holy Roman Emperor, 1590s; Credit – Wikipedia

Rudolf, aged fifty-nine, died at Prague Castle on January 20, 1612, nine months after he had been stripped of all effective power by his younger brother, except the empty title of Holy Roman Emperor, to which Matthias was elected five months later. Toward the end of his life, Rudolf showed signs of schizophrenia, refused to bathe, and lived in squalor. Rudolf was buried in the royal vault at St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic.

St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, Czech Republic, where Rudolf is buried; Credit – By Alvesgaspar – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52660920

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maximilian-ii-holy-roman-emperor-king-of-bohemia-king-of-hungary-and-croatia-archduke-of-austria/ (Accessed: 02 June 2023).
  • Rudolf II. (HRR) (2023) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_II._(HRR) (Accessed: 02 June 2023).
  • Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_II,_Holy_Roman_Emperor (Accessed: 02 June 2023).
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew. (1995) The Habsburgs. London: Viking.
  • Wilson, Peter H. (2016) Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Maria of Spain and Austria, Holy Roman Empress

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Maria of Spain and Austria, Holy Roman Empress; Credit – Wikipedia

The Holy Roman Empire was a limited elective monarchy composed of hundreds of kingdoms, principalities, duchies, counties, prince-bishoprics, and Free Imperial Cities in central Europe. The Holy Roman Empire was not really holy since, after Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1530, no emperors were crowned by the pope or a bishop. It was not Roman but rather German because it was mainly in the regions of present-day Germany and Austria. It was an empire in name only – the territories it covered were mostly independent each with its own rulers. The Holy Roman Emperor directly ruled over only his family territories, and could not issue decrees and rule autonomously over the Holy Roman Empire. A Holy Roman Emperor was only as strong as his army and alliances, including marriage alliances, made him, and his power was severely restricted by the many sovereigns of the constituent monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century, prince-electors, or electors for short, elected the Holy Roman Emperor from among the sovereigns of the constituent states.

Frequently but not always, it was common practice to elect the deceased Holy Roman Emperor’s heir. The Holy Roman Empire was an elective monarchy. No person had a legal right to the succession simply because he was related to the current Holy Roman Emperor. However, the Holy Roman Emperor could and often did, while still alive, have a relative (usually a son) elected to succeed him after his death. This elected heir apparent used the title King of the Romans.

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Maria’s powerful father Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, Lord of the Netherlands, Duke of Burgundy, among other titles; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria, Infanta of Spain, Archduchess of Austria was the wife of her first cousin Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor. Born on June 21, 1528, at the Royal Alcázar of Madrid, Kingdom of Spain, Maria was the second of the five children and the elder of the two daughters of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (also Carlos I, King of Spain; Karl I, Archduke of Austria; Charles II, Lord of the Netherlands, Duke of Burgundy, among many other titles) and Isabella of Portugal. Maria’s father was Charles was one of the most powerful ever monarchs and had a large number of titles due to his vast inheritance of the Burgundian, Spanish, and Austrian realms from his parents, Maria’s paternal grandparents, Philip of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, the ruler of the vast and wealthy Burgundian State, and Juana, Queen of Castile and León and Queen of Aragon The Kingdoms of Castile, León, and Aragon were combined into the Kingdom of Spain under Maria’s father. Maria’s maternal grandparents were Manuel I, King of Portugal and his second of three wives Maria of Aragon, her namesake.

Maria had four siblings but only two survived childhood:

Maria’s mother Isabella of Portugal; Credit – Wikipedia

The main residence of Maria’s parents Charles and Isabella was in Spain as the Spanish nobles had insisted that their children be raised in Spain. Charles was often away from his family to lead military campaigns and administer his other realms, and Isabella was appointed Regent of Spain in his absence. Isabella supervised her children’s education and taught them Portuguese. In 1539, when Maria was 11 years old, her mother Isabella developed a fever causing her to miscarry during the third month of her seventh pregnancy. The fever caused her condition to worsen and Isabella died two weeks later on May 1, 1539, aged thirty-five. Maria’s father Charles was so grief-stricken that he shut himself up in a monastery for two months where he prayed and mourned for Isabella in solitude. He never recovered from her death, dressed in black for the rest of his life, and despite being only thirty-nine, never remarried.

Maria’s husband Maximilian, circa 1544; Credit – Wikipedia

On September 13, 1548, Maria married her first cousin Archduke Maximilian of Austria (the future Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II), the son of her paternal uncle Ferdinand I, Archduke of Austria (the future Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I) and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. With this marriage, Maria’s father intended to strengthen the ties between the Austrian Habsburgs and the Spanish Habsburgs. While Maria’s father Holy Roman Emperor Charles V was occupied with the affairs of his other realms, Maria and Maximilian acted as regents of Spain from 1548 to 1551, during the absence of Maria’s brother, the future King Felipe II of Spain. In 1552, the couple moved to live at the court of Maximilian’s father in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria.

Maria and her husband Maximilian with their three eldest surviving children Anna, Rudolf, and Ernst; Credit – Wikipedia

Maximilian and Maria had fifteen children:

Physically exhausted after forty years of ruling, Maria’s father Charles abdicated in 1555 and retired to the peace of the Monastery of Yuste in Extremadura, Spain where he died in 1558. Upon Charles’s abdication, his younger brother, Ferdinand, the father of Maria’s husband, who had already been given Charles’ Austrian lands in 1521, became the Holy Roman Emperor. The Spanish Empire, including the possessions in the Netherlands, Italy, and the New World, was inherited by Charles’ son and Maria’s brother who reigned as Felipe II, King of Spain. In December 1562, Ferdinand had his eldest son and Maria’s husband Maximilian elected King of the Romans, meaning that he would become Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor. In addition, Ferdinand passed the crown of Hungary to his son in 1563. Plagued by fever attacks during the last years of his life, Ferdinand died in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, now in Austria, on July 25, 1564, aged 61. Maria’s husband Maximilian was now Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, and Archduke of Austria.

Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, 1569; Credit – Wikipedia

During his reign, Maria’s husband Maximilian II had to deal with the effects of the 1555 Peace of Augsburg. The Peace of Augsburg officially ended the religious struggle between Lutherans and Catholics, and made the legal division of Christianity permanent within the Holy Roman Empire, allowing the rulers of the constituent kingdoms, principalities, duchies, counties, prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire to choose either Lutheranism or Roman Catholicism as the official religion of their state.

During her life in Austria as Holy Roman Empress, Maria, a devout Catholic, was ill at ease with the Lutheran religion and surrounded herself with a circle of devout Catholic courtiers, many of whom she had brought with her from Spain. Her court was organized by her Spanish chief lady-in-waiting Margarita Folc de Cardona i Requesens in a Spanish manner.

There has been much debate about the nature of the religious beliefs of Maria’s husband Maximilian. There was a pro-Protestant contingent among the nobility at the court in Vienna. Johann Sebastian Pfauser, Maximilian’s court chaplain, had originally been Roman Catholic but converted to Lutheranism. Through his influence, Maximilian abandoned purely Catholic customs, read Protestant literature, and refused to receive Communion according to the Catholic rite. He once told his father that worshiping saints was meaningless and idolatrous. Maria frequently disagreed with her religiously ambiguous husband about his religious tolerance. However, Maximilian remained Roman Catholic and never converted to Lutheranism.

In 1572, Maximilian II passed the crown of Hungary to his son Rudolf, and in 1575, Rudolf was also granted the crowns of Bohemia and the Habsburg hereditary territories. Rudolf was elected King of the Romans in 1575, ensuring that he would succeed his father as Holy Roman Emperor. Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor died, aged forty-nine, in the Imperial City of Regensburg, now in the German state of Bavaria, on October 12, 1576. On his deathbed, Maximilian refused to receive the Last Rites of the Roman Catholic Church.

Maria in retirement at the Monastery of Santa Clara de las Descalzas Reales in Madrid, Spain, 1600; Credit – Wikipedia

After Maximilian’s death, Maria remained in Vienna for six years and had great influence over her sons Rudolf and Matthias who were both Holy Roman Emperors. She returned to Spain in 1582, rejoicing to live in “a country without heretics.” Maria retired to the Monastery of Santa Clara de las Descalzas Reales in Madrid, Spain, founded in 1559 by her younger sister Juana when she was left a young widow and where she lived until her death in 1573. This was the same convent where Maria’s daughter Margaret became a nun after refusing to marry her uncle King Felipe II of Spain after his fourth wife, Maria’s eldest daughter Anna, died. At the convent, Maria lived half as a nun in devout prayer, and half as a princess, still exerting influence on the Spanish court.

The Monastery of Santa Clara de las Descalzas Reales in Madrid, Spain where Maria lived the last years of her life, died, and was buried; Credit – By Luis García, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7770261

In 1587, Maria’s brother King Felipe II of Spain sent Father Tomás Luis de Victoria, a Catholic priest and the most famous Spanish composer of the Renaissance, to the Monastery of Santa Clara de las Descalzas Reales as his sister’s chaplain. Father de Victoria remained at the convent for 24 years, serving as Maria’s chaplain until her death, and then as the convent organist. One of his most famous works is his Officium Defunctorum, a requiem mass composed for Maria’s funeral. On February 26, 1603, Maria died and was buried at the Monastery of Santa Clara de las Descalzas Reales in Madrid, Spain, aged seventy-four, having survived her husband by twenty-seven years.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2022) Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, Lord of the Netherlands, Duke of Burgundy, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/charles-v-holy-roman-emperor-carlos-i-king-of-spain-karl-i-archduke-of-austria-charles-ii-lord-of-the-netherlands-duke-of-burgundy/ (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
  • Flantzer, S. (2022) Isabella of Portugal, Queen of Spain, Holy Roman Empress, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/isabella-of-portugal-queen-of-spain-holy-roman-empress/ (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maximilian-ii-holy-roman-emperor-king-of-bohemia-king-of-hungary-and-croatia-archduke-of-austria/ (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
  • Maria of Austria, Holy Roman Empress (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_of_Austria,_Holy_Roman_Empress (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
  • Maria von Spanien (1528–1603) (2021) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_von_Spanien_%281528%E2%80%931603%29 (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew, 1995. The Habsburgs. London: Viking.
  • Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Maria Josepha of Saxony, Archduchess of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Maria Josepha of Saxony, Archduchess of Austria, circa 1910 – 1915; Credit – Wikipedia

Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony was the wife of Archduke Otto Franz of Austria and the mother of Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria. Maria Josepha Louise Philippina Elisabeth Pia Angelica Margaretha was born on May 31, 1867, in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony. She was the fifth of the eight children and the youngest of the four daughters of King Georg of Saxony and Infanta Maria Ana of Portugal. Maria Josepha’s paternal grandparents were King Johann of Saxony and Princess Amalie Auguste of Bavaria. Her maternal grandparents were Queen Maria II of Portugal and her second husband Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry.

Maria Josepha had seven siblings:

Maria Josepha, circa 1893; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Josepha was raised in a strict Catholic environment. In 1883, her youngest sibling Albert became very ill. Their mother Maria Ana took care of him intensively for months until he recovered, but overworked herself so much that she died of exhaustion on February 5, 1884, at the age of 40. Maria Ana’s death occurred before her husband, who never remarried, became King of Saxony.

Otto Franz and Maria Josepha at the time of their engagement, 1886; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 2, 1886, in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony, 19-year-old Princess Maria Josepha married her 21-year-old second cousin Archduke Otto Franz of Austria, the son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria and his second wife Princess Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Maria Josepha’s father-in-law Karl Ludwig was the younger brother of Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria and Archduke Maximilian of Austria, the executed Emperor of Mexico. Her new husband Otto Franz was the brother of the ill-fated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria whose assassination in 1914 was one of the causes and World War I

The marriage was not a love match. Both Otto Franz’s first cousin Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria and Otto’s brother Franz Ferdinand had snubbed the Saxony court by rejecting Maria Josepha’s elder sister Mathilde as a bride. Relations between Austria-Hungary and Saxony improved only when Otto Franz, under pressure from the Austrian-Hungarian court, married Mathilde’s younger sister Maria Josepha. The marriage of Otto Franz and Maria Josepha was increasingly unhappy. Otto Franz had many affairs and Maria Josepha was very religious and was insultingly called “the nun” by her husband because of the deeply pious beliefs.

Otto Franz and Maria Josepha with their two sons Karl and Maximilian Eugen, circa 1897; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Josepha and Otto Franz had two sons:

In 1889, Otto Franz’s first cousin Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria died by suicide at his hunting lodge Mayerling. Crown Prince Rudolf, the only son of Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, had no sons, so the succession would pass to Emperor Franz Joseph’s brother Archduke Karl Ludwig and his eldest son Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Maria Josepha’s father-in-law and brother-in-law. There have been suggestions that Karl Ludwig renounced his succession rights in favor of his son Franz Ferdinand. However, an act of renunciation was never formally signed and Karl Ludwig was never officially designated heir to the throne. He was only three years younger than Franz Joseph and not a realistic choice. When Karl Ludwig died in 1896, Maria Josepha’s brother-in-law Franz Ferdinand became the heir to his uncle’s throne.

Meanwhile, Otto Franz was involved in many scandals, including jumping nude from a window in a private dining room in the Hotel Sacher in Vienna in front of a visiting British peeress and being spotted in the hallway at the same hotel about to enter a lady’s room, wearing nothing but a sword. The imperial court gradually became alienated from Otto Franz as did his wife.


Maria Josepha and Otto Franz in 1900; Credit – Wikipedia

By 1900, it was clear that Maria Josepha’s husband Otto Franz had contracted the sexually transmitted disease syphilis. He withdrew from public life and spent a year in Egypt where he temporarily improved. After returning to Austria, Otto Franz became quite ill. He was in agonizing pain for the last two years of his life and was forced to replace his nose with a rubber prosthetic due to the facial deformity caused by syphilis. During the last months of his life, Otto Franz lived in a villa in Währing, a district of Vienna, and was nursed by his last mistress Luise Robinson and by his stepmother, his father’s second wife Maria Theresa of Portugal. On November 1, 1906, Archduke Otto Franz, aged forty-one, died. He was interred in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria. After the death of her husband, Maria Josepha remained unmarried. The German-Austrian stage and film actor Otto Tressler was a close friend, and possibly Maria Josepha and Otto had a relationship.

Karl and Zita’s wedding: (L – R) Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Archduchess Maria Josepha, Emperor Franz Joseph, Karl, and Zita; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 21, 1911, Maria Josepha’s son Karl married Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma, the daughter of the deposed Robert I, Duke of Parma and his second wife, Maria Antonia of Portugal at Schwarzau Castle, an Austrian home of Zita’s family. 

Maria Josepha’s son Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

Maria Josepha’s brother-in-law Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the Austrian throne until his assassination on June 28, 1914, an event that was one of the causes of World War I. Franz Ferdinand had been allowed to make a morganatic marriage with the condition that the children of the marriage would not have succession rights. Upon Franz Ferdinand’s death, Maria Josepha’s son Karl became the heir to the Austrian throne. He succeeded to the throne as Emperor Karl I of Austria upon the death of Emperor Franz Joseph I in 1916. Karl reigned until the monarchy was abolished in 1918, at the end of World War I.

At the end of World War I, the armistice required that the Austrian-Hungarian Empire allow for autonomy and self-determination of the government of its various ethnic populations. The various areas proclaimed independence and by October 1918 there was not much left of the empire. On November 11, 1918, the same day as the armistice ending World War I, Karl issued a proclamation in which he recognized the rights of the people of Austria to determine their form of government and released his government officials from their loyalty to him. On November 13, 1918, Karl issued a similar proclamation for Hungary. Karl did not use the term “abdicate” in his proclamations and would never admit that he abdicated.

On March 23, 1919, Karl and his family, including his mother Maria Josepha, left for Switzerland. On April 3, 1919, the Austrian Parliament passed the Habsburg Law which forbade Karl or his wife Zita from ever returning to Austria. The law also prevented other Habsburgs from returning to Austria unless they renounced all intentions of claiming the throne and accepted the condition of living as ordinary citizens. In 1921, Karl returned to Hungary twice, attempting to regain the throne of Hungary. After the second attempt, the Council of Allied Powers decided to exile Karl and his family to the Portuguese island of Madeira. In March 1922, Karl caught a cold which developed into bronchitis and further developed into pneumonia. After suffering two heart attacks and respiratory failure, Karl died on April 1, 1922, at the age of 34. Due to the Habsburg Law, Karl could not be buried in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna, Austria. He was buried at the Church of Our Lady of the Mount on the island of Madeira in Portugal.

The restrictions on the Habsburgs entering Austria were eventually rescinded, but only for those Habsburgs born after April 10, 1919. In 1982, the restrictions were eased and after 63 years, Karl’s widow Zita could return to Austria for visits. When Zita died in 1989, the government of Austria allowed her funeral to take place in Austria provided that the Habsburg family pay the cost and Zita was allowed to be buried in the Habsburg traditional burial site, the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria. However, the remains of her husband Karl are still interred in Portugal.

Beatification of Karl in 2004

Maria Josepha had raised Karl with a very religious upbringing, and upon marrying Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma, also a very devout Roman Catholic, Karl told her, “Now, we must help each other to get to Heaven.” Karl was beatified on October 3, 2004, by Pope John Paul II, and he is known as Blessed Karl of Austria. Beatification is the third of four steps toward sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church.

Tomb of Maria Josepha, to the right of her husband’s tomb in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna; Credit – www.findagrave.com

After Karl and his family were exiled to the Portuguese island of Madeira, Maria Josepha settled in Bavaria, Germany where she lived in Geiselgasteig near Munich. Because of Allied bombings during World War II, Maria Josepha moved to the safety of Wildenwart Castle in Chiemgau, Bavaria, Germany. The castle belonged to the former Bavarian royal family, and Maria Josepha lived there with Princess Hildegard and Princess Helmtrud, two unmarried daughters of Ludwig III, the last King of Bavaria. Maria Josepha died at Wildenwart Castle on May 28, 1944, at the age of 76, and was allowed to be buried in the New Vault of the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, beside her husband.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2014) Karl I, Emperor of Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/karl-i-emperor-of-austria/ (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Archduke Otto Franz of Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/archduke-otto-franz-of-austria/ (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
  • Maria Josepha von Sachsen (1867–1944) (2023) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Josepha_von_Sachsen_(1867%E2%80%931944) (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
  • Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony (1867–1944) (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Maria_Josepha_of_Saxony_(1867%E2%80%931944) (Accessed: 29 May 2023).
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew, 1995. The Habsburgs. London: Viking.

Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, Archduke of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

The Holy Roman Empire was a limited elective monarchy composed of hundreds of kingdoms, principalities, duchies, counties, prince-bishoprics, and Free Imperial Cities in central Europe. The Holy Roman Empire was not really holy since, after Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1530, no emperors were crowned by the pope or a bishop. It was not Roman but rather German because it was mainly in the regions of present-day Germany and Austria. It was an empire in name only – the territories it covered were mostly independent each with its own rulers. The Holy Roman Emperor directly ruled over only his family territories, and could not issue decrees and rule autonomously over the Holy Roman Empire. A Holy Roman Emperor was only as strong as his army and alliances, including marriage alliances, made him, and his power was severely restricted by the many sovereigns of the constituent monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century, prince-electors, or electors for short, elected the Holy Roman Emperor from among the sovereigns of the constituent states.

Frequently but not always, it was common practice to elect the deceased Holy Roman Emperor’s heir. The Holy Roman Empire was an elective monarchy. No person had a legal right to the succession simply because he was related to the current Holy Roman Emperor. However, the Holy Roman Emperor could and often did, while still alive, have a relative (usually a son) elected to succeed him after his death. This elected heir apparent used the title King of the Romans.

Learn more at Unofficial Royalty: What was the Holy Roman Empire?

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Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1564 – 1576) was also King of Bohemia (reigned 1562 – 1576), King of Hungary and Croatia (reigned 1563 – 1576), Archduke of Austria (reigned 1564 – 1576), among many other titles. Born on July 31, 1527, in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, now in Austria, Maximilian was the second of the fifteen children and the eldest of the four sons of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. His paternal grandparents were Philip of Austria, Duke of Burgundy and Juana I, Queen of Castile and León. His maternal grandparents were King Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary and his third wife Anne of Foix-Candale.

Maximilian with his younger brothers Ferdinand and Johann; Credit – Wikipedia

Maximilian had fourteen siblings, and all but two reached adulthood:

Maximilian’s powerful uncle Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, Lord of the Netherlands, Duke of Burgundy, among other titles; Credit – Wikipedia

At the time of Maximilian’s birth, his paternal uncle Charles V was the Holy Roman Emperor and King (Carlos I) of Spain, among many other titles. Charles was one of the most powerful ever monarchs and had a large number of titles due to his vast inheritance of the Burgundian, Spanish, and Austrian realms from his parents Philip of Austria, Duke of Burgundy and Archduke of Austria, the ruler of the vast and wealthy Burgundian State and the Austrian Habsburg realms, and Juana I, Queen of Castile and León, Queen of Aragon which were combined into the Kingdom of Spain under Charles.

Archduke Maximilian, circa 1544; Credit – Wikipedia

Maximilian II spent his early childhood at his father’s court in Innsbruck, County of Tyrol, now in Italy. Among his teachers were humanist scholars Kaspar Ursinus Velius and Georg Tannstetter. While Maximilian and his family were Roman Catholic, some rulers of the constituent states of the Holy Roman Empire had converted to Lutheranism during the Reformation. He developed a relationship with the Lutheran Augustus, Elector of Saxony who spent some time at the court of Maximilian’s father in Vienna. Maximilian learned about Lutheranism and then corresponded with Augustus, Elector of Saxony after he left Vienna. At the age of seventeen, Maximilian began to gain some military experience during the Italian War of 1542 – 1546 which pitted Maximilian’s uncle Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and King Henry VIII of England against King François I of France and Sultan Suleiman I of the Ottoman Empire.

Maximilian’s wife and first cousin Maria of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

On September 13, 1548, Maximilian married his first cousin Infanta Maria of Spain, the daughter of his uncle Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, who was also King Carlos I of Spain and Isabella of Portugal. Maria and her siblings were raised in Spain and with this marriage, Charles V intended to strengthen the ties between the Austrian Habsburgs and the Spanish Habsburgs. While Maria’s father Holy Roman Emperor Charles V was occupied with the affairs of his other realms, Maria and Maximilian acted as regents of Spain from 1548 to 1551, during the absence of Maria’s brother, the future King Felipe II of Spain. In 1552, the couple moved to live at the court of Maximilian’s father in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria.

Maximilian and his wife Maria with their three eldest surviving children Anna, Rudolf, and Ernst; Credit – Wikipedia

Maximilian and Maria had fifteen children:

Maximilian’s first cousin Felipe II, King of Spain; Credit – Wikipedia

Physically exhausted after forty years of ruling, Maximilian’s paternal uncle Charles abdicated in 1555 and retired to the peace of the Monastery of Yuste in Extremadura, Spain where he died in 1558. Charles’ younger brother, Maximilian’s father Ferdinand, who had already been given Charles’ Austrian lands in 1521, became the Holy Roman Emperor. The Spanish Empire, including the possessions in the Netherlands, Italy, and the New World, was inherited by Charles’ son and Maximilian’s first cousin who reigned as Felipe II, King of Spain. In December 1562, Ferdinand had his eldest son Maximilian elected King of the Romans, meaning that he would become Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor. In addition, Ferdinand passed the crown of Hungary to his son in 1563. Plagued by fever attacks during the last years of his life, Ferdinand died in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, now in Austria, on July 25, 1564, aged 61. Maximilian was now Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, and Archduke of Austria.

During his reign, Maximilian II had to deal with the ongoing Ottoman-Habsburg wars, conflicts with his Spanish Habsburg cousins, and the effects of the 1555 Peace of Augsburg. The Peace of Augsburg officially ended the religious struggle between Lutherans and Catholics, and made the legal division of Christianity permanent within the Holy Roman Empire, allowing the rulers of the constituent monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire to choose either Lutheranism or Roman Catholicism as the official religion of their state.

There has been much debate about the nature of Maximilian’s religious beliefs. There was a pro-Protestant contingent among the nobility at the court in Vienna. Johann Sebastian Pfauser, Maximilian’s court chaplain, had originally been Roman Catholic but converted to Lutheranism. Through his influence, Maximilian abandoned purely Catholic customs, read Protestant writings, and refused to receive Communion according to the Catholic rite. He once told his father that worshiping saints was meaningless and idolatrous. Maximilian’s wife Maria was a devout Catholic and frequently disagreed with her religiously ambiguous husband about his religious tolerance. However, Maximilian remained Roman Catholic and never converted to Lutheranism.

Maximilian’s son and successor Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1572, Maximilian II passed the crown of Hungary to his son Rudolf, and in 1575, Rudolf was also granted the crown of Bohemia and the Habsburg hereditary territories. Rudolf was elected King of the Romans in 1575, ensuring that he would succeed his father as Holy Roman Emperor.

Tomb of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, his wife Anna, and their son Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

On August 27, 1576, after a family outing, Maximilian suffered a severe relapse of an illness that had been bothering him for a long time, with attacks of sharp gastrointestinal pain. Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor died, aged forty-nine, in the Imperial City of Regensburg, now in the German state of Bavaria, on October 12, 1576, while planning an invasion of Poland. On his deathbed, Maximilian refused to receive the Last Rites of the Roman Catholic Church. He was interred with his parents in St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic. After Maximilian’s death, his wife Maria of Spain remained in Vienna for six years and had great influence over her sons, Rudolf and Matthias who were both Holy Roman Emperors. Maria returned to Spain in 1582, where she died, aged seventy-four, on February 26, 1603, having survived her husband by twenty-seven years.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2022) Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, Lord of the Netherlands, Duke of Burgundy, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/charles-v-holy-roman-emperor-carlos-i-king-of-spain-karl-i-archduke-of-austria-charles-ii-lord-of-the-netherlands-duke-of-burgundy/ (Accessed: 17 May 2023).
  • Flantzer, S. (2023) Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia, Archduke of Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinand-i-holy-roman-emperor-king-of-hungary-croatia-and-bohemia-archduke-of-austria/ (Accessed: 21 May 2023).
  • Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_II,_Holy_Roman_Emperor (Accessed: 21 May 2023).
  • Maximilian II. (HRR) (2023) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_II._(HRR) (Accessed: 21 May 2023).
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew, 1995. The Habsburgs. London: Viking.
  • Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Archduke Otto Franz of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Archduke Otto Franz of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

Archduke Otto Franz of Austria was the father of Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria, and the brother of the ill-fated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria whose assassination in 1914 was one of the causes of World War I. Otto Franz Joseph Karl Ludwig Maria was born on April 21, 1865, in Graz, Austrian Empire, now in Austria. He was the second of the three sons and the second of the four children of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria and his second wife Princess Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Archduke Karl Ludwig’s elder brothers were Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria and Archduke Maximilian of Austria, the executed Emperor of Mexico. Otto Franz’s paternal grandparents were Archduke Franz Karl of Austria and Princess Sophie of Bavaria. His maternal grandparents were King Ferdinando II of the Two Sicilies and his second wife Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria.

Otto Franz had three siblings:

L to R: Franz Ferdinand, Otto Franz, Karl Ludwig (father), Margarete Sophie, Maria Theresa (stepmother), and Ferdinand Karl, 1873; Credit – Wikipedia

When Otto Franz was six-years-old, his mother, 28-year-old mother Maria Annunciata, died from tuberculosis on May 4, 1871. Two years after his mother’s death Otto Franz’s father Karl Ludwig married Infanta Maria Theresa of Portugal, daughter of the deposed King Miguel I of Portugal and Adelaide of Löwenstein-Wertheim-Rosenberg.

Half-sisters Elisabeth Amalie and Maria Annunciata, 1893; Credit – Wikipedia

Otto had two half-sisters from his father’s second marriage:

Otto Franz was raised with his elder brother Franz Ferdinand under the supervision of Count Ferdinand Christoph Eberhard von Degenfeld-Schonburg, (link in German), a Lieutenant Field Marshal in the Austrian-Hungarian army. When in Vienna, the family resided at the Palais Archduke Karl Ludwig. Villa Wartholz in Reichenau an der Rax and Artstetten Castle in Artstetten-Pöbring were used as the family’s summer residences.

Otto Franz and Maria Josepha at the time of their engagement, 1886; Credit – Wikipedia

On October 2, 1886, in Dresden, Kingdom of Saxony, now in the German state of Saxony, 21-year-old Otto Franz married 19-year-old Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony, daughter of the future King Georg I of Saxony and Infanta Maria Ana of Portugal. Both Otto’s first cousin Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria and Otto’s brother Franz Ferdinand had snubbed the Saxon court by rejecting Maria Josepha’s elder sister Mathilde as a bride. Relations between Austria-Hungary and Saxony improved only when Otto Franz, under pressure from the Austrian-Hungarian court, married Mathilde’s younger sister Maria Josepha. The marriage of Otto Franz and Maria Josepha was increasingly unhappy. Otto Franz had many affairs and Maria Josepha was very religious and was insultingly called “the nun” by her husband because of her deeply pious beliefs.

Otto Franz with his wife Maria Josepha and their two sons Karl and Maximilian Eugen, circa 1897; Credit – Wikipedia

Otto Franz and Maria Josepha had two sons:

In 1889, Otto Franz’s first cousin Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria died by suicide at his hunting lodge Mayerling. Crown Prince Rudolf, the only son of Emperor Franz Joseph, had no sons, so the succession would pass to Emperor Franz Joseph’s brother Archduke Karl Ludwig and his eldest son Archduke Franz Ferdinand. There have been suggestions that Karl Ludwig renounced his succession rights in favor of his son Franz Ferdinand. However, an act of renunciation was never formally signed and Karl Ludwig was never officially designated heir to the throne. He was only three years younger than Franz Joseph and not a realistic choice. When Karl Ludwig died in 1896, Franz Ferdinand became the heir to his uncle’s throne.

Meanwhile, Otto Franz was involved in many scandals, including jumping nude from a window in a private dining room in the Hotel Sacher in Vienna in front of a visiting British peeress and being spotted in the hallway at the Hotel Sacher about to enter a lady’s room, wearing nothing but a sword. The imperial court gradually became alienated from Otto Franz as did his wife.

Otto Franz had two children with his mistress Marie Schleinzer (1874 – 1949):

  • Alfred Joseph Edler von Hortenau (1892 – 1957), married Charlotte Böhler, had one daughter
  • Hildegard von Hortenau (1894 – ?)

Otto Franz, circa 1900; Credit – Wikipedia

By 1900, it was clear that Otto Franz had contracted syphilis. He withdrew from public life and spent a year in Egypt where he temporarily improved. After returning to Austria, Otto Franz became quite ill. He was in agonizing pain for the last two years of his life and was forced to replace his nose with a rubber prosthetic due to the facial deformity caused by syphilis. During the last months of his life, Otto Franz lived in a villa in Währing, a district of Vienna, and was nursed by his last mistress Luise Robinson and by his stepmother Maria Theresa of Portugal. On November 1, 1906, Archduke Otto Franz, aged forty-one, died. He was interred in the Imperial Crypt at the Capuchin Church in Vienna, Austria.

Tomb of Archduke Otto Franz of Austria; Credit – www.findagrave.com

Otto Franz’s brother Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the heir to the throne until his assassination on June 28, 1914, an event that was one of the causes of World War I. Franz Ferdinand had been allowed to make a morganatic marriage with the condition that the children of the marriage would not have succession rights. Upon Franz Ferdinand’s death, Otto Franz’s son Karl became the heir. He succeeded to the throne as Emperor Karl I of Austria upon the death of Emperor Franz Joseph I in 1916. Karl reigned until the monarchy was abolished in 1918, at the end of World War I. Since that time, the pretenders to the throne of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire have been Otto Franz’s descendants through his son Karl.

Otto Franz’s son Karl I, the last Emperor of Austria; Credit – Wikipedia

Karl and his father were as different as night and day. Raised with a very religious upbringing by his pious mother Maria Josepha, upon marrying Princess Zita of Bourbon-Parma, also a very devout Roman Catholic, Karl told her, “Now, we must help each other to get to Heaven.”  Karl was beatified on October 3, 2004, by Pope John Paul II, and he is known as Blessed Karl of Austria. Beatification is the third of four steps toward sainthood in the Roman Catholic Church.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Archduke Otto of Austria (1865–1906) (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archduke_Otto_of_Austria_(1865%E2%80%931906) (Accessed: 20 May 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2021) Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/archduke-karl-ludwig-of-austria/ (Accessed: 20 May 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2014) Karl I, Emperor of Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/karl-i-emperor-of-austria/ (Accessed: 20 May 2023).
  • Otto Franz Joseph Von österreich (2023) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Franz_Joseph_von_%C3%96sterreich (Accessed: 20 May 2023).
  • Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony (1867–1944) (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Maria_Josepha_of_Saxony_(1867%E2%80%931944) (Accessed: 20 May 2023).
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew, 1995. The Habsburgs. London: Viking.

Anna of Bohemia and Hungary, Queen of the Romans, Queen of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia, Archduchess of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Anne of Bohemia and Hungary; Credit – Wikipedia

The Holy Roman Empire was a limited elective monarchy composed of hundreds of kingdoms, principalities, duchies, counties, prince-bishoprics, and Free Imperial Cities in central Europe. The Holy Roman Empire was not really holy since, after Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1530, no emperors were crowned by the pope or a bishop. It was not Roman but rather German because it was mainly in the regions of present-day Germany and Austria. It was an empire in name only – the territories it covered were mostly independent each with its own rulers. The Holy Roman Emperor directly ruled over only his family territories, and could not issue decrees and rule autonomously over the Holy Roman Empire. A Holy Roman Emperor was only as strong as his army and alliances, including marriage alliances, made him, and his power was severely restricted by the many sovereigns of the constituent monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century, prince-electors, or electors for short, elected the Holy Roman Emperor from among the sovereigns of the constituent states.

Frequently but not always, it was common practice to elect the deceased Holy Roman Emperor’s heir. The Holy Roman Empire was an elective monarchy. No person had a legal right to the succession simply because he was related to the current Holy Roman Emperor. However, the Holy Roman Emperor could and often did, while still alive, have a relative (usually a son) elected to succeed him after his death. This elected heir apparent used the title King of the Romans.

Learn more at Unofficial Royalty: What was the Holy Roman Empire?

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The wife of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia, Archduke of Austria, Anna of Bohemia and Hungary was born in Buda, Kingdom of Hungary, now Budapest, Hungary, on July 23, 1503. Anna died before her husband became Holy Roman Emperor so she never held the title Holy Roman Empress. She was the oldest of the two children and the only daughter of King Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary and his third wife Anne of Foix-Candale. Anna’s paternal grandparents were King Casimir IV of Poland and Elisabeth of Austria. Her maternal grandparents were Gaston de Foix, Count of Candale and Catherine de Foix.

Anna had one younger brother:

King Casimir IV of Poland wearing a crown with his son King Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary and his grandchildren Anna and Ludovicus. This is an idealized painting because Casimir’s grandchildren were born more than ten years after his death; Credit – Wikipedia

Anna’s 22-year-old mother died on July 26, 1506, a little more than three weeks after the birth of her son due to birth complications from delivery. Anna’s father Vladislaus never remarried and died ten years after his wife’s death, on March 13, 1516, two weeks after his 60th birthday. His son Ludovicus was previously crowned as King of Hungary in 1508 and as King of Bohemia in 1509, before his father died, a common practice in some monarchies, and so his succession was assured. The death of King Vladislaus II in 1516 left Anna and her brother under the guardianship of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor and the ruler of the Archduchy of Austria, and the Duchies of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola. It was arranged for Anna to marry his grandson, then Archduke Ferdinand of Austria. The marriage contract stipulated that Ferdinand should succeed Anna’s brother Ludovicus as King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia in case Ludovicus died without legitimate male heirs.

Anna’s husband Ferdinand, the future Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

On May 26, 1521, in Linz, Archduchy of Austria, now in Austria, 18-year-old Anna married 18-year-old Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, the son of Philip of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, the ruler of the vast and wealthy Burgundian State from the House of Habsburg, and Juana I, Queen of Castile and León from the House of Trastámara.  At the time of his marriage in 1521, Ferdinand was governing the Habsburg hereditary lands on behalf of his older brother Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. After her marriage, Anna was titled Archduchess of Austria.

Three sons of Anna and Ferdinand: Maximilian and his younger brothers Ferdinand and Johann; Credit – Wikipedia

Similar to the situation with King Louis XVI of France and Marie Antoinette, Ferdinand and Anna at first seemed to suffer from a lack of sexual instruction, but eventually, the marriage proved extremely successful both personally and politically. Anna and Ferdinand had fifteen children and all but two reached adulthood. Unusual for that time, Anna and Ferdinand personally looked after their children, who grew up simply and modestly. They were not taught exclusively taught by private tutors but attended a public school together with other children where particular attention was paid to learning languages.

Anna’s brother Ludovicus II, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia died without a legitimate male heir after he was thrown from his horse at the Battle of Mohács against the Ottoman Empire in 1526. Anna’s husband Ferdinand claimed both kingdoms and was elected King of Bohemia later in 1526. Ferdinand was proclaimed King of Hungary by a group of nobles, but another group of Hungarian nobles refused to allow a foreign ruler to hold that title and elected Hungarian John Zápolya as an alternative king. Although this conflict lasted until 1570, Ferdinand had the support of his older brother Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and was generally recognized as King of Hungary. Additionally, in 1531, Charles V recognized his brother Ferdinand as his successor as Holy Roman Emperor, and Ferdinand was elevated to the title King of the Romans, the title of the successor to the Holy Roman Elector elected during the lifetime of a sitting Holy Roman Emperor, and Anna was then Queen of the Romans.

Anna and Ferdinand were rarely separated, and she accompanied him on most trips. Anna was trusted by her husband with many important responsibilities. Shortly after their marriage, Ferdinand appointed Anna, together with Bernardo Clesio, Bishop of Trento, as Co-Chairs of his Hofrat (Court Council). There were times when Anna served as Regent and presided over the Diet, the legislative assembly, in Ferdinand’s name.

Tomb of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, his wife Anna, and their son Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

Sadly, Anna died, aged forty-four, due to childbirth complications on January 27, 1547, in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic, three days after giving birth to her fifteenth child. She was buried in a tomb at St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic. Her husband Ferdinand and their son Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor were also buried with Anna. Despite being encouraged to remarry, Ferdinand could not forget his wife and never remarried. He did not become Holy Roman Emperor until nine years later, in 1556, following the abdication of his older brother Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Ferdinand survived Anna by seventeen years, dying in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, now in Austria, on July 25, 1564, aged 61.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Anne Jagellon (2022) Wikipedia (French). Available at: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Jagellon (Accessed: 18 May 2023).
  • Anne of Bohemia and Hungary (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_of_Bohemia_and_Hungary (Accessed: 18 May 2023).
  • Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_I,_Holy_Roman_Emperor (Accessed: 18 May 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia, Archduke of Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/ferdinand-i-holy-roman-emperor-king-of-hungary-croatia-and-bohemia-archduke-of-austria/ (Accessed: 18 May 2023).
  • Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary (2018) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladislaus_II_of_Bohemia_and_Hungary (Accessed: 18 May 2023).
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew. (1995) The Habsburgs. London: Viking.
  • Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia, Archduke of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

The Holy Roman Empire was a limited elective monarchy composed of hundreds of kingdoms, principalities, duchies, counties, prince-bishoprics, and Free Imperial Cities in central Europe. The Holy Roman Empire was not really holy since, after Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1530, no emperors were crowned by the pope or a bishop. It was not Roman but rather German because it was mainly in the regions of present-day Germany and Austria. It was an empire in name only – the territories it covered were mostly independent each with its own rulers. The Holy Roman Emperor directly ruled over only his family territories, and could not issue decrees and rule autonomously over the Holy Roman Empire. A Holy Roman Emperor was only as strong as his army and alliances, including marriage alliances, made him, and his power was severely restricted by the many sovereigns of the constituent monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century, prince-electors, or electors for short, elected the Holy Roman Emperor from among the sovereigns of the constituent states.

Frequently but not always, it was common practice to elect the deceased Holy Roman Emperor’s heir. The Holy Roman Empire was an elective monarchy. No person had a legal right to the succession simply because he was related to the current Holy Roman Emperor. However, the Holy Roman Emperor could and often did, while still alive, have a relative (usually a son) elected to succeed him after his death. This elected heir apparent used the title King of the Romans.

Learn more at Unofficial Royalty: What was the Holy Roman Empire?

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Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor (reigned 1556 – 1564), King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia (reigned 1526 – 1564), Archduke of Austria (reigned 1521 – 1564) was born at the Archiepiscopal Palace of Alcalá de Henares in Alcalá de Henares, Kingdom of Castile, now in Spain, on March 10, 1503. He was the fourth of the six children and the second of the two sons of Philip of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, the ruler of the vast and wealthy Burgundian State from the House of Habsburg, and Juana I, Queen of Castile and León from the House of Trastámara. Ferdinand’s paternal grandparents were Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor and the ruler of the Archduchy of Austria, and the Duchies of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola, and the first of his three wives, Mary, Duchess of Burgundy, the ruler of the Burgundian State in her own right. His maternal grandparents were Ferdinand II, King of Aragon and Isabella I, Queen of Castile and León.

A portrait of the extended Habsburg family: standing (left to right) Maximilian I. Holy Roman Emperor; Maximilian I’s son Philip of Austria; Maximilian I’s first wife Mary of Burgundy; sitting (left to right) Maximilian I and Mary’s grandsons Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor; and Louis II, King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, the husband of Maximilian and Mary’s granddaughter Mary of Austria; (Note: This portrait is anachronistic. Mary of Burgundy died in 1482 when her son Philip of Austria was 4 years old and her son Philip died in 1506 when his son Ferdinand was 4 years old); by Bernhard Strigel painted after 1515; Credit – Wikipedia

Ferdinand had five siblings. His brother was Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, among many other titles, and his sisters were all queen consorts.


Ferdinand’s parents Philip of Habsburg, Duke of Burgundy and Juana I, Queen of Castile and León; Credit – Wikipedia

Before Ferdinand was seven years old, his father had died and his mother had been declared too mentally ill to reign as Queen of Castile and León and was confined in a convent for the rest of her life. Ferdinand’s father Philip of Habsburg (also known as Philip the Handsome) was the heir to both his father’s and mother’s dominions. His mother Mary, Duchess of Burgundy was the only child of Charles I (the Bold), Duke of Burgundy, ruler of the vast and wealthy Burgundian State (parts of the present-day Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and Germany), and succeeded him after his death at the Battle of Nancy during the Burgundian Wars in 1477. In March 1482, Philip’s mother Mary, Duchess of Burgundy died from internal injuries received in a horse-riding accident. Philip, who was not quite four years old, succeeded his mother as ruler of the Burgundian State under the guardianship of his father Maximilian.

Philip’s father Maximilian was the son of Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola, today part of Austria and Slovenia. Maximilian was elected King of the Romans in 1486. The Holy Roman Empire was an elective monarchy. No person had a legal right to the succession simply because he was related to the current Holy Roman Emperor. However, the Holy Roman Emperor could, and often did, have a male relative (usually a son) elected to succeed him after his death. This elected heir apparent bore the title King of the Romans. Maximilian became Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria, and Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola when his father Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola died in 1493. However, Philip predeceased his father Maximilian, and never succeeded to his father’s dominions but his eldest son, Ferdinand’s elder brother, did. Best known as Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and Carlos I, King of Spain, he was one of the most powerful ever monarchs and had a large number of titles due to his vast inheritance of the Burgundian, Spanish, and Austrian realms.

A year after his birth, Ferdinand’s maternal grandmother Isabella I, Queen of Castile and León died. Ferdinand’s mother Juana became Queen of Castile and León but her father Ferdinand II, King of Aragon proclaimed himself Governor and Administrator of Castile and León. In 1506, Ferdinand’s father Philip became King of Castile and León jure uxoris (by the right of his wife) as Philip I, initiating the rule of the Habsburgs in the Spanish kingdoms which would last until 1700 when the Spanish branch of the House of Habsburg became extinct. However, Philip’s rule lasted only from July 12, 1506 to September 25, 1506, when he died, aged 28, apparently of typhoid fever, although an assassination by poisoning was rumored at the time.

Ferdinand’s father Philip had spread rumors about Juana’s supposed mental illness and her misunderstood behavior after his death may have reinforced these rumors. In 1509, Juana’s father Ferdinand II, King of Aragon convinced the parliament that Juana was too mentally ill to govern, and was appointed her guardian and the regent of Castile and León. Juana was confined in the Royal Convent of Santa Clara in Tordesillas, Castile, now in Spain, under the orders of her father. In 1516, Ferdinand II, King of Aragon died. In his will, Ferdinand named his daughter Juana and her eldest son Charles the co-heirs of the Kingdom of Aragon. However, Juana would never reign as her son Charles would continue keeping her confined. Juana would not be released from her confinement until she died in 1555. Many historians feel that Juana was not mentally ill but had been manipulated by her father, husband, and her son. Juana’s father Ferdinand II, King of Aragon and her son Charles had a lot to gain from Juana being declared unfit to rule and confined.

Ferdinand’s wife Anne of Hungary and Bohemia; Credit – Wikipedia

On May 26, 1521, in Linz, Archduchy of Austria, now in Austria, Ferdinand married Anna of Bohemia and Hungary, daughter of King Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary and his third wife Anne of Foix-Candale. Anna’s mother died due to birth complications shortly after giving birth to her second child, the future Ludovicus II, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The death of Anna’s father King Vladislaus II in 1516 left Anna and her brother under the guardianship of the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. It was arranged for Anna to marry his grandson, then Archduke Ferdinand of Austria. At the time of his marriage in 1521, Ferdinand was governing the Habsburg hereditary lands on behalf of his older brother Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. The marriage contract stipulated that Ferdinand should succeed Anna’s brother Ludovicus as King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia in case Ludovicus died without legitimate male heirs.

Three sons of Ferdinand and Anna: Maximilian and his younger brothers Ferdinand and Johann; Credit – Wikipedia

Similar to the situation with King Louis XVI of France and Marie Antoinette, Ferdinand and Anna at first seemed to suffer from a lack of sexual instruction, but eventually, the marriage proved extremely successful both personally and politically. Ferdinand and Anna had fifteen children and all but two reached adulthood. Sadly, Anna died due to childbirth complications on January 27, 1547, at the age of forty-four, three days after giving birth to her fifteenth child. Despite being encouraged to remarry, Ferdinand could not forget his wife and never remarried.

Ludovicus II, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia died without a legitimate male heir after he was thrown from his horse at the Battle of Mohács against the Ottoman Empire in 1526. Ferdinand claimed both kingdoms and was elected King of Bohemia later in 1526. Ferdinand was proclaimed King of Hungary by a group of nobles, but another group of Hungarian nobles refused to allow a foreign ruler to hold that title and elected Hungarian John Zápolya as an alternative king. Although this conflict lasted until 1570, Ferdinand had the support of his older brother Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and was generally recognized as King of Hungary. Additionally, in 1531, Charles V recognized Ferdinand as his successor as Holy Roman Emperor, and Ferdinand was elevated to the title King of the Romans.

Ferdinand’s brother Charles several years before his abdication; Credit – Wikipedia

Physically exhausted after forty years of ruling, Ferdinand’s older brother Charles abdicated in 1555, the same year his 75-year-old mother Juana, confined in a convent for forty-six years, died. Charles retired to the peace of the Monastery of Yuste in Extremadura, Spain where he died in 1558. Upon Charles’s abdication, his younger brother Ferdinand, who had already been given Charles’ Austrian lands in 1521, became the Holy Roman Emperor. The Spanish Empire, including the possessions in the Netherlands, Italy, and the New World, was inherited by Charles’ son who reigned as Felipe II, King of Spain.

Division of the Habsburg lands after the death of Charles V, Holy Roman Empeor; Credit – By Barjimoa – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=93587376

Unlike his father Maximilian I and his brother Charles V, Ferdinand I did not travel between his domains. In 1533, he had moved his residence to Vienna and spent most of his time there. After Ferdinand became Holy Roman Emperor, Vienna became the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. During his reign as Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand pursued a policy aimed at strengthening peace between the constituent monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire, worked on reaching compromises between Catholics and Protestants, and consolidated imperial forces to fight the Ottoman Empire’s invasion in Central Europe. In December 1562, Ferdinand had his eldest son Maximilian elected King of the Romans, meaning that he would become Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor. In addition, Ferdinand passed the crown of Hungary to his son in 1563.

Funeral of Ferdinand I, Holy Romand Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

Plagued by fever attacks during the last years of his life, Ferdinand died in Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, now in Austria, on July 25, 1564, aged 61, and was buried next to his wife Anna in St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic. Their son Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor was buried with his parents.

Tomb of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, his wife Anna, and their son Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_I,_Holy_Roman_Emperor (Accessed: 17 May 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2022) Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, Lord of the Netherlands, Duke of Burgundy, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/charles-v-holy-roman-emperor-carlos-i-king-of-spain-karl-i-archduke-of-austria-charles-ii-lord-of-the-netherlands-duke-of-burgundy/ (Accessed: 17 May 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Juana I, Queen of Castile and León and Queen of Aragon. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/juana-i-queen-of-castile-and-leon-and-queen-of-aragon/> [Accessed 17 May 2023].
  • Flantzer, Susan, 2022. Philip of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, King of Castile and León. [online] Unofficial Royalty. Available at: <https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/philip-of-austria-duke-of-burgundy-king-of-castile/> [Accessed 17 May 2023].
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew, 1995. The Habsburgs. London: Viking.
  • Wilson, Peter, 2016. Heart of Europe: A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.

Bianca Maria Sforza, Holy Roman Empress, Archduchess of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Maria Bianca Sforza; Credit – Wikipedia

The Holy Roman Empire was a limited elective monarchy composed of hundreds of kingdoms, principalities, duchies, counties, prince-bishoprics, and Free Imperial Cities in central Europe. The Holy Roman Empire was not really holy since, after Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1530, no emperors were crowned by the pope or a bishop. It was not Roman but rather German because it was mainly in the regions of present-day Germany and Austria. It was an empire in name only – the territories it covered were mostly independent each with its own rulers. The Holy Roman Emperor directly ruled over only his family territories, and could not issue decrees and rule autonomously over the Holy Roman Empire. A Holy Roman Emperor was only as strong as his army and alliances, including marriage alliances, made him, and his power was severely restricted by the many sovereigns of the constituent monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century, prince-electors, or electors for short, elected the Holy Roman Emperor from among the sovereigns of the constituent states.

Frequently but not always, it was common practice to elect the deceased Holy Roman Emperor’s heir. The Holy Roman Empire was an elective monarchy. No person had a legal right to the succession simply because he was related to the current Holy Roman Emperor. However, the Holy Roman Emperor could and often did, while still alive, have a relative (usually a son) elected to succeed him after his death. This elected heir apparent used the title King of the Romans.

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Bianca Maria Sforza was the third wife of the three wives of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria. Born in Pavia, Duchy of Milan, now in Italy, on April 5, 1472, she was the third of the four children and the elder of the two daughters of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, 5th Duke of Milan and his second wife Bona of Savoy. Bianca Maria’s paternal grandparents were Francesco Sforza, 4th Duke of Milan, and her namesake Bianca Maria Visconti. Her maternal grandparents were Ludovico I, Duke of Savoy and Anne de Lusignan of Cyprus.

Bianca Maria had three siblings:

Bianca Maria’s father was notorious for being cruel, tyrannical, and vengeful. On December 26, 1476, when Bianca Maria was four-years-old, her 32-year-old father was stabbed to death while attending Mass at the Church of Santo Stefano in Milan by three high-ranking officials of the Milanese court. Bianca Maria’s father was succeeded by his 7-year-old son Gian Galeazzo Sforza, 6th Duke of Milan with his mother Bona serving as Regent of Milan. However, in 1481, in a power play, the young Duke’s paternal uncle Ludovico Sforza forced Bona to resign her position as Regent. Ludovico quickly gained power and became the de facto ruler of the Duchy of Milan. Ludovico imprisoned his nephew Gian Galeazzo and later became 7th Duke of Milan after Gian Galeazzo’s death, which was widely viewed as suspicious.

In 1476, at the age of four, Bianca Maria married her 11-year-old first cousin Philibert I, Duke of Savoy, who died from tuberculosis at the age of 17. After the death of Philbert, 10-year-old Bianca Maria returned to Milan, where she was placed under the care of her paternal uncle Ludovico Sforza. Ludovico placed little value on Bianca Maria’s education, so she was ill-educated and free to do whatever she wanted.

Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria

After the death of his beloved first wife Mary, Duchess of Burgundy in her own right and a second very short annulled marriage in name only to Anne, Duchess of Brittany in her own right, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria decided to marry for a third time to Bianca Maria Sforza. The marriage was arranged by Bianca Maria’s uncle Ludovico Sforza, who wanted recognition and the title of Duke of Milan to be confirmed by Maximilian. To make the marriage more desirable to Maximilian, Ludovico offered a dowry of 400,000 ducats in cash and a further 40,000 ducats in jewels. Twenty-one-year-old Bianca Maria and thirty-four-year-old Maximilian were married by proxy on November 30, 1493, in the Duchy of Milan. Bianca Maria then traveled with her large dowry and large escort to Innsbruck, County of Tyrol, now in Austria. However, because Maximilian was dealing with a Turkish invasion of his Duchy of Styria, Bianca had to wait until March 16, 1494, to marry Maximilian in person.

The marriage was not a happy one. Maximilian complained that Bianca Maria may have been more beautiful than his first wife Mary of Burgundy, but she was not as intelligent. He considered Bianca Maria uneducated, talkative, naive, careless, and wasteful with money. Bianca Maria had a miscarriage shortly after her marriage and it seems that she was never able to conceive again. She was a stepmother to the two surviving children of Maximilian and his first wife Mary of Burgundy. They were relatively close in age to Bianca Maria and she very much liked them.

Bianca Maria’s stepchildren:

After 1500, Maximilian lost all interest in Bianca Maria. She lived with her own court of 150 – 200 people from Milan, traveling to various castles. Maximilian did not allow Bianca Maria to control her own finances and so she seemed to be living in luxury one day and in poverty the next day. Bianca Maria’s court was arranged around the Roman Catholic church feasts with lavish celebrations at Easter, Christmas, Pentecost, and Corpus Christi. Carnivals, dances, tournaments, music, theater, hunting, and fishing were integral parts of Bianca Maria’s court life.

The Abbey Church at Stams Abbey where Bianca Maria is buried; Credit – Di Zairon – Opera propria, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50155281

In the last years of her life, Bianca Maria suffered from a debilitating illness, and died on December 31, 1510, aged 38, in Innsbruck, County of Tyrol, now in Austria. Maximilian was not in Innsbruck at the time of her death and did not return to attend her funeral. Bianca Maria was buried at the Abbey Church in the Crypt of the Princes of Tyrol at Stams Abbey (link in Italian) in Stams, County of Tyrol, one of Maximilian’s lands, now in Austria. Traditionally, a gilded statue of those interred in the Crypt of the Princes of Tyrol was placed in the crypt but no gilded statue or any type of memorial was ever made for Bianca Maria. She is only memorialized in the Hofkirche (Court Church) in Innsbruck where her bronze statue is one of twenty-eight statues on Maximilian’s cenotaph that depicts twenty-four events in Maximilian’s life. The Hofkirche and the cenotaph were built by Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I as a memorial to his grandfather Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I. One has to doubt that Bianca Maria would have been included if Maximilian had designed his own cenotaph.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Abbazia di Stams (2021) Wikipedia (Italian). Available at: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbazia_di_Stams (Accessed: 13 May 2023).
  • Bianca Maria Sforza (2023) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bianca_Maria_Sforza (Accessed: 13 May 2023).
  • Bianca Maria Sforza (2022) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bianca_Maria_Sforza (Accessed: 13 May 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/maximilian-i-holy-roman-emperor-duke-of-styria-carinthia-and-carniola-archduke-of-austria/ (Accessed: 13 May 2023).
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew. (1995) The Habsburgs. London: Viking.
  • Wilson, Peter H. (2016) Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, Archduke of Austria by Bernhard Strigel; Credit – Wikipedia

The Holy Roman Empire was a limited elective monarchy composed of hundreds of kingdoms, principalities, duchies, counties, prince-bishoprics, and Free Imperial Cities in central Europe. The Holy Roman Empire was not really holy since, after Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1530, no emperors were crowned by the pope or a bishop. It was not Roman but rather German because it was mainly in the regions of present-day Germany and Austria. It was an empire in name only – the territories it covered were mostly independent each with its own rulers. The Holy Roman Emperor directly ruled over only his family territories, and could not issue decrees and rule autonomously over the Holy Roman Empire. A Holy Roman Emperor was only as strong as his army and alliances, including marriage alliances, made him, and his power was severely restricted by the many sovereigns of the constituent monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century, prince-electors, or electors for short, elected the Holy Roman Emperor from among the sovereigns of the constituent states.

Frequently but not always, it was common practice to elect the deceased Holy Roman Emperor’s heir. The Holy Roman Empire was an elective monarchy. No person had a legal right to the succession simply because he was related to the current Holy Roman Emperor. However, the Holy Roman Emperor could and often did, while still alive, have a relative (usually a son) elected to succeed him after his death. This elected heir apparent used the title King of the Romans.

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Maximilian’s parents Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal

Maximilian I reigned as King of the Romans, the de facto leader of the Holy Roman Empire from 1493 – 1508, Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 – 1519, and ruled his family lands as Archduke of Austria from 1493 – 1519. Maximilian was born on March 22, 1459, at Wiener Neustadt Castle in Wiener Neustadt, Archduchy of Austria now in the state of Lower Austria in Austria. He was the second of the five children and the second but the eldest surviving son of Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor, Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola, Archduke of Austria and Infanta Eleanor of Portugal. As his father was sovereign of the Austrian hereditary lands, Maximilian and his siblings received the title of Archduke/Archduchess of Austria at birth. Maximilian’s paternal grandparents were Ernst II, Duke of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola and his second wife Cymburgis of Masovia, a member of the Polish Piast dynasty. His maternal grandparents were King Duarte of Portugal and Eleanor of Aragon.

Maximilian had four siblings but only one survived childhood:

  • Archduke Christoph of Austria (1455 – 1456), died in infancy
  • Archduchess Helene of Austria (1460 – 1462), died in early childhood
  • Archduchess Kunigunde of Austria (1465 – 1520), married Albrecht IV, Duke of Bavaria, had seven children
  • Archduke Johannes of Austria (1466 – 1467), died in early childhood

Since his elder brother died in infancy, Maximilian was prepared to be his father’s heir from an early age. When Maximilian was eight-years-old, his mother Eleanor, aged 32, died on September 3, 1467, from dysentery. In 1486, Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor ensured that his son Maximilian would succeed him as Holy Roman Emperor when the prince-electors unanimously elected Maximilian King of the Romans. The title King of the Romans was used to designate the successor to a Holy Roman Emperor elected during the lifetime of a sitting Emperor.

As early as 1463, when Maximilian was just four years old, Pope Pius II, who had previously been an advisor to Maximilian’s father as Enea Silvio Piccolomini, suggested a marriage between Maximilian and six-year-old Mary of Burgundy, the only child of Charles the Bold of Burgundy and the second of his three wives Isabella of Portugal. In 1467, Charles succeeded his father Philip III, Duke of Burgundy, and became Charles I, Duke of Burgundy, the ruler of the vast and rich Burgundian State that consisted of parts of the present-day Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and Germany. If Charles the Bold did not have a son, his daughter Mary would become the Duchess of Burgundy in her own right. In the fall of 1473, the two fathers, Friedrich III and Charles the Bold, met to discuss a possible marriage. However, the negotiations failed and ended after two months.

Maximilian’s first wife Mary, Duchess of Burgundy; Credit – Wikipedia

On January 5, 1477, during the Burgundian Wars, Charles I (the Bold), Duke of Burgundy was killed at the Battle of Nancy. Twenty-year-old Mary of Burgundy, the only child of Charles I, became the Duchess of Burgundy in her own right. Mary feared that King Louis XI of France would try to force her to marry his eldest son, and resumed the marriage negotiations with Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich III to marry his son Maximilian. King Louis XI of France tried to prevent the marriage by declaring that he was Mary’s overlord and refusing to consent to the marriage. However, Friedrich III agreed to the marriage of his son Maximilian and Mary. A proxy marriage was held on April 21, 1477, at Mary’s home, the Priesendorf in Bruges, County of Flanders, one of Mary’s lands, now in Belgium. On August 18, 1477, Maximilian arrived in Ghent, County of Flanders, now in Belgium, and on the next day, Maximilian and Mary were married in person.

Maximilian and Mary had three children:

It was through the marriage of Maximilian and Mary’s son Philip to Juana I, Queen of Castile and León, Queen of Aragon that the Habsburg lands would be joined with the Spanish lands. Philip and Juana’s son Carlos, best known as Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, was one of the most powerful ever monarchs and had a large number of titles due to his vast inheritance of the Burgundian, Spanish, and Austrian realms. Carlos I was not only the first King of a united Spain and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, but he was also Charles I, Archduke of Austria, and Charles II, Lord of the Netherlands, among many other titles.

Sadly, Maximilian and Mary’s marriage lasted only five years. In March 1482, despite being pregnant, Mary participated in a hunt in the woods near Wijnendale Castle in Flanders along with her husband. She was an experienced rider and she held her falcon in one hand and the reins in the other hand. However, Mary’s horse stumbled over a tree stump while jumping over a newly dug canal. The saddle belt under the horse’s belly broke causing Mary to fall out of the saddle and into the canal with the horse on top of her. Mary was seriously injured and was transported to Prinsenhof, her palace in Bruges, where she died, aged twenty-five, several weeks later from internal injuries. Mary was buried next to her father in the Church of Our Lady in Bruges in Flanders, now in Belgium. Maximilian and Mary’s son Philip, who was not quite four years old, succeeded his mother as ruler of the Burgundian State under the guardianship of his father Maximilian.

Anne, Duchess of Brittany, Maximilian’s second wife; Credit – Wikipedia

Maximilian had a short second marriage to Anne, Duchess of Brittany in her own right. On September 9, 1488, Anne’s father François II, Duke of Brittany died as a result of a fall from his horse, and Anne became the Duchess of Brittany in her own right. Anne feared for the independence of her duchy against the might of France and so she arranged a marriage for herself with Maximilian. Maximilian and Anne were married by proxy in 1490, which turned out to be a marriage in name only. King Charles VIII succeeded his father as King of France in 1483. However, he was a minor, and his elder sister Anne of France and her husband Peter II, Duke of Bourbon, served as regents. They refused to allow an in-person marriage between Anne and Maximilian because it would put the Habsburgs, Maximilian’s family, on two French borders. A month before Anne of Brittany’s father died, he had been forced to sign the Treaty of Verger and thereby becoming a vassal of King Charles VIII of France and agreeing to seek Charles’ consent before arranging the marriage of his daughters. The Treaty of Verger was used to force Anne of Brittany to annul her proxy marriage to Maximilian and marry King Charles VIII of France.

On August 19, 1493, Maximilian’s father died and he succeeded to the Habsburg hereditary lands, becoming the reigning Archduke of Austria. He also became the de facto ruler of the Holy Roman Empire via his election as King of the Romans in 1486. In 1508, Maximilian proclaimed himself the elected Holy Roman Emperor with the approval of Pope Julius II, ending the long tradition of requiring a papal coronation for the adoption of the Holy Roman Emperor title.

Bianca Maria Sforza, Maximilian’s third wife; Credit – Wikipedia

Maximilian married again to twenty-one-year-old Bianca Maria Sforza, the daughter of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, 5th Duke of Milan and his second wife Bona of Savoy. In 1476, at the age of 4, Bianca Maria had been married to her 11-year-old first cousin Philibert I, Duke of Savoy, who died from tuberculosis at the age of 17. Maximilian and Bianca Maria were married by proxy on November 30, 1493, in the Duchy of Milan. Bianca Maria then traveled with her large dowry and large escort to Innsbruck. However, because Maximilian was dealing with a Turkish invasion of his Duchy of Styria, Bianca had to wait until March 16, 1494, to marry Maximilian in person.

The marriage was not a happy one. Maximilian complained that Bianca Maria may have been more beautiful than his first wife Mary of Burgundy, but she was not as intelligent. He considered Bianca Maria uneducated, talkative, naive, wasteful with money, and careless. Bianca Maria had a miscarriage shortly after her marriage and it seems that she was never able to conceive again. After 1500, Maximilian lost all interest in Bianca Maria. She lived with her own court of people from Milan in various castles. Bianca Maria, aged 38, died on December 31, 1510, in Innsbruck, County of Tyrol, now in Austria. Maximilian was not in Innsbruck at the time of her death and did not return to attend her funeral.

Maximilian’s grandson Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, also King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, Lord of the Netherlands, and Duke of Burgundy by Bernard van Orley, 1519; Credit – Wikipedia

Maximilian’s reign was marked by the military and political restoration of the House of Habsburg and by the modernization of the administration of the Holy Roman Empire. Maximilian expanded the influence of the House of Habsburg through war, through his own marriage to Mary, Duchess of Burgundy, and the marriage of his son Philip to Juana I, Queen of Castile and León, Queen of Aragon. His grandson, the son of Philip and Juana, was Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, (reigned 1519 – 1556), King of Spain (reigned 1516 – 1556), Archduke of Austria (reigned 1519 – 1521), Lord of the Netherlands, and Duke of Burgundy (reigned 1506 – 1555). Charles, one of the most powerful ever monarchs, inherited and reigned over the dominions of his mother Juana (Castile and León, and Aragon) which would be united under Charles as the Kingdom of Spain, the dominions of his father Philip (the Burgundian State Philip had inherited from his mother Mary, Duchess of Burgundy, consisting of parts of the present-day Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and Germany), and also the Habsburg dominions of his paternal grandfather Maximilian (Archduchy of Austria, Duchy of Styria, Duchy of Carinthia, and Duchy of Carniola, today parts of Austria and Slovenia). Charles would be elected Holy Roman Emperor after the death of his grandfather Maximilian in 1519.

Maximilian in the last year of his life, holding his personal emblem, a pomegranate by Albrecht Dürer, 1519; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1501, Maximilian fell from his horse and badly injured his leg, causing him pain for the rest of his life. From 1514, he traveled everywhere with his coffin. In 1518, feeling his death was near after seeing an eclipse, he tried to return to his beloved Innsbruck but made it only to Wels in Upper Austria, where he suffered a stroke on December 15, 1518, that left him bedridden. However, Maximilian continued to read documents and receive foreign envoys. On January 12, 1519, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor,  Archduke of Austria died, aged 59 at the Castle of Wels in Wels, Upper Austria.

Tomb of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – By krischnig – Self-photographed, Copyrighted free use, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=87779171

Maximilian was buried under the steps of the altar at St. George’s Cathedral in Wiener Neustadt Castle in Wiener Neustadt in Lower Austria, now in Austria. As per his will, his heart was placed in the tomb of his first wife Mary, Duchess of Burgundy in the Church of Our Lady in Bruges, County of Flanders, now in Belgium.

Tomb of Mary, Duchess of Burgundy, where Maximilian’s heart was interred; Photo Credit – © Susan Flantzer

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2023) Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor, Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola, Archduke of Austria, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/friedrich-iii-holy-roman-emperor-duke-of-styria-carinthia-and-carniola-archduke-of-austria/ (Accessed: 02 May 2023).
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2021) What was the Holy Roman Empire?, Unofficial Royalty. Available at: https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/what-was-the-holy-roman-empire/ (Accessed: May 2, 2023).
  • Mary of Burgundy (2023) Encyclopedia.com. Available at: https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/mary-burgundy-1457-1482 (Accessed: 02 May 2023).
  • Maximilian I. (HRR) (2023) Wikipedia (German). Available at: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_I._(HRR) (Accessed: 02 May 2023).
  • Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (2023a) Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximilian_I,_Holy_Roman_Emperor (Accessed: 02 May 2023).
  • Максимилиан I (император Священной Римской империи)  Maximilian (2023) Wikipedia (Russian). Available at: https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B0%D0%BA%D1%81%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B8%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%B0%D0%BD_I_(%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80_%D0%A1%D0%B2%D1%8F%D1%89%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D0%A0%D0%B8%D0%BC%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B8) (Accessed: 02 May 2023).
  • Wheatcroft, Andrew. (1995) The Habsburgs. London: Viking.
  • Wilson, Peter H. (2016) Heart of Europe – A History of the Holy Roman Empire. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor, Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola, Archduke of Austria

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2023

Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – Wikipedia

The Holy Roman Empire was a limited elective monarchy composed of hundreds of kingdoms, principalities, duchies, counties, prince-bishoprics, and Free Imperial Cities in central Europe. The Holy Roman Empire was not really holy since, after Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1530, no emperors were crowned by the pope or a bishop. It was not Roman but rather German because it was mainly in the regions of present-day Germany and Austria. It was an empire in name only – the territories it covered were mostly independent each with its own rulers. The Holy Roman Emperor directly ruled over only his family territories, and could not issue decrees and rule autonomously over the Holy Roman Empire. A Holy Roman Emperor was only as strong as his army and alliances, including marriage alliances, made him, and his power was severely restricted by the many sovereigns of the constituent monarchies of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century, prince-electors, or electors for short, elected the Holy Roman Emperor from among the sovereigns of the constituent states.

Frequently but not always, it was common practice to elect the deceased Holy Roman Emperor’s heir. The Holy Roman Empire was an elective monarchy. No person had a legal right to the succession simply because he was related to the current Holy Roman Emperor. However, the Holy Roman Emperor could and often did, while still alive, have a relative (usually a son) elected to succeed him after his death. This elected heir apparent used the title King of the Romans.

Learn more at Unofficial Royalty: What was the Holy Roman Empire?

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Friedrich III reigned as Holy Roman Emperor effectively from 1440 to 1493, as Friedrich V, Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola from 1424 to 1493, and as Friedrich V, Duke (Duchy of Austria) and then Archduke of Austria (Archduchy of Austria) from 1457 to 1493. He would lay the foundation that would keep the House of Habsburg in a power play position until its fall after World War I. Friedrich was born on September 21, 1415, in Innsbruck, County of Tyrol, now in Austria. He was the eldest of the nine children and the eldest of the six sons of Ernst II, Duke of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola, the Inner Austrian duchies, and his second wife Cymburgis of Masovia, a member of the Polish Piast dynasty. Friedrich’s paternal grandparents were Leopold III, Duke of Austria and Viridis Visconti, a member of the House of Visconti which ruled in Milan, now in Italy. His maternal grandparents were Siemowit IV, Duke of Masovia and Alexandra of Lithuania.

Friedrich had eight siblings but only three survived infancy:

In 1424, when Friedrich was nine years old, his father Ernst II died and Friedrich became the Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola. Although the young duke lived with his mother in Graz or in Wiener Neustadt, both in Duchy of Styria, now in Austria, Friedrich’s paternal uncle Friedrich IV, Duke of Austria, Count of Tyrol became the guardian of Friedrich and his brother Albrecht and the Regent of the Duchies of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola. Friedrich’s uncle ensured that his nephews received a good education. In 1429, when he was fourteen years old Friedrich’s mother Cymburgis of Masovia died.

In 1435, Friedrich was deemed old enough to rule over his duchies although his younger brother Albrecht tried to assert himself as co-ruler, the beginning of a long rivalry. In 1436, Friedrich made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and was knighted by the Order of the Holy Sepulchre which greatly increased his status. When his uncle Friedrich IV, Duke of Austria, Count of Tyrol died in 1439, Friedrich served as Regent for his twelve-year-old first cousin Sigismund until 1446.

Friedrich also served as Regent of Austria for Ladislaus the Posthumous, Duke of Austria. As his name indicates, Ladislaus was born four months after the death in 1439 of his father Albrecht V, Duke of Austria. In 1438, Albrecht V had been elected King of the Romans, a title used after the election but before the coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor. Albert was effectively the Holy Roman Emperor, however, due to his death, he was never crowned Holy Roman Emperor and could not use the title. When Ladislaus died at the age of seventeen, unmarried, his branch of the House of Habsburg became extinct, and Friedrich became Duke of Austria. Friedrich was now the ruler of all the sovereign Austrian states and was the undisputed head of the House of Habsburg. Because of the death in 1439 of Albert V, who would have been Holy Roman Emperor upon his coronation, a successor had to be elected by the prince-electors. On February 2, 1440, 25-year-old Friedrich was unanimously elected King of the Romans and although effectively Holy Roman Emperor, he would not officially become Holy Roman Empire until his coronation by the pope in Rome.

The woman Friedrich would eventually marry was Infanta Eleanor of Portugal, the daughter of King Duarte of Portugal and Eleanor of Aragon. A marriage with Friedrich was probably suggested by her aunt Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy. Eleanor was also suggested as a bride for the future King Louis XI of France but Eleanor preferred Friedrich because a marriage with him would make her an empress instead of a queen. Marriage negotiations were conducted by Eleanor’s maternal uncle King Alfonso V of Aragon and Naples.

Friedrich meets Eleanor of Portugal for the first time by Pinturicchio, circa 1502-1507; Credit – Wikipedia

In 1452, 37-year-old Friedrich traveled to Rome to marry 18-year-old Infanta Eleanor of Portugal and be crowned Holy Roman Emperor. On March 16, 1452, Friedrich and Eleanor were married by Pope Nicholas V. Finally, on March 19, 1452, Friedrich and Eleanor were anointed in St. Peter’s Basilica by Cardinal Francesco Condulmer, Vice-Chancellor of the Holy Roman Church, and Friedrich was then crowned with the Imperial Crown by Pope Nicholas V. Friedrich III was the last Holy Roman Emperor to be crowned in Rome.

Empress Eleanor and her son Maximilian from Empress Eleanor’s Book of Hours; Credit – Wikipedia

Friedrich and Eleanor had five children but only two survived childhood:

During his reign, Friedrich concentrated on re-uniting the Habsburg hereditary lands of Austria. In 1453, Friedrich elevated the Duchy of Austria to an Archduchy and took on the title Archduke of Austria. Mary, Duchess of Burgundy, was, in her own right, the ruler of the Burgundian State which consisted of parts of the present-day Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, and Germany. Mary had many suitors and Friedrich had the good fortune that Mary chose his eldest surviving son Maximilian, the future Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, as her husband. The couple married in 1477 and Maximilian became her co-ruler. With the inheritance of the Burgundian State, the House of Habsburg began to rise to predominance in Europe. Looking into the future, Maximilian and Mary’s son Philip of Habsburg, also known as Philip the Handsome, was the heir to both his father’s and mother’s dominions. Philip married Juana I, Queen of Castile and León and Queen of Aragon, thereby adding Spain’s dominions to the House of Habsburg. Philip and Juana’s son Charles, best known as Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, was one of the most powerful ever monarchs and had a large number of titles due to his vast inheritance of the Austrian, Burgundian, and Spanish realms.

Friedrich’s wife Eleanor, aged 32, died on September 3, 1467, from dysentery in Wiener Neustadt, Duchy of Styria, now in Austria. She was buried at the Neukloster Abbey in Wiener Neustadt where her three children who died in childhood were buried. In 1486, Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor ensured that his son Maximilian would succeed him as Holy Roman Emperor when the prince-electors unanimously elected Maximilian King of the Romans.

Friedrich III, Holy Roman in old age; Credit – Wikipedia

In February 1493, Friedrich’s health began to worsen. He had an issue with his left leg which contemporary sources referred to as gangrene but in today’s modern medicine, the issue was caused by arteriosclerosis. Friedrich’s doctors decided to amputate the affected leg. Although Friedrich survived the amputation, he died on August 19, 1493, in Linz, Duchy of Austria, now in Austria, at the age of 77. Contemporary sources say the cause of his death was complications from the leg amputation, old age, or dysentery-like diarrhea from eating melon. Friedrich III’s reign of 53 years, from the time he was elected King of the Romans in 1440 until his death in 1493, is the longest reign of a Holy Roman Emperor.

Tomb of Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor; Credit – By Uoaei1 – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24993194

Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor, Duke of Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola, Archduke of Austria was initially buried at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, Austria, in the Ducal Crypt. In 1463, thirty years before his death, Friedrich commissioned Dutch sculptor Nikolaus Gerhaert van Leyden to build a monumental tomb in St. Stephen’s Cathedral. Van Leyden died in 1473 and the work was completed by Austrian stonemason and sculptor Michael Tichter (link in German). On November 12, 1513, the remains of Friedrich III, Holy Roman Emperor were transferred in a grand ceremony from the Ducal Crypt to the tomb. The tomb lid shows Emperor Friedrich in his coronation regalia surrounded by the coats of arms of all his dominions. The sides of the tomb are decorated with 240 small statues. The tomb is considered a masterpiece of medieval sculptural art.

Depiction of the tomb lid; Credit – Von Georges Jansoone – Selbst fotografiert, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1061466

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