Reformation, Counterref.
1519-1618






The Austrian Lands, until 1519



A.) The Habsburg Dynasty

In 1273, seemingly insignificant knight RUDOLF VON HABSBURG was elected Emperor. He used his position as Emperor to win the DUCHY OF AUSTRIA for his family, which became the nucleus for the Habsburg territorial complex (the original Habsburg, a small castle located in western Switzerland, was too insignificant). The Habsburgs were very successful in the pursuit of DYNASTIC POLICY, of which arranged political marriage was a major tool. The dynasty's motto is FELIX AUSTRIA, NUBE (lucky Austria, marry). By 1363 they had acquirred the Austrian complex of territories, basically modern Austria with Slovenia, but without Salzburg. Since 1438 the Emperors were exclusively chosen from the Habsburg family, in 1477/1516 the Burgundian territories were acquired, in 1516 Spain, in 1526 the Bohemian Lands and what was left of Hungary.
In theory, all those territories united in DYNASTIC UNION were separate, autonomous units, with separate representation (LANDTAG), separate laws (LANDRECHT), just sharing the person of territorial lord.


Roman Kings (Emperors), Archdukes of Austria and Habsburg Sidelines, 1438-1806
Links lead to biographies from aeiou. Identification might cause troubles, for Emperor Charles V. was Archduke Charles I.
Years Roman Kings Years Archdukes Years Dukes Sideline
1438-1439
1440-1493
1493-1519 		ALBRECHT II.
FRIEDRICH III.
MAXIMILIAN I. 		1404-1439
1440-1457
1458-1462
1462-1463
1475-1490
1493-1519 		ALBRECHT V.
Ladislaus Postumus
FRIEDRICH V.
Albrecht VI.
Sigismund
MAXIMILIAN I. 		1446-1458 Sigismund Duke of Tyrol





EXTERNAL
FILES 		Hussite Wars (Austria invaded 1425-1431), from aeiou
Rudolf I., von Habsburg, from aeiou
DOCUMENTS Documents on the History of Austria, from Eurodocs
Portraits of Charles V., Maximilian I., from Dominicus Custos, Atrium heroicum Caesarum, regum, [...] imaginibus [...] illustr[atum]., Augsburg 1600-1602, posted by MATEO, Univ. Mannheim
Map of Central Europe / Austrian Lands c. 1360, of c 1460, from Freeman's Historical Geography (1903), posted by Perry Castaneda Library, Univ. of Texas, Map Coll.
Establishment of the Duchy of Austria, Sept. 17th 1156, from Avalon Project at Yale Law School; Privilegium Minus of 1156, from Welt-Jahrtausend.de, German Text in excerpt


This page is part of World History at KMLA
First posted in 2000, last revised on November 12th 2004

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