(Redirected from Rulers of Austria)
This is a list of
margraves,
dukes,
archdukes, and
emperors of
Austria. The territory was ruled by the
Babenberg family until
1246 and by the
Habsburg family from
1282 to
1918.
Margraves of Austria
The
March of Austria was first formed in 976 out of the lands that had once been the
March of Pannonia in
Carolingian times. In 1156, the
Privilegium Minus elevated the march to a
Duchy independent of the
Duchy of Bavaria.
Babenberg dynasty
★
Leopold I, Margrave
976-
994
★
Henry I, Margrave
994-
1018
★
Adalbert, Margrave
1018-
1055
★
Ernest, Margrave
1055-
1075
★
Leopold II, Margrave
1075-
1095
★
Leopold III (
Saint Leopold), Margrave
1095-
1136
★
Leopold IV, Margrave
1136-
1141,
Duke of Bavaria 1139-1141
★
Henry II Jasomirgott, Margrave
1141-
1156,
Duke of Bavaria 1141-1156, Duke of Austria from
1156
Dukes of Austria
Babenberg dynasty
★
Henry II Jasomirgott, Duke of Austria
1156-
1177
★
Leopold V, Duke
1177-
1194
:acquired the
Duchy of Styria in
1192
★
Frederick I, Duke
1195-
1198
★
Leopold VI, Duke
1198-
1230
★
Frederick II the Quarrelsome, Duke
1230-
1246
Interregnum
After Frederick's death, the succession of the Duchy was disputed between various claimants:
★
Vladislaus, son of
Wenceslaus I of Bohemia, claimant
1246-
1247
:He married Frederick's niece
Gertrude of Austria in
1247 and was acclaimed by the nobility as the future Duke but died soon afterwards.
★
Herman VI, Margrave of Baden, claimant
1248-
1250
:He married Gertrude after Vladislav's death but was rejected by the Austrian estates and could not establish his rule.
★
Frederick I, Margrave of Baden, claimant
1250-
1268, son of Herman and Gertrude
★
Přemysl Ottokar II, son of
Wenceslaus I of Bohemia, and later
King of Bohemia, claimant
1251-
1278
:Wenceslaus invaded Austria in
1250 and installed his son as governor. Ottokar was acclaimed by the nobility as Duke in
1251 and married Duke Frederick II's sister
Margaret in
1252. In
1260 he was invested as Duke by King
Richard of Cornwall,
King of Germany.
Habsburg Dukes and Archdukes of Austria
In
1278,
Rudolph I,
King of Germany, defeated Ottokar and took control of Austria. In
1282 he invested his sons with the Duchies of Austria and Styria, thereby securing it for the
Habsburg dynasty:
★
Albert I, Duke
1282-
1308, also King of Germany, jointly with
★
★
Rudolph II, son of King Rudolph I, Duke
1282-
1283
★
★
Rudolph III, son of Albert I, Duke
1298-
1307
★
Frederick I the Fair, son of Albert I, Duke
1308-
1330, also claiming the
Kingship of Germany, jointly with
★
★
Leopold I, son of Albert I, Duke
1308-
1326
★
Albert II, son of Albert I, Duke
1330-
1358 jointly with
★
★
Otto the Merry, son of Albert I, Duke
1330-
1339Albert II and Otto acquired the
the Duchies of Carinthia and
Carniola in
1335
★
★
Leopold II, Duke of Austria, son of Otto, Duke
1339-
1344, underage
★
Rudolph IV the Founder, son of Albert II, Duke
1358-
1365acquired the
County of Tyrol in
1369
The
Privilegium Maius, fabricated by Rudolf in
1359, attempted to invest the Dukes of Austria with the special position of an '
Archduke'. This title was frequently used by
Ernest the Iron and other Dukes but not recognized by other princes of the Holy Roman Empire until
Frederick V became Emperor and confirmed the Privilegium in
1453.
Rudolf was succeeded by his sons that at first ruled jointly:
★
Albert III, Duke
1365-
1395
★
Leopold III, Duke
1365-
1386
The territories were divided between the brothers and their descendants in the
Treaty of Neuberg in
1379:
The ''
Albertinian Line'' received the
Archduchy of Austria, later called 'Lower Austria' (not to be confused with the
namesake modern state):
:
★
Albert III, Duke
1365-
1395
:
★
Albert IV, Duke
1395-
1404
:
★
Albert V, Duke
1404-
1439, also King of Germany (as Albert II),
Bohemia and
Hungary
:
★
★ under the joint guardianship of
Leopold IV and
Ernest the Iron, both of the ''Leopoldinian Line'', until
1411.
:
★ vacant
1439-
1440
:
★
Ladislaus Posthumus, Duke
1440-
1457, also King of Bohemia Hungary
:
★
★ under the guardianship of
Frederick V of Inner Austria, until
1452
:After Ladislaus' death his territories passed to the ''
Leopoldinian Line'':
:
★
Frederick V, Archduke
1457-
1493, jointly with:
:
★
Albert VI, Archduke
1457-
1463, controlled the
region above the Enns river since 1458 and the entire duchy since 1462
The ''
Leopoldinian Line'' received the Duchies of
Styria,
Carinthia and
Carniola, the
County of Tyrol and
Further Austria:
:
★
Leopold III, Duke
1365-
1386
:
★
William, Duke
1386-
1406, jointly with:
:
★
★
Leopold IV, Duke
1386-
1411, effectively restricted to
Further Austria,
1396-
1406 also ruling Tyrol
:
★
★
Ernest the Iron, Duke
1402-
1424
:
★
★
Frederick IV, Duke
1402-
1439
:In
1406, the Leopoldinian lines split their territories:
:The ''Ernestine line'' received the Duchies of
Styria,
Carinthia and
Carniola, also called '
Inner Austria':
::
★
Ernest the Iron, Archduke
1402-
1424
::
★
Frederick V, Archduke
1424-
1493, also King of Germany and
Emperor (as Frederick III), jointly with:
::
★
Albert VI, Archduke
1424-
1463
::
★
★ both under the guardianship of
Frederick IV of Tyrol, until
1435
:The ''Elder Tyrolean Line'' received Tyrol and soon also Further Austria. These territories were also called 'Upper Austria' (not to be confused with the
namesake modern state):
::
★
Frederick IV, Duke
1402-
1439, after 1411 also
Further Austria
::
★
Sigismund, Archduke
1439-
1490
::
★
★ until
1446 under the guardianship of
Frederick V of Inner Austria
:In 1490 these territories were handed over to
::
★
Maximilian I , Archduke
1490-
1519
★
Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary, claimed the Austrian territories and occupied Austria proper and Styria. Claiming the title "Duke of Austria", he resided in
Vienna from
1485 to his death in
1490.
The Austrian territories were reunited in
1493 under:
★
Maximilian I, Archduke
1493-
1519, also King of Germany and
Emperor-elect
★
Charles I, Archduke
1519-
1520, also King of Germany and Emperor (as Charles V), King of Spain (as Charles I)
★
Ferdinand I, Archduke
1520-
1564, also King of Germany and Emperor-elect, King of Bohemia and Hungary
In
1564 the Austrian territories were again divided among Emperor Ferdinand's sons:
'Lower Austria' (Austria proper) passed to Ferdinand's 1st son Maximilian:
:
★
Maximilian II, Archduke
1564-
1576, also King of Germany and Emperor-elect, King of Bohemia and Hungary
:
★
Rudolph V, 1st son of Emperor Maximilian II, Archduke
1576-
1608, also King of Germany and Emperor-elect, King of Bohemia and Hungary
:
★
Matthias, 2nd son of Emperor Maximilian II, Archduke
1608-
1619, also King of Germany and Emperor-elect, King of Bohemia and Hungary
:Rudolf and Matthias died without issue and the territories passed to the descendants of Emperor Ferdinand's 2nd son Charles.
'Upper Austria' (Tyrol, Further Austria) passed to Emperor Ferdinand's 2nd son Ferdinand:
:
★
Ferdinand II, Archduke
1564-
1595
:Ferdinand died without an
agnatic heir and his territories passed to the descendants of his brother Maximilian:
:
★
Matthias, 2nd son of Emperor Maximilian II,
1595-
1619
:
★
★
Maximilian III, 3rd son of Emperor Maximilian II, governor
1612-
1618, also Grand Master of the
Teutonic Order
:Matthias died without issue and the territories passed to the descendants of Emperor Ferdinand's 2nd son Charles.
'Inner Austria' (Styria, Carinthia and Carniola) passed to Emperor Ferdinand's 3rd son Charles:
:
★
Charles II, Archduke
1564-
1590)
:
★
Ferdinand III, Archduke
1590-
1637
:
★
★ under the regency of
Maximilian, 3rd son of Emperor Maximilian II, 1593-1595
The Austrian territories were reunited in
1619 under Ferdinand, Archduke of Inner Austria, but in
1623 Ferdinand divided them yet again, when he made his his younger brother Leopold, who had been governor over Upper Austria, Archduke of these territories.
'Lower Austria' and 'Inner Austria' remained with the elder line:
:
★
Ferdinand III, Archduke
1590/
1619-
1637, also King of Germany and Emperor-elect (as Ferdinand II), King of Bohemia and Hungary
:
★
Ferdinand IV, Archduke
1637-
1657, also King of Germany and Emperor-elect (as Ferdinand III), King of Bohemia and Hungary
:
★
Leopold VI, Archduke
1657-
1705, also King of Germany and Emperor-elect (as Leopold I), King of Bohemia and Hungary
'Upper Austria' passed to the ''Younger Tyrolean Line'':
:
★
Leopold V, governor
1619-
1623, Archduke
1623-
1632
:
★
Ferdinand Charles, Archduke
1632-
1662
:
★
★ Regent
Claudia de' Medici 1632-
1646
:
★
Sigismund Francis, Archduke
1662-
1665
:After Sigismund Francis died without issue and his territories reverted to the elder line.
The Austrian territories were conclusively reunited in
1665 under:
★
Leopold VI, Archduke
1657/
1665-
1705, also King of Germany and Emperor-elect (as Leopold I), King of Bohemia and Hungary
★
Joseph I, Archduke
1705-
1711, also King of Germany and Emperor-elect, King of Bohemia and Hungary
★
Charles III, Archduke
1711-
1740, also King of Germany and Emperor-elect (as Charles VI), King of Bohemia and Hungary
★
Maria Theresa, Archduchess
1740-
1780,
Queen of Bohemia and
Hungary
Habsburg-Lorraine Archdukes of Austria
★
Joseph II, Archduke
1780-
1790, also King of Germany and Emperor-elect, King of Bohemia and Hungary
★
Leopold VII, Archduke
1790-
1792, also King of Germany and Emperor-elect (as Leopold II), King of Bohemia and Hungary
★
Francis I, Archduke
1792-
1835, also King of Germany and Emperor-elect (as Francis II) until 1806, King of Bohemia and Hungary,
Emperor of Austria (as Francis I) since
1804
Emperors of Austria
In
1804 Francis I adopted the new title
Emperor of Austria. In
1806 the
Holy Roman Empire was dissolved.
Republic of Austria
In 1918, a
republic was established which lasted until 1938. Following
World War II, a republic was reestablished in 1945. The head of state is the Federal President (''Bundespräsident''); however, in practice, the Federal Chancellor (''Bundeskanzler'') or Head of Government is far more important.
For lists of officeholders, see
★
List of Federal Presidents of Austria
★
Chancellor of Austria
See also
★
Austria
★
Austrian Empire
★
Habsburg
★
Habsburg Monarchy
★
Archduchy of Austria
★
History of Austria
★
Holy Roman Empire