The House of Habsburg

Also known as House of Austria

is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and Spanish Empire and several other countries.

The Habsburgs controlled many regions within Europe beginning from the 10th Century when they owned territories in Alsace and Switzerland, and up until the early 20th century.

The House takes its name from Habsburg Castle, a fortress built around 1020–1030 in present day Switzerland by Count Radbot of Klettgau, who chose to name his fortress Habsburg. His grandson, Otto II, was the first to take the fortress name as his own, adding "von Habsburg" to his title.

The origins of the castle's name, located in what is now the Swiss canton of Aargau, are uncertain. Most people assume the name to be derived from the High German Habichtsburg (Hawk Castle), but some historians and linguists are convinced that the name comes from the Middle High German word "hab/hap" meaning ford, as there is a river with a ford nearby. The first documented use of the name by the dynasty itself has been traced to the year 1108. The Habsburg Castle was the family seat in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries.

The House of Habsburg gathered dynastic momentum through the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries.

By 1276, Count Radbot's seventh generation descendant, Rudolph of Habsburg, had moved the family's power base from Habsburg Castle to the Archduchy of Austria.

Rudolph had become King of Germany/Holy Roman Emperor in 1273, and the dynasty of the House of Habsburg was truly entrenched in 1276 when Rudolph became sovereign ruler of Austria, which the Habsburgs ruled for the next six centuries.

A powerful and calculating family, they often made land alliances through marriage, which resulted in much in breeding. Because of this, the descendents of the Habsburgs typically had unique facial features including a protruding lower lip and chin.

These series of dynastic marriages enabled the family to vastly expand its domains, to include Burgundy, Spain, Bohemia, Hungary, and other territories into the inheritance.

In 1453, a Habsburg descendent, Friedrich III was crowned Holy Roman Emperor. With that title and his influence, he began to raise cultural pride in Austria, claiming that Austria was a superior nation to others. In pursuit of his belief, he waged war against King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary. He defeated the Hungarian king and was able to acquire the city of Vienna, which had been under Hungarian control up until that time.

• In 1477, Friedrich III was also able to promote the marriage of his son, Maximilian, to Maria of Burgundy in order to acquire additional land for the Habsburg Empire. Friedrich III was also influential in establishing the marriage of his other son, Philip, to Joan, who was the daughter of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile, thus ensuring his families interests in the regions held by Spain. These regions included not only Spain, but also featured land in Italy, the Netherlands, and in the New Worlds, including in North America.

• As time progressed, Philip and Joan had two sons: Charles I and Ferdinand I. Because of his families close ties with Spain, Charles I eventually became Spain's ruler in 1516. Then, in 1519, Charles was crowned Charles V, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

• As Charles I controlled a vast amount of land, he delegated control over Austria, Bohemia, and Hungary to his brother, Ferdinand I. All was not peaceful, however, within the Habsburg Empire, as wars began to occur between the (Christian) Habsburgs and the (Moslem) Ottoman Empire (Turks). The Turks wanted to take control of Vienna, which they viewed as both an economically viable, and strategically located, city to possess. Meanwhile, Ferdinand I had moved his court to Vienna. Thus, Ferdinand I battled with the Turks to defend his city. The result was that the Turks withdrew from the city.

• Unity between Charles I and Ferdinand I prevailed until Charles I abdicated his position as Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Upon leaving the throne, Charles I gave control of Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands to his son, Philip II. Concurrently, Charles´ brother, Ferdinand I was given reign over the Central European territories. This event was to cause a split within the family as Ferdinand I, not Philip II, was also designated by Charles I to become the new Holy Roman Emperor.

In the 16th century, the family separated into the senior Habsburg Spain and the junior Habsburg Monarchy branches, who settled their mutual claims in the Oñate treaty.

• During the remaining 1500's and into the 1600's, the Habsburgs were involved in internal political intrigues, external wars with the Turks, and a large bout of Bubonic plague that was ravaging the region and that prevailed extensively in Vienna in the 1680s. Because of this, it was not until the 1700s that Charles VI, the current Austrian emperor, tried to unify Habsburg control and thus guarantee the empire's continuance. Since Charles VI had no male heirs, he arranged for his daughter, Maria Theresa to marry Francis I of Lorraine. This alliance was meant to extend the Habsburg lineage into France.

• During the War of the Austrian Succession, which occurred from1740 to 1748, many European nations challenged Maria Theresa's rule. However, she was successful in retaining control over her lands.

• During Maria Theresa's reign, a "Golden Age" existed for Austria, and the Habsburg Empire, as art and other cultural developments were encouraged. Additionally, many new civil policies were instituted. For example, a formal system of public education was established during this time. As Maria Theresa aged, her son, Joseph II, became her successor. Joseph II also agreed with his mother's established policies and tried to issue even more reforms within the region. These reforms included the tolerance, among all citizens, towards people of different religious beliefs.

The House of Habsburg became extinct in the male line in the 18th century. The Spanish branch ended upon the death of Charles II in 1700 and was replaced by the Anjou branch of the House of Bourbon in the person of his great-nephew Philip V.

The Austrian branch went extinct in the male person in 1740 with the death of Charles VI and in the female person in 1780 with the death of his daughter Maria Theresa and was succeeded by the Vaudemont branch of the House of Lorraine in the person of her son Joseph II. The new successor house styled itself formally as House of Habsburg-Lorraine (German: Habsburg-Lothringen), although it was often referred to as simply the House of Habsburg.

• When Napoleon Bonaparte came to power in France in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries, the Habsburgs faced a new enemy who sought to control their lands. In 1806, Franz II, who was the grandson of Maria Theresa and who was the king of Germany and Austria as well as the Holy Roman Emperor, was forced by Napoleon to relinquish his titles to Napoleon.

• Franz II compiled. Although the Habsburgs tried to appease Napoleon, even arranging the marriage of Franz II´s daughter, Marie Louise, to Napoleon, defeat over Napoleon could not be established until 1815 at the battle of Waterloo.

• The 1800s saw the demise of the vast power maintained by the Habsburgs. In 1859, Habsburg control no longer existed in Italy. Then, in 1866, the same occurred in Germany. The Habsburgs were, however, still able to control Austria and Hungary, with the combined state being called the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary. During this time, the Habsburg Empire was not without problems, however. This is because the people who resided in the Central European territories began to want their own nations to be formed.

• Tensions rose between the Habsburgs and these peoples. Then, when the heir to the Austrian throne, Franz Ferdinand, was assassinated in Sarajevo in 1914, the Hapsburgs declared war on Serbia. This event helped to propel Europe into World War I.

• The Habsburg Empire was finally dismantled in 1918 with the defeat of Austria and Hungary at the end of World War I and the founding of the Republic of Austria. The Habsburg descendents, however, were able to retain their traditional titles although as a monarchy, they would never rule again.

A word about the coats of arms

• The Habsburg Empire was never composed of a single unified and unitary state as Hohenzollern Germany or Great Britain was. It was made up of an accretion of territories that owed their historic loyalty to the head of the house of Habsburg as hereditary lord. The Habsburgs had mostly married the heiresses of these territories, most famously of the Netherlands and Spain. They used their arms then as a statement of their right to rule all these territories. As there were many territories, so their arms were complex and reflected the waxing and waning position of the Habsburgs within European power politics. It was not until the 19th century that the arms began to take on their own life as symbols of a state which may have an existence outside of the Habsburg dynast.

Counts of Habsburg

• Before Rudolph rose to German king, the Habsburgs were Counts in what is today southwestern Germany and Switzerland.

• Radbot of Klagau, built the Habsburg Castle (ca. 985–1035). Besides Werner I, he had two other sons: Otto I, who would become Count of Sundgau in the Alsace, and Albrecht I.

Counts of Habsburg

• Werner I, Count of Habsburg (1025 / 1030–1096). Besides Otto II, there was another son, Albert II who was reeve of Muri from 1111–1141 after the death of Otto II.

• Otto II, of Habsburg; first to name himself as "of Habsburg" (died 1111) Father of: Werner II.

• Werner II, of Habsburg (around 1135; died 1167) Father of: Albrecht III.

Counts of Habsburg

• Albrecht III: of Habsburg (the Rich), died 1199. Under him, the Habsburg territories expanded to cover most of what is today the German-speaking part of Switzerland. Father of: Rudolph II.

• Rudolph II, of Habsburg (b. c. 1160, died 1232) Father of: Albrecht IV.

Counts of Habsburg

• Albrecht IV, of Habsburg, (died 1239 / 1240); father of Rudolph IV of Habsburg, who would later become king Rudolph I of Germany. Between Albrecht IV and his brother Rudolph III, the Habsburg properties were split, with Albrecht keeping the Aargau and the western parts, the eastern parts going to Rudolph III. Albrecht IV was also a mutual ancestor of Sophia Chotek and of her husband Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria.