A journey through rule and time
645 years. 29 rulers. A crown that never remained quite the same.
From Rudolf I to Karl I: follow the central Habsburg succession through kingship, imperial office and the Austrian Empire.
- 4 eras
- 29 people
- 1273–1918
1 / 4
From kingship to an Austrian power base
An election, an enfeoffment and a series of contested transitions turn a comital house into a European power.
Image credit
Rudolph I of Austria
Antoni Boys
File:Rudolph I of Austria.jpg · Public domain
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01 · 1273–1291
From kingship to an Austrian power base
Rudolf I.
Elected king, Rudolf defeated Ottokar II and made Austria and Styria the foundation of Habsburg dynastic power.
Image credit
Albert I of Germany
Anton Boys
File:AlbrechtI.jpg · Public domain
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02 · 1282
From kingship to an Austrian power base
Albrecht I.
Albrecht turned the new Austrian possessions into durable rule and later fought his own way to the German royal crown.
Image credit
Friedrich der Schöne
uploaded by User:Tafkas , Maler unbekannt, painter is unknown
File:Friedrich der Schöne.jpg · Public domain
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03 · 1308
From kingship to an Austrian power base
Friedrich der Schöne
Friedrich contested the crown with Louis the Bavarian until captivity and reconciliation transformed their rivalry in a remarkable way.
Image credit
Albrecht der Lahme, PA04117
Blaschke, János (Austro-Hungarian printmaker, 1770-1833) (artist) (graphic artist)
File:Albrecht der Lahme, PA04117.jpg · Public domain
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04 · 1330–1358
From kingship to an Austrian power base
Albrecht II.
Though paralysed by illness, Albrecht ruled vigorously, acquired Carinthia and Carniola, and secured Austria with a landmark family ordinance.
Image credit
Portrait of Rudolf IV. of Austria
Anonymous Unknown author , Prager oder Wiener Meister
File:Rudolf IV.jpg · Public domain
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05 · 1358–1365
From kingship to an Austrian power base
Rudolf IV.
With the Privilegium maius Rudolf invented Austria’s archducal rank, founded the University of Vienna, and brought Tyrol to the Habsburgs.
Image credit
Albert III, Duke of Austria
Anonymous Unknown author
File:Albrecht Dritte Habsburg1.jpg · Public domain
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06 · 1365–1395
From kingship to an Austrian power base
Albrecht III.
Albrecht strengthened Vienna and princely authority, while the Treaty of Neuberg divided his inheritance into two Habsburg lines.
Image credit
Albert IV of Austria label QS:Len,"Albert IV of Austria"
Anton Boys
File:Albrecht IV.jpg · Public domain
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07 · 1395–1404
From kingship to an Austrian power base
Albrecht IV.
In only nine years of rule, Albrecht kept Austria on a Habsburg course through dangerous conflicts in Bohemia, Moravia, and Hungary.
Image credit
German: König Albrecht II. (1397-1439), Brustbild King Albrecht II title QS:P1476,de:"König Albrecht II. (1397-1439), Brustbild " label QS:Lde,"König Albrecht II. (1397-1439), Brustbild " label QS:Len,"King Albrecht II"
anonymous
File:Albrecht II. von Habsburg.jpg · Public domain
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08 · 1404
From kingship to an Austrian power base
Albrecht II.
Within months Albrecht united Austria, Bohemia, Hungary, and the German kingship—before his early death reopened every question.
1452 — Two claims, two offices
Friedrich III and Ladislaus reveal why this story is not a simple hereditary sequence.
Image credit
Portrait of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor (1415-1493)
Attributed to Hans Burgkmair the Elder
File:Hans Burgkmair d. Ä. (zugeschr.) - Bildnis Kaiser Friedrich III.jpg · Public domain
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09 · 1440
From kingship to an Austrian power base
Friedrich III.
Often underestimated, Friedrich outlasted crises and rivals, recovered Austria, and prepared Habsburg world power through the Burgundian marriage.
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Ladislaus Postumus
Unknown author Unknown author
File:Ladislaus Postumus.jpg · Public domain
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10 · 1440
From kingship to an Austrian power base
Ladislaus Postumus
A king born after his father’s death, Ladislaus became a prize in struggles for three realms; his death at seventeen ended the Albertinian line.
2 / 4
Emperors, partitions and an expanding monarchy
Imperial office and Austrian rule draw together, separate again and create a new political centre.
Image credit
German: Kaiser Maximilian I. Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor label QS:Lru,"Император Священной Римской империи Максимилиан I " label QS:Lde," Kaiser Maximilian I. " label QS:Len," Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor "
Albrecht Dürer
File:Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor.jpg · Public domain
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11 · 1493–1519
Emperors, partitions and an expanding monarchy
Maximilian I.
Maximilian combined chivalric spectacle, imperial reform, and audacious marriage politics, turning dynastic weddings into engines of Habsburg expansion.
Image credit
German: Kaiser Karl V. Portrait of Charles V title QS:P1476,de:"Kaiser Karl V. " label QS:Lde,"Kaiser Karl V. " label QS:Lit,"Ritratto di Carlo V seduto" label QS:Lja,"カール5世の肖像 (ティツィアーノ)" label QS:Lhu,"V. Károly császár" label QS:Lfr,"Portrait de Charles V" label QS:Larz,"صوره تشارلز الخامس" label QS:Lpl,"Karol V w fotelu" label QS:Luk,"Портрет Карла V у кріслі" label QS:Lnl,"Portrait of Charles V" label QS:Lmk,"Портрет на Карло V" label QS:Lfi,"Keisari Kaarle V" label QS:Len,"Portrait of Charles V" label QS:Les,"Retrato de Carlos V sentado" label QS:Lru,"Портрет Карла V в кресле"
Attributed to Titian
File:Portrait of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, seated (1500–1558), formerly attributed to Titian (Alte Pinakothek, Munich).jpg · Public domain
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12 · 1519
Emperors, partitions and an expanding monarchy
Karl V.
Karl ruled lands on which the sun scarcely set, yet Reformation, France, and the Ottomans exposed the limits of universal empire.
Image credit
Ferdinand I HRR
http://dl.ub.uni-freiburg.de/diglit/hs497-3/0001/thumbs?sid=2b806da3a88f2a7b7cf467186d172eab#current_page
File:Ferdinand I HRR.jpg · Public domain
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13 · 1521–1522
Emperors, partitions and an expanding monarchy
Ferdinand I.
Ferdinand shaped Austrian, Bohemian, and Hungarian lands into a new Central European monarchy and brokered compromise in a divided Empire.
Image credit
1527 Maximilian-2
File:1527 Maximilian-2.jpg · Public domain
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14 · 1564–1576
Emperors, partitions and an expanding monarchy
Maximilian II. Kaiser des Heiligen Römischen Reiches
Between the confessions Maximilian sought an unusually tolerant middle course, though he could not overcome the Empire’s religious division.
Image credit
Portrait of Rudolf II.
Joseph Heintz the Elder
File:Joseph Heintz d. Ä. 002.jpg · Public domain
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15 · 1576
Emperors, partitions and an expanding monarchy
Rudolf II.
Rudolf’s Prague court glittered with art and science while religious conflict and rivalry with his brother unravelled his political rule.
Image credit
Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor
Lucas van Valckenborch
File:Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor.jpg · Public domain
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16 · 1608
Emperors, partitions and an expanding monarchy
Matthias
Matthias stripped power from his brother Rudolf step by step, only to inherit with the crowns the unresolved conflicts preceding the Thirty Years’ War.
Image credit
Portrait of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor (1578-1637) label QS:Len,"Portrait of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor (1578-1637)" label QS:Lde,"Ferdinand II., Kaiser des Heiligen Römischen Reiches (1578-1637)"
Unidentified painter
File:Kaiser Ferdinand II. 1614.jpg · Public domain
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17 · 1619–1637
Emperors, partitions and an expanding monarchy
Ferdinand II.
Ferdinand’s uncompromising Catholicism helped turn the Bohemian revolt into a European war that overshadowed his entire reign.
Image credit
German: Kaiser Ferdinand III. (1608-1657), Brustbild Portrait of Emperor Ferdinand III (1608-1657) title QS:P1476,de:"Kaiser Ferdinand III. (1608-1657), Brustbild " label QS:Lde,"Kaiser Ferdinand III. (1608-1657), Brustbild " label QS:Len,"Portrait of Emperor Ferdinand III (1608-1657)" label QS:Lnl,"Portret van Ferdinand III, keizer van het Heilige Roomse Rijk (1608-1657)"
Jan van den Hoecke
File:Draw Portrait Austria Ferdinand III - digitally retouched.jpg · Public domain
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18 · 1637–1657
Emperors, partitions and an expanding monarchy
Ferdinand III.
Ferdinand brought the Thirty Years’ War to an end and accepted a new, more limited imperial order in the Peace of Westphalia.
Image credit
Emperor Leopold
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File:Emperor Leopold.jpg · Public domain
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19 · 1657
Emperors, partitions and an expanding monarchy
Leopold I.
Leopold’s long reign weathered Ottomans, plague, and Louis XIV; victory at Vienna in 1683 opened Austria’s rise as a great power.
Image credit
Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor
Unidentified painter
File:Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor.jpg · Public domain
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20 · 1705–1711
Emperors, partitions and an expanding monarchy
Joseph I.
Joseph’s brief reign brought military successes and early reforms, but ended unexpectedly in smallpox after only six years.
Image credit
Portrait of Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor (1685-1740) label QS:Len,"Portrait of Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor (1685-1740)"
Johann Gottfried Auerbach
File:Johann Gottfried Auerbach 004.jpg · Public domain
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21 · 1711–1740
Emperors, partitions and an expanding monarchy
Karl VI.
Karl gained vast lands after losing Spain, yet securing Maria Theresa’s succession through the Pragmatic Sanction became his life’s work.
3 / 4
Maria Theresa and the new House of Habsburg-Lorraine
Female succession preserves the monarchy while the imperial dignity follows a path of its own.
1740/1745 — Rule and imperial dignity divide
Maria Theresa rules in her own right; Francis Stephen holds the imperial dignity from 1745.
Image credit
German: Bildnis Maria Theresias als Königin von Ungarn Portrait of Maria Theresa as Queen of Hungary title QS:P1476,de:"Bildnis Maria Theresias als Königin von Ungarn " label QS:Lde,"Bildnis Maria Theresias als Königin von Ungarn " label QS:Lfr,"Impératrice Marie-Thérèse d'Autriche" label QS:Len,"Portrait of Maria Theresa as Queen of Hungary" label QS:Luk,"скачено з інтернету" label QS:Lnl,"Portret van Maria Theresia (1717-1780) als 'Koning' van Hongarije"
Martin van Meytens
File:Kaiserin Maria Theresia (HRR).jpg · Public domain
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22 · 1740–1780
Maria Theresa and the new House of Habsburg-Lorraine
Maria Theresia
Maria Theresa defended her inheritance in a European war, then transformed the endangered monarchy through far-reaching reforms.
Image credit
Frans I von Habsburg
Unidentified painter
File:Frans I von Habsburg.jpg · Public domain
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23 · 1745–1765
Maria Theresa and the new House of Habsburg-Lorraine
Franz I. Stephan
Franz Stephan wore the imperial crown while Maria Theresa ruled, and astute financial management built the fortune of Habsburg-Lorraine.
Image credit
Bildnis Kaiser Joseph II. (1741–1790)
Carl von Sales
File:Carl von Sales Bildnis Joseph II posthum 1823.jpg · Public domain
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24 · 1765–1790
Maria Theresa and the new House of Habsburg-Lorraine
Joseph II.
Joseph tried to remake state, church, and society in the spirit of the Enlightenment—so quickly that resistance caught up with many reforms.
Image credit
Holy Roman Emperor Leopold II
Heinrich Füger
File:Leopold II.jpg · Public domain
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25 · 1790–1792
Maria Theresa and the new House of Habsburg-Lorraine
Leopold II.
The seasoned reform ruler of Tuscany calmed both the monarchy and Europe in the two short years allowed to him.
4 / 4
From the old Empire to the monarchy’s end
The Austrian Empire emerges from the end of the Holy Roman Empire—and in 1918 that order ends as well.
1804/1806 — Two imperial titles, one person
Francis II/I stands both at the end of the old Empire and at the beginning of the Austrian Empire.
Image credit
German: Kaiser Franz I. (II.) (1768-1835) von Österreich im österreichischen Kaiserornat Emperor Francis I. of Austria (1768-1835) wearing the Austrians imperial robes label QS:Les,"Francisco I de Austria en traje de coronación" label QS:Lde,"Kaiser Franz I. von Österreich (1768-1835) im österreichischen Kaiserornat" label QS:Lfr,"Francois I d'Autriche en habit d'empereur autrichien." label QS:Lpl,"Cesarz Austrii Franciszek I (1768-1835) w austriackich insygniach cesarskich." label QS:Len,"Emperor Francis I. of Austria (1768-1835) wearing the Austrians imperial robes"
Friedrich von Amerling
File:Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor by Friedrich von Amerling 003.jpg · Public domain
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26 · 1792
From the old Empire to the monarchy’s end
Franz II.
Franz lost the Holy Roman Empire to Napoleon’s reordering, but preserved a new dynastic crown as the first Emperor of Austria.
Image credit
Ferdinando I d'Austria (B-W)
Wilhelm Rupp
File:Ferdinando I d'Austria (B-W).jpg · Public domain
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27 · 1835–1848
From the old Empire to the monarchy’s end
Ferdinand I von Österreich
Despite severe limitations Ferdinand remained the lawful emperor while Metternich and the State Conference governed—until revolution came in 1848.
Image credit
Franz Joseph of Austria 1910 old
Unidentified painter
File:Franz Joseph of Austria 1910 old.jpg · Public domain
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28 · 1848–1916
From the old Empire to the monarchy’s end
Franz Joseph I.
Franz Joseph’s 68 years spanned neo-absolutism, Dual Monarchy, and industrial modernity, while nationality conflicts and world war remained unresolved.
Image credit
Portrait photograph of Charles I of Austria label QS:Len,"Portrait photograph of Charles I of Austria" label QS:Lhu,"I. (IV.) Károly császár-király portréja"
Hermann Clemens Kosel
File:Karl I., Kaiser von Österreich (1887-1922).jpg · Public domain
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29 · 1916
From the old Empire to the monarchy’s end
Karl I.
Karl sought peace in vain during the First World War and withdrew from government in 1918, but never formally renounced his crowns.