Ferdinand II of Austria
| Ferdinand II | |
|---|---|
| Portrait by Francesco Terzi
Portrait by Francesco Terzi
| |
| Archduke of Further Austria | |
| Reign | 25 July 1564 – 24 January 1595 |
| Predecessor | Ferdinand I |
| Successor | Matthias |
| Born | 14 June 1529 Linz, Archduchy of Austria, Holy Roman Empire |
| Died | 24 January 1595 (aged 65) Innsbruck, County of Tyrol, Holy Roman Empire |
| Spouse | Philippine Welser (m. 1557; died 1580) Anna Caterina Gonzaga (m. 1582) |
| Issue more... |
Andrew, Margrave of Burgau Charles, Margrave of Burgau Archduchess Eleanor of Austria Archduchess Maria of Austria Anna, Holy Roman Empress |
| House | Habsburg |
| Father | Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor |
| Mother | Anna of Bohemia and Hungary |
Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria (14 June 1529 – 24 January 1595) was ruler of Further Austria and Imperial Count of Tyrol since 1564. The son of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, he first married Philippine Welser, and later Anna Caterina Gonzaga. Through his second marriage he was the father of Anna of Tyrol, the future Holy Roman Empress.
Biography
Archduke Ferdinand of Austria was the second son of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. He was a younger brother of Emperor Maximilian II.
He grew up in Innsbruck, where his father governed the Austrian hereditary lands on behalf of Ferdinand's uncle Charles V.
Ferdinand was said to be the favorite son of his father. He was described by a visiting dignitary to court as "handsome and friendlier" than his brother Maximilian.
Ferdinand and his siblings were raised very strictly and given a thorough education. Among his teachers were Kaspar Ursinus Velius and Georg Tannstätter. Ferdinand and his brother were educated in languages, and other young noble boys were invited to court to be educated alongside the two archdukes. They were not to speak to them in German, only in Latin, Czech or other foreign languages.
Ferdinand was also instructed in the Catholic religion and their God-given right to rule, and that this was a gift based on the condition that they were to fear and love God.
At the behest of his father, he was put in charge of the administration of Bohemia in 1547. He also led the campaign against the Turks in Hungary in 1556.[1]
In 1557, he was secretly married to Philippine Welser, daughter of a patrician from Augsburg, with whom he had several children. The marriage was only accepted by Emperor Ferdinand I in 1559 under the condition of secrecy. The children were to receive the name "of Austria" but would only be entitled to inherit if the House of Habsburg became totally extinct in the male line, and thus the marriage had many qualities of a morganatic marriage. The sons born of this marriage received the title Margrave of Burgau, an ancient Habsburg possession in Further Austria. The younger of the sons, who survived their father, later received the princely title of Fürst zu Burgau.[2]
After his father's death in 1564, Ferdinand became the ruler of Tyrol and other Further Austrian possessions under his father's will. However, he remained governor of Bohemia in Prague until 1567, according to the wishes of his brother Maximilian II.
In his own lands, Ferdinand made sure that the Catholic Counter-Reformation would prevail. He also was instrumental in promoting the Renaissance in central Europe and was an avid collector of art. He accommodated his world-famous collections in a museum built specifically for that purpose, making Ambras Castle the oldest museum in the world, and as the only Renaissance Kunstkammer of its kind to have been preserved at its original location, the Chamber of Art and Curiosities at Ambras Castle represents an unrivalled cultural monument. The collection was started during Ferdinand's time in Bohemia, and he subsequently moved it to Tyrol. In particular, the Chamber of Art and Curiosities, the gallery of portraits, and the collection of armor were very expensive, leading Ferdinand to incur a high level of debt. Part of the collections remained in Innsbruck, and part ultimately was moved to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
After the death of his wife Philippine in 1580, he married his niece, Anna Caterina Gonzaga, a daughter of William I, Duke of Mantua, in 1582.[3]
Archduke Ferdinand died on 24 January 1595. Since his sons from the first marriage were not entitled to the inheritance, and the second produced only surviving daughters, Tyrol was reunified with the other Habsburg lands. His daughter from the Mantuan marriage to Anna Caterina (later Anna Juliana) became Empress Anna, consort of Mathias, Holy Roman Emperor, who received his Further Austrian inheritance.
Children
He and his first wife Philippine Welser were parents of four children:
- Margrave Andrew of Burgau[4] (15 June 1558 – 12 November 1600). Became a cardinal in 1576, Margrave of Burgau in 1578, Bishop of Constance in 1589 and Bishop of Brixen in 1591. He had two illegitimate children.
- Charles, Margrave of Burgau (22 November 1560 – 30 October 1618), Margrave of Burgau. He married his first cousin, Sibylle (1557–1627), the youngest daughter of daughter of William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg (28 July 1516 – 5 January 1592), and Maria, Archduchess of Austria, daughter of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor. They had no legitimate children. He and his mistress Chiara Elisa di Ferrero had three illegitimate children.
- Philip of Austria (7 August 1562 – 9 January 1563), twin of Maria.
- Maria of Austria (7 August 1562 – 25 January 1563), twin of Philip.[5]
On 14 May 1582, Ferdinand married his niece Anna Caterina Gonzaga. She was a daughter of William I, Duke of Mantua, and Eleonora of Austria, younger sister of Ferdinand. They were parents to three daughters:[6]
- Archduchess Anna Eleonore of Austria (26 June 1583 – 15 January 1584).
- Archduchess Maria of Austria (16 June 1584 – 2 March 1649), a nun.
- Archduchess Anna of Austria (4 October 1585 – 14 December/15 December 1618); married her first cousin Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor.
He had at least two illegitimate children:
With Anna von Obrizon:[7]
- Veronika von Villanders (1551–1589). Married Giovan Francesco di Gonzaga-Novellara, Lord of Campitello.
With Johanna Lydl von Mayenburg:[8]
- Hans Christoph von Hertenberg (c. 1592 – 2 September 1613). Married Ursula Gienger.
Ancestors
- Ancestors of Ferdinand II of Austria
- 8. Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor[9]
- 4. Philip I of Castile[10]
- 9. Mary, Duchess of Burgundy[9]
- 2. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
- 10. Ferdinand II of Aragon[10]
- 5. Joanna I of Castile[10]
- 11. Isabella I of Castile[10]
- 1. Ferdinand II, Archduke of Further Austria
- 12. Casimir IV Jagiellon[11]
- 6. Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary[11]
- 13. Elisabeth of Austria[11]
- 3. Anne of Bohemia and Hungary
- 14. Gaston de Foix, Count of Candale[12]
- 7. Anne of Foix-Candale[11]
- 15. Catherine of Foix[13]
Male-line family tree
- v
t
e
House of Habsburg[14] - Original line
- Albert
Count of Habsburg
c. 1188–1239 - Rudolf I
of Germany
c. 1218–1291 - Albert I
of Germany
1255–1308 — Hartmann
1263–1281 — Rudolf II
Duke of Austria
1270–1290 - Rudolf I
of Bohemia
1281–1307 — Frederick
the Fair
c. 1289–1330 — Leopold I
Duke of Austria
1290–1326 — Albert II
Duke of Austria
1298–1358 — Henry
the Friendly
1299–1327 — Otto
Duke of Austria
1301–1339 — John
Parricida
c. 1290–1312/1313 - Albertinian line — Leopoldian line
- Rudolf IV
Duke of Austria
1339–1365 — Frederick III
1347–1362 — Albert III
Duke of Austria
1349–1395 — Leopold III
Duke of Austria
1351–1386 — Frederick II
Duke of Austria
1327–1344 — Leopold II
Duke of Austria
1328–1344 - Albert IV
Duke of Austria
1377–1404 — William
Duke of Austria
c. 1370–1406 — Leopold IV
Duke of Austria
1371–1411 — Ernest
Duke of Austria
1377–1424 — Frederick IV
Duke of Austria
1382–1439 - Albert II
of Germany
1397–1439 — Frederick III
HRE
1415–1493 — Albert VI
Archduke of Austria
1418–1463 — Sigismund
Archduke of Austria
1427–1496 - Ladislaus
the Posthumous
1440–1457 — Maximilian I
HRE
1459–1519 - Philip I
of Castile
1478–1506 - Spanish / Iberian line — Austrian / HRE line
- Charles V
HRE
1500–1558 — Ferdinand I
HRE
1503–1564 - Philip II
of Spain
1527–1598 — Maximilian II
HRE
1527–1576 — Ferdinand II
Archduke of Austria
1529–1595 — Charles II
Archduke of Austria
1540–1590 - Carlos
Prince of Asturias
1545–1568 — Philip III
of Spain
1578–1621 — Rudolf II
HRE
1552–1612 — Ernest
of Austria
1553–1595 — Matthias
HRE
1557–1619 — Maximilian III
Archduke of Austria
1558–1618 — Albert VII
Archduke of Austria
1559–1621 — Wenceslaus
Archduke of Austria
1561–1578 — Andrew
Margrave of Burgau
1558–1600 — Charles
Margrave of Burgau
1560–1618 — Ferdinand II
HRE
1578–1637 — Maximilian Ernest
of Austria
1583–1616 — Leopold V
Archduke of Austria
1586–1632 — Charles
of Austria
1590–1624 - Philip IV
of Spain
1605–1665 — Charles
of Austria
1607–1632 — Ferdinand
of Austria
1609–1641 — John-Charles
of Austria
1605–1619 — Ferdinand III
HRE
1608–1657 — Leopold Wilhelm
of Austria
1614–1662 — Ferdinand Charles
Archduke of Austria
1628–1662 — Sigismund Francis
Archduke of Austria
1630–1665 - Balthasar Charles
Prince of Asturias
1629–1646 — Charles II
of Spain
1661–1700 — Ferdinand IV
King of the Romans
1633–1654 — Leopold I
HRE
1640–1705 — Charles Joseph
of Austria
1649–1664 - Joseph I
HRE
1678–1711 — Charles VI
HRE
1685–1740 - Lorraine
- Maria Theresa
HRE
1740–1780 — Francis I
HRE
1745–1765 - Habsburg-Lorraine
- Joseph II
HRE
1765–1790 — Leopold II
HRE
1790–1792 - Francis II
HRE
1792–1806 - Notes:
References
- Back to citation Jörg Konrad Hoensch (1997). Geschichte Böhmens: von der slavischen Landnahme bis zur Gegenwart. C.H.Beck. p. 194. ISBN 978-3-406-41694-1.
- Back to citation Matthias Weller; Nicolai B. Kemle; Thomas Dreier (30 January 2020). Handel – Provenienz – Restitution: Tagungsband des Zwölften Heidelberger Kunstrechtstags am 20. und 24. Oktober 2018. Nomos Verlag. pp. 48–. ISBN 978-3-7489-0560-8.
- Back to citation Taddei, Elena (2021). Anna Caterina Gonzaga (1566-1621): Erzherzogin von Österreich, Landesfürstin von Tirol und Klosterstifterin. Innsbruck Wien: Tyrolia-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7022-3982-4.
- Back to citation "The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church – Biographical Dictionary – Consistory of 19 November 1576". Archived from the original on 26 May 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2008.
- Back to citation "Habsburg 4".
- Back to citation Wurzbach: Anna Katherina von Mantua, vol. 31. In: Biographisches Lexikon, Vienna 1860, p. 154.
- Back to citation Stamboom-boden.com
- Back to citation Stamboom-boden.com
- Back to citation occurrence 9.0 Back to citation occurrence 9.1 Wurzbach, Constantin von, ed. (1861). "Habsburg, Philipp I. der Schöne von Oesterreich". Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). Vol. 7. p. 112 – via Wikisource.
- Back to citation occurrence 10.0 Back to citation occurrence 10.1 Back to citation occurrence 10.2 Back to citation occurrence 10.3 Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Joanna". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- Back to citation occurrence 11.0 Back to citation occurrence 11.1 Back to citation occurrence 11.2 Back to citation occurrence 11.3 Priebatsch, Felix (1908). "Wladislaw II.". Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German). Vol. 54. Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot. pp. 688–696.
- Back to citation Boureau, Alain (1995). The Lord's First Night: The Myth of the Droit de Cuissage. Translated by Cochrane, Lydia G. The University of Chicago Press. p. 96.
- Back to citation Noubel, P., ed. (1877). Revue de l'Agenais [Review of the Agenais]. Vol. 4. Société académique d'Agen. p. 497.
- Back to citation "Habsburg family tree". Habsburg family website. 28 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
External links
Media related to Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria at Wikimedia Commons