List of rulers of Austria Totally Explained

Everything about Archduke Of Austria totally explained

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 ť 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 ť 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 ť He married Gertrude after Vladislav's death but was rejected by the Austrian estates and couldn't 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 ť 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 1330-1339
Albert 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 1358-1365
acquired 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 brothers 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): ť *Albert III, Duke 1365-1395

   *Albert IV, Duke 1395-1404 ť *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. ť *vacant 1439-1440

   *Ladislaus Posthumus, Duke 1440-1457, also King of Bohemia Hungary ť **under the guardianship of Frederick V of Inner Austria, until 1452

   After Ladislaus' death his territories passed to the Leopoldinian Line: ť *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: ť *Leopold III, Duke 1365-1386

   *William, Duke 1386-1406, jointly with: ť **Leopold IV, Duke 1386-1411, effectively restricted to Further Austria, 1396-1406 also ruling Tyrol

   **Ernest the Iron, Duke 1402-1424 ť **Frederick IV, Duke 1402-1439

   In 1406, the Leopoldinian lines split their territories: ť The Ernestine line received the Duchies of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola, also called Inner Austria:

   :*Ernest the Iron, Archduke 1402-1424 ť :*Frederick V, Archduke 1424-1493, also King of Germany and Emperor (as Frederick III), jointly with:

   :*Albert VI, Archduke 1424-1463 ť :**both under the guardianship of Frederick IV of Tyrol, until 1435

ť 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 ť :*Sigismund, Archduke 1439-1490

   :**until 1446 under the guardianship of Frederick V of Inner Austria ť 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 1519-1521, also King of Germany and Emperor (as Charles V), King of Spain (as Charles I)

Ferdinand I, Archduke 1521-1564, 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:
ť *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 ť *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 3rd son Charles. Upper Austria (Tyrol, Further Austria) passed to Emperor Ferdinand's 2nd son Ferdinand: ť *Ferdinand II, Archduke 1564-1595

   Ferdinand died without an agnatic heir and his territories passed to the descendants of his brother Maximilian: ť *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 ť Matthias died without issue and the territories passed to the descendants of Emperor Ferdinand's 3rd son Charles.

Inner Austria (Styria, Carinthia and Carniola) passed to Emperor Ferdinand's 3rd son Charles: ť *Charles II, Archduke 1564-1590)

   *Ferdinand III, Archduke 1590-1637 ť **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 younger brother Leopold, who had been governor over Upper Austria, Archduke of these territories. Lower Austria and Inner Austria remained with the elder line: ť *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 ť *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: ť *Leopold V, governor 1619-1623, Archduke 1623-1632

   *Ferdinand Charles, Archduke 1632-1662 ť **Regent Claudia de' Medici 1632-1646

   *Sigismund Francis, Archduke 1662-1665 ť 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.

Name	Born - Died	Emperor From	Emperor Until
Francis I	1768 - 1835	11 August 1804	2 March 1835
Ferdinand I	1793 - 1875	2 March 1835	2 December 1848 (abdicated)
Francis Joseph I	1830 - 1916	2 December 1848	21 November 1916
Charles I	1887 - 1922	21 November 1916	11 November 1918 (deposed)

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 AustriaFurther Information

Get more info on 'Archduke Of Austria'.

External Link Exchanges

Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:

<a href="http://list_of_rulers_of_austria.totallyexplained.com">List of rulers of Austria Totally Explained</a>

Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned.