Barbara von Österreich

Barbara of Austria was born on 30 April 1539 in Vienna as the eleventh child of the future Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I and his wife, Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. She belonged to the House of Habsburg and was connected through her parents to important European ruling families. On her father’s side, she was descended from Philip the Handsome and Joanna I of Castile; on her mother’s side, from Vladislaus II, King of Bohemia and Hungary, and Anna de Foix of the House of Foix-Grailly. After her mother’s death in 1547, Ferdinand I entrusted his unmarried daughters to the care of nuns at a convent in Innsbruck. Barbara lived there until her marriage. The only exception came during the invasion of Tyrol by Protestant troops in 1552, when she and her sisters Magdalena, Margaret, Helena, and Joanna temporarily stayed at Bruneck Castle. Barbara received a strictly Catholic education strongly shaped by Jesuit influence. Petrus Canisius and Diego Laínez were among the clergymen who influenced her training, and Jesuits later remained her confessors. Religious devotion and active charity became central features of her life. Her contemporaries held differing opinions about her appearance. Some observers described her as unattractive and noted the pronounced overbite characteristic of many Habsburgs, while a Venetian diplomat considered her the most beautiful of the unmarried archduchesses. Barbara’s marriage was initially the subject of several dynastic considerations. In 1560, she was considered as a possible wife for Duke Guglielmo of Mantua, who later married her older sister Eleonora. When several suitors sought the hand of her youngest sister Joanna in 1562—including a prince of Transylvania, the Florentine heir Francesco, and the Duke of Ferrara, Alfonso—Emperor Ferdinand decided to marry Barbara to Alfonso. An alliance between the Habsburgs and the House of Este promised to limit French influence over Ferrara. The decision was also supported by Philip II of Spain, an ally of the Duke of Florence. Barbara met Alfonso II in person for the first time in July 1565, when he traveled to Innsbruck. In November, she went with her sister Joanna to Trent, where papal envoys were preparing a joint wedding ceremony. Renewed tensions between the ruling houses, however, led to the wedding being moved to the respective residences of the future spouses. Barbara arrived in Ferrara on 1 December 1565 and married Alfonso II on 5 December. He was Duke of Ferrara, Modena, and Reggio. The wedding celebrations continued until 9 December. They included the construction of a so-called temple of love and a grand tournament. Among the guests was Barbara’s former suitor, the Duke of Mantua, accompanied by his wife Eleonora. The poet Torquato Tasso, who was then serving at the court of Ferrara, witnessed the bride’s entry and the festivities. He later drew on his impressions in the pastoral play “Aminta” and dedicated several poems to Barbara. As Duchess of Ferrara, Modena, and Reggio, Barbara won the affection and respect of her subjects through her care for those in need. Although she did not speak Italian, she and Alfonso shared a close and understanding relationship. Their marriage remained childless but was considered happy. When Alfonso took part in a war against the Ottomans about a year after their wedding, Barbara worried deeply about him. The emotional strain affected her health, and from that time onward she suffered from persistent illness. Barbara remained a committed Catholic while maintaining a good relationship with her Protestant mother-in-law, Renata of France. She gave particular support in Ferrara to the Jesuits who had guided her spiritually in Innsbruck. Following severe earthquakes in 1570 and 1571, she cared for girls and young women who had lost their parents. For them, she founded the Saint Barbara Orphanage in Ferrara. In the period between the earthquakes, the duchess was forced to live temporarily in a tent, which placed additional strain on her already weakened health. Barbara of Austria died of tuberculosis in Ferrara on 19 September 1572, at the age of 33. Her early death caused widespread mourning, especially among the Jesuits. The head of the order allowed Alfonso II to have his wife buried at the altar of the Jesuit church in Ferrara. Seven years later, the widowed duke married for a third time, to Margaret of Mantua, a niece of Barbara. Barbara continued to have a presence in Italian culture after her death. Torquato Tasso dedicated several sonnets, canzoni, a funeral oration, and a dialogue to her. The poet Giovanni Battista Guarini also wrote a canzone in her memory. Two portraits of Barbara are held by the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. One depicts her during the negotiations surrounding her marriage to Alfonso; the other was painted in 1565 after her marriage and portrays her at full length.