Austria / Habsburgs: Political History and Notable Political / Military Figures

970 - 1156 - Margravate of Austria (All Facts)

• Founded and ruled by the House of Babenberg

1156 - 1453 - Duchy of Austria (All Facts)

• Medieval Principality of the Holy Roman Empire, established via “Privilegium Minus”, when the namesake Margraviate was detached from Bavaria and elevated to a duchy in its own right

  • After the ruling dukes of the House of Babenberg became extinct in male line, there was as much as three decades of rivalry on inheritance and rulership, until the German king Rudolf I took over the dominion as the first monarch of the Habsburg dynasty

  • Thereafter, the namesake duchy became the patrimony and ancestral homeland of the dynasty and the nucleus of the Habsburgs

1276 - 1918 - Habsburg Monarchy (All Facts)

1276 - 1282 - Rudolf (All Facts)

• First Duke and Founder of the Duchy of Austria and Habsburg Austria

  • He became the effective founder of the Habsburg Monarchy

• He was the first member of the House of Habsburg to become King of the Romans as the 18th King of Germany, having ruled over and controlled at the time what was the “Duchy of Austria”

• His reign laid the foundations for the rise of the Habsburg Dynasty, which became one of the most influential royal houses in European history

  • He helped secure Habsburg control over Austria, Styria, and Carinthia

• He was an elderly Swabian count by the time of his election to “King of the Romans” as King of Germany

  • He was from an old Swabian family by the time he was elected

1282 - 1308 - Albert (All Facts)

• 2nd Duke of Habsburg Austria

• He and his forces defeated his rival Adolf of Nassau and his forces in the Battle of Gollheim, thus succeeding Adolf of Nassau

• He was murdered by his nephew John, who was refused his share of the Habsburg lands controlled by the namesake

1308 - 1326 - Leopold (All Facts)

• 3rd Duke of Habsburg Austria

  • He was nicknamed “The Glorious”

• He and his forces were defeated by the Three Forest Cantons of the Swiss and their forces in the Battle of Morgarten

1365 - 1386 - Leopold III (All Facts)

• 8th Duke of Habsburg Austria

  • He was nicknamed “The Just”

• He and his forces were defeated and he was killed by the (Old) Swiss Confederation in the Battle of Sempach

1404 - 1439 - Albert V / Albert II (All Facts)

• 15th Duke of Habsburg Austria

  • He was nicknamed “The Magnanimous”

• By the time of his reign, Habsburg control of the Holy Roman Empire became virtually hereditary

  • By his reign, the Habsburg Monarchy was in control of the throne of the Holy Roman Empire

1453 - 1918 - Archduchy of Austria (All Facts)

• Renaissance and Early Modern Principality of the Holy Roman Empire and the nucleus of the Habsburgs, it was one of the most important states of the Holy Roman Empire as its rulers, as the namesake, also ruled as Holy Roman Emperors and sometimes ruled other states as well

• Became the center of the Holy Roman Empire and of central Europe with its capital at Vienna, which acted as the de facto capital of and seat for the Holy Roman Empire and Emperors

1457 - 1493 - Frederick III / Frederick V (All Facts)

• 2nd Archduke of Habsburg Austria (he was from the House of Habsburg)

  • He raised Habsburg Austria to an Archduchy prior to his reign, hence why he is the 2nd Archduke

• He lost control of Vienna, Lower Austria, Styria, and Carinthia in two campaigns to King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary

1493 - 1519 - Maximilian (All Facts)

• 3rd Archduke of Austria

  • He was the son of his predecessor

• His marriage to Anne of Brittany was annulled by King Charles VIII of France, effectively ending the independence of Brittany

• He joined an Anglo-Spanish alliance against France

  • Under his reign,

    • The English occupied Guingamp and Concerneau

    • The Spanish occupied Vannes