Habsburgs

All the members of the Habsburg dynasty. Read biographical notes and explore the historical context.
Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria was the daughter of Emperor Joseph I. In 1719 she married the son of Augustus the...
Maria Josepha
Archduchess of Austria
Franz Stephan married Maria Theresa in 1736, thus founding the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. In 1740, following the...
Franz I Stephan of Lorraine
Roman-German Emperor
1745–1765
Maria Theresa was the most important ruler of the age of Enlightened Absolutism and one of the most famous Habsburgs...
Maria Theresa
Queen of Bohemia and Hungary
1740–1780
Highly educated and musical, Isabella of Parma grew up in Spain and Parma. She entered a politically arranged marriage...
Isabella of Parma

* 1741, † 1763
Joseph II is one of the best-known representatives of Enlightened Absolutism. As a monarch he was indebted to the ideas...
Joseph II
Roman-German Emperor
1764–1790
Marie Christine, Maria Theresa’s favourite daughter, was allowed to marry the husband of her choice, Albert of Saxony-...
Marie Christine
Archduchess of Austria
As a ruler Leopold II was prepared to initiate reforms. Following the death of his father, he became regent of the...
Leopold II
Roman-German emperor
1790–1792
Marie Antoinette, Maria Theresa’s youngest daughter, was married to the heir to the French throne, the future Louis XVI...
Marie Antoinette
Queen of France
Franz II was the last emperor of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. After Napoleon proclaimed the French...
Franz II (I)
Roman-German emperor and Emperor of Austria
1792–1835
Ferdinand succeeded his father Leopold as regent in Tuscany in 1791, after the latter became emperor. His life was...
Ferdinand III of Tuscany
Grand Duke of Tuscany
Archduke Karl, a son of Leopold II, was originally destined for the Church. However, in his youth he developed military...
Karl
Archduke of Austria
A brother of Emperor Franz II (I), Johann played an important role in the struggle to liberate Tyrol led by Andreas...
Johann
Archduke of Austria
Archduchess Marie Louise, the eldest daughter of Emperor Franz II (I), was married to the French emperor Napoleon...
Marie Louise
Duchess of Parma
A weak leader, during his reign Ferdinand stood in the shadow of his state chancellor, Prince Metternich, and the so-...
Ferdinand I
Emperor of Austria
1835–1848
Archduchess Leopoldine, a daughter of Emperor Franz II (I), was married to the Portuguese crown prince Dom Pedro at the...
Leopoldine
Empress of Brazil
The son of Emperor Franz II (I) and younger brother of Emperor Ferdinand I, he was a member of the Privy State...
Franz Karl
Archduke of Austria
The daughter of King Maximilian I of Bavaria, Sophie married Archduke Franz Karl, the brother of Emperor Ferdinand I in...
Sophie of Bavaria
Archduchess of Austria
One of the most conservative Habsburg personalities in the nineteenth century, Archduke Albrecht came to symbolize the...
Albrecht
Archduke of Austria
Franz Joseph ascended the throne of the Austrian Empire in 1848. His concept of rulership was informed by a great sense...
Franz Joseph I
Emperor of Austria
1848–1916
The younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph, Maximilian was viceroy of the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia until 1859. He...
Ferdinand Maximilian
Emperor of Mexico
1864–1867
Karl Ludwig spent the whole of his life overshadowed by his older brothers Emperor Franz Joseph and Maximilian of...
Karl Ludwig
Archduke of Austria
Elisabeth, ‘Sisi’ to her family, was the daughter of Duke Max in Bavaria and Duchess Ludovika. She was betrothed to her...
Elisabeth
Empress of Austria
Crown Prince Rudolf epitomizes the tragedy of the declining Monarchy. With his progressive ideas, so unlike those of...
Rudolf
Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary
Franz Ferdinand, a nephew of Emperor Franz Joseph, had become the favourite for heir to the throne after the suicide of...
Franz Ferdinand
Archduke of Austria-Este

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