Maximilian III.

Maximilian III of Habsburg, also known as “the Deutschmeister,” was born on 12 October 1558 in Wiener Neustadt and died on 2 November 1618 in Vienna. He came from the Austrian line of the Habsburg dynasty and was the fifth son of Emperor Maximilian II and Maria of Spain. His brothers included the future emperors Rudolf II and Matthias. During his life, he served as archduke, Grand and German Master of the Teutonic Order, and regent of Styria and Tyrol. Maximilian spent his childhood and youth at the imperial court in Vienna. He was originally intended for the clergy and was prepared to assume the bishoprics of Münster, Bamberg, and Salzburg. This plan changed in the 1580s, when, at his father’s urging, Maximilian was designated as the future head of the Teutonic Order. He joined the order in 1585 and was appointed coadjutor to its Grand Master, Heinrich von Bobenhausen. As coadjutor, Maximilian soon took over the effective leadership of the order, even though the elderly Grand Master was still alive. He pushed Heinrich von Bobenhausen out of administrative affairs and had him sent to a remote commandery in Alsace. He also began wearing the insignia of the Grand Master and using that title in official documents, despite the rules of the order. In 1590, a settlement was reached with Bobenhausen, after which Maximilian officially assumed the office. A significant, though ultimately unsuccessful, episode in Maximilian’s life was his claim to the Polish throne. After the death of King Stefan Báthory in 1586, Maximilian became one of the Habsburg candidates for the Polish crown. During the free election in August 1587, he emerged as the principal rival of the Swedish prince Sigismund Vasa. He was supported, among others, by the Lithuanian nobility, most of the bishops, and the influential Zborowski family of Lesser Poland. On 19 August 1587, the Polish primate Stanisław Karnkowski declared Sigismund Vasa king. The pro-Habsburg faction led by the brothers Andrzej, Jan, and Krzysztof Zborowski refused to accept the decision. On 22 August, Jakub Woroniecki, the bishop of Kyiv, had Maximilian proclaimed king of Poland. The archduke, who was in Vienna at the time, reacted immediately. On 27 September 1587, he swore to the pacta conventa in Olomouc Cathedral and then set out for Poland through Upper Silesia. At the beginning of October, he crossed the border near Beuthen with his troops. On 21 October, he reached Mogiła and planned to enter Kraków in triumph. His advance was halted by the army of Jan Zamoyski, the Grand Crown Hetman, a political opponent of the Zborowski family and a supporter of Sigismund. Maximilian attempted to capture Kraków, but on 24 November 1587 he was repulsed because his forces were too small and was forced to retreat to Upper Silesia. During the retreat, his soldiers plundered numerous villages and continued operations along the border and around Wieluń until the end of December. At the beginning of 1588, Zamoyski prepared for a decisive battle. On 24 January, the two armies met near Byczyna. The battle ended in Maximilian’s defeat, and he was taken prisoner by Zamoyski. At first, the hetman treated him more leniently than might have been expected: he invited him to his quarters and then brought him to Zamość. There, Maximilian even became godfather to the daughter of Zamoyski and Gryzelda Batorówna. Later, however, he caused further difficulties by attempting to escape. After the attempt was discovered, Zamoyski had him confined at Krasnystaw Castle. Under the Treaty of Beuthen and Będzin, signed on 10 March 1589, Maximilian regained his freedom and left the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in July of the same year. Despite the conditions of his release, he did not renounce the title of Polish king and continued to use it until 1598. After returning, Maximilian again devoted himself to the Teutonic Order. In 1593, the emperor appointed him regent of Styria. In this role, he took part in fighting in the Balkans against the Ottoman Empire. At first, he served under the command of his brother Matthias; later, he personally led imperial troops in Hungary and Croatia. He achieved no significant victories. After six years of military campaigns, he returned to Germany and settled in Mergentheim, where he remained until 1602. From 1599 onward, he once again became deeply involved in the order’s internal affairs. The reform he prepared was implemented in 1606. In Mergentheim, he founded a seminary for priests of the Teutonic Order. At the same time, he abolished the order’s female branch as well as the institutions for half-brothers and familiars. In 1612, Maximilian assumed the regency of Tyrol and moved to Innsbruck. There, he proved to be a capable and energetic administrator. His economical administration and sensible financial policy brought him success. He also became increasingly involved in the domestic politics of the Habsburg state. He advocated a compromise between Catholics and Protestants and helped secure the election of Ferdinand II as king of Bohemia and Hungary in 1617 and 1618. In 1618, he also participated in the arrest of Cardinal Melchior Khlesl, who was responsible for Habsburg foreign policy. In 1612, Maximilian appointed Johann Eustach von Westernach as his coadjutor; in 1616, he entrusted the role to Bishop Karl von Habsburg. Among the objects associated with his memory is an archducal crown that entered the treasury of Klosterneuburg Abbey in 1616. From the seventeenth through the nineteenth century, it was used as a homage crown by the Austrian rulers. In 1587, Pope Sixtus V had also presented Maximilian with a consecrated sword as a sign of his sympathy for the Habsburgs and their efforts to secure the Polish throne.