Austrian Royalty: Who Remains From The Past?

The Austrian nobility was officially abolished in 1919 after the fall of Austria-Hungary, but there are still some remnants of the Austrian royalty left. The House of Habsburg, also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most prominent and important dynasties in European history. The house takes its name from Habsburg Castle, a fortress built in the 1020s in present-day Switzerland. The last ruler of the Austrian Empire, Karl I, was forced to renounce his participation in state affairs in 1918, but there are still some remnants of the Austrian royalty left. The current head of the House of Habsburg is Karl von Habsburg.

The Austrian nobility, a status group that was officially abolished in 1919 after the fall of Austria-Hungary

The Austrian nobility was a status group that was officially abolished in 1919 after the fall of Austria-Hungary. The Austrian nobility was very similar to that of Germany, as both countries were previously part of the Holy Roman Empire (962-1806). Any noble living in the Habsburg-ruled lands was also considered part of the Austrian aristocracy. This applied to any member of the Bohemian, Hungarian, Polish, Croatian, and other nobilities in the Habsburg dominions.

The Austrian nobility can be divided into two categories: the historic nobility that lived in the territories of the Habsburg Empire and who owed allegiance to the head of that dynasty until 1918, and the post-1918 descendants of Austrian nobility. The latter group specifically refers to those who retain Austrian citizenship, whose family originally came from Austria proper, South Tyrol, northern Italy and Burgenland, or who were ennobled at any point under Habsburg rule and identify themselves as belonging to that status group.

The Austrian nobility was divided into three categories: the mediatized nobility, the higher nobility, and the lower nobility. The mediatized nobility were non-ruling members of the imperial family, who held various titles such as emperor/empress, archduke/archduchess, and prince/princess. The higher nobility included princes/princesses, margraves/margravines, and counts/countesses. The lower nobility included barons/baronesses and knights.

The Austrian nobility was abolished in 1919 with the same date as the Habsburgergesetz of 1919 ("Habsburg Law"), which dethroned, exiled, and confiscated the properties of the Imperial House of Habsburg. The Adelsaufhebungsgesetz (Arbitration Act) of 3 April 1919 ("Law on the Abolition of Nobility") abolished nobility as well as all noble privileges, titles, and names in Austria.

The Holy Roman Empire, which the Habsburgs continuously occupied from 1440 until their extinction in 1740

The Holy Roman Empire was occupied by the Habsburgs from 1440 until their extinction in 1740. The Habsburgs were a dynasty that took their name from the Habsburg Castle, a fortress built in the 1020s in present-day Switzerland. The first to take the castle's name was Otto II, who was the grandson of Radbot of Klettgau, the builder of the castle.

In 1273, Count Radbot's seventh-generation descendant, Rudolph of Habsburg, was elected King of the Romans. Rudolph took advantage of the extinction of the Babenbergs and his victory over Ottokar II of Bohemia at the Battle on the Marchfeld in 1278. He appointed his sons as Dukes of Austria and moved the family's power base to Vienna.

The Habsburgs expanded their influence through arranged marriages and by gaining political privileges. They profited from the extinction of other noble families and inherited many domains as a result of their association with the Staufer emperors.

In the 1400s, the Habsburgs gained control of the Burgundian Netherlands through the marriage of Maximilian I to Mary of Burgundy. In 1482, Maximilian's son, Philip the Handsome, married Joanna of Castile, also known as Joanna the Mad. Their son, Charles V, became Holy Roman Emperor in 1519 and ruled the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon (including their colonies in the New World), Southern Italy, Austria, and the Habsburg Netherlands.

In 1556, Charles V abdicated, leading to a split in the Habsburg dynasty between its Spanish and German-Austrian branches. The Spanish branch became extinct in 1700, and the Austrian branch in 1740. However, the dynasty continued through the female line as the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.

The Habsburgs sought to consolidate their power through frequent consanguineous marriages, which had a deleterious effect on their gene pool. This led to health impairments such as epilepsy, insanity, and early death. The last of the Spanish line, Charles II, was severely disabled from birth, possibly due to genetic disorders.

The Habsburg name was not always used by family members, as they often emphasized their more prestigious princely titles. The dynasty was thus long known as the House of Austria. The surname of more recent members of the family, such as Otto von Habsburg, is "von Habsburg" or "von Habsburg-Lothringen".

The Austrian monarchy, also known as the Habsburg Empire, was a collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ruled by the House of Habsburg

The Austrian monarchy, also known as the Habsburg Empire, was a collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties, and other polities ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century, it was also referred to as the Austrian monarchy or the Danubian monarchy.

The history of the Habsburg monarchy can be traced back to the election of Rudolf I as King of Germany in 1273 and his acquisition of the Duchy of Austria for the Habsburgs in 1282. In 1482, Maximilian I acquired the Netherlands through marriage. Both realms passed to his grandson and successor, Charles V, who also inherited the Spanish throne and its colonial possessions, and thus came to rule the Habsburg empire at its greatest territorial extent.

The abdication of Charles V in 1556 led to a division within the dynasty between his son Philip II of Spain and his brother Ferdinand I, who had served as his lieutenant and the elected king of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The Spanish branch (which held all of Iberia, the Netherlands, and lands in Italy) became extinct in 1700. The Austrian branch (which ruled the Holy Roman Empire, Hungary, Bohemia, and various other lands) was itself split into different branches in 1564 but reunited 101 years later. It became extinct in the male line in 1740 but continued through the female line as the House of Habsburg-Lorraine.

The Habsburg monarchy was a union of crowns, with only partial shared laws and institutions other than the Habsburg court itself. The provinces were divided into three groups: the Archduchy proper, Inner Austria (which included Styria and Carniola), and Further Austria (with Tyrol and the Swabian lands). The territorial possessions of the monarchy were thus united only by virtue of a common monarch. The Habsburg realms were unified in 1804 with the formation of the Austrian Empire and later split in two with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867.

The monarchy began to fracture in the face of inevitable defeat during the final years of World War I and ultimately disbanded with the proclamation of the Republic of German-Austria and the First Hungarian Republic in late 1918.

The House of Habsburg, also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most prominent and important dynasties in European history

The family's power base was moved to Vienna in 1273 when Radbot's seventh-generation descendant, Rudolph of Habsburg, was elected King of the Romans. He appointed his sons as Dukes of Austria, and the family ruled there until 1918. The Habsburgs also continuously occupied the throne of the Holy Roman Empire from 1440 until their extinction in the male line in 1740.

The Habsburgs expanded their influence through arranged marriages and by gaining political privileges. They produced kings of Bohemia, Hungary, Croatia, Slavonia, Dalmatia, Spain, Portugal, Sicily, Lombardy-Venetia and Galicia-Lodomeria, with their respective colonies; rulers of several principalities in the Low Countries and Italy; and numerous Prince-Bishoprics in the Holy Roman Empire.

The family split several times into parallel branches, most consequentially in the mid-16th century between its Spanish and German-Austrian branches. The Spanish Habsburgs ruled until 1700, when the last of their line, Charles II, died, leading to the War of the Spanish Succession. The Austrian Habsburgs continued to rule until the death of Emperor Charles VI in 1740, which sparked the War of the Austrian Succession.

The House of Habsburg-Lorraine, a cadet branch of the female line of the House of Habsburg and the male line of the House of Lorraine, became the new main branch of the dynasty in the person of Maria Theresa's son, Joseph II. The House of Habsburg-Lorraine retained Austria and attached possessions after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806.

The Habsburg monarchy's rulers, including Frederick III, Maximilian I, Charles V, Ferdinand I, Maximilian II, Rudolf II, Matthias, Ferdinand II, Ferdinand III, Leopold I, Joseph I, Charles VI, Maria Theresa, Joseph II, Leopold II, Francis II, Ferdinand I, Francis Joseph I, and Charles I

The Habsburg monarchy was a union of crowns, with only partial shared laws and institutions other than the Habsburg court itself. The territories were united only by virtue of a common monarch. The Habsburg realms were unified in 1804 with the formation of the Austrian Empire and later split in two with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867. The monarchy began to fracture in the face of inevitable defeat during the final years of World War I and ultimately disbanded with the proclamation of the Republic of German-Austria and the First Hungarian Republic in late 1918.

• Frederick III (1452–1493)
• Maximilian I (1493–1519)
• Charles V (1519–1556)
• Ferdinand I (1556–1564)
• Maximilian II (1564–1576)
• Rudolf II (1576–1612)
• Matthias (1612–1619)
• Ferdinand II (1619–1637)
• Ferdinand III (1637–1657)
• Leopold I (1658–1705)
• Joseph I (1705–1711)
• Charles VI (1711–1740)
• Maria Theresa (1740–1780)
• House of Habsburg-Lorraine
• Joseph II (1780–1790)
• Leopold II (1790–1792)
• Francis II (1792–1835)
• Ferdinand I (1835–1848)
• Francis Joseph I (1848–1916)
• Charles I (1916–1918)

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