Archduchy of Austria

The Archduchy of Austria was a major principality and later transformed into one of the most important states of the Holy Roman Empire and the nucleus of the Habsburg monarchy. Throughout the Renaissance and early modern era, rulers of the Archduchy of Austria ruled as the Holy Roman Emperors and also ruled as the sole rulers of various states like Hungary, Bohemia, Moravia and many others. It was the center of the Holy Roman Empire and of central Europe and its capital Vienna acted as the de facto capital of the empire and the seat of Holy Roman Emperors. With its capital at Vienna, the archduchy was centered at the Empire's southeastern periphery. From Frederick III to Charles I, the last ruler of the state until 1918, the state was ruled by the Habsburg Dynasty.

Geography

Located in the Danube basin, Austria bordered on the Kingdom of Hungary beyond the March and Leitha rivers in the east. In the south it was confined by the Duchy of Styria, with the border at the historic Semmering Pass, while in the north the Bohemian Forest and the Thaya river marked the border with Bohemia and Moravia. ==History==

History

After Austria was detached from the Duchy of Bavaria and established as an Imperial estate in 1156 (thanks to the Privilegium Minus), the Babenberg dukes also acquired the neighbouring Duchy of Styria in 1192. After the extinction of male line in 1246 and the subsequent quarter-century reign by King Ottokar II of Bohemia – a permanent vestige of his rule is the division of Austria proper into Upper and Lower Austria (at the time called "Austria above the Enns" and "below the Enns") – it was seized by Habsburg King Rudolf I of Germany, who defeated Ottokar in the Battle on the Marchfeld (1278) and later (1282) enfeoffed his sons Albert I and Rudolf II with both duchies. In 1358/1359, Austrian Duke Rudolf IV, in response to the Golden Bull of 1356, already claimed the archducal title by forging the Privilegium Maius. Rudolf aimed to achieve a status comparable to the Empire's seven prince-electors, the holders of the traditional Imperial 'arch'-offices; however, his attempts failed as the elevation was rejected by the Luxembourg emperor Charles IV (Rudolf's father-in-law). Rudolf's younger brothers Albert III and Leopold III divided the Habsburg lands by the 1379 Treaty of Neuberg, whereafter the Austrian duchy itself remained under the rule of the Albertinian line. File:Niederösterreichische Landesausstellung 2019 - Friedrich V.jpg|Depiction of the archducal crown in a portrait of Frederick III File:Privilegium maius detail.jpg|The use of archducal title in an illustrated cover for the 1512 copy of Privilegium maius, devised for the Emperor Maximilian I File:Wappen Erzherzogtum Österreich (Helmkleinod).png|The Ströhl's depiction in his Wappenrolle Österreich-Ungarns (1890 and 1900) File:Erzherzoghut (7167199024).jpg|The Austrian Archducal hat File:Austrian Ensign 1685-1740.png|Austrian Ensign (1685–1740) ==See also==

Source: Wikipedia ↗

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