Duke Albrecht II and his wife, lithograph, 1820

Albrecht II, 'the Wise'

Duke of Austria and Styria; from 1326 regent in the Forelands, from 1330 also in Austria and Styria

Born end of 1298 (exact date of birth unknown)
Died in Vienna on 20 July 1358

In 1355 Duke Albrecht II issued a house regulation which in effect stipulated that the Habsburg lands were indivisible. This regulation was an expression of the Habsburg dynastic ideology which based itself on its most important duchy, that of Austria. Albrecht spend long periods of time at Vienna, which gradually became the centre of power. As well as being known as ‘the Wise’, he also earned the epithet ‘the Lame’ on account of a temporary paralysis.

Duke Albrecht II and his wife, lithograph, 1820