Andreas von Österreich, Margrave of Burgau, also known as Andrew of Austria (15 June 1558 at Březnice Castle in Březnice,

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

– 12 November 1600 in Rome), was a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

, Bishop of

Constance Constance may refer to: Places * Constance, Kentucky, United States, an unincorporated community * Constance, Minnesota, United States, an unincorporated community * Mount Constance, Washington State, United States * Lake Constance (disambiguat ...

and of

Brixen Brixen (; , ; or , ) is a town and communes of Italy, commune in South Tyrol, northern Italy, located about north of Bolzano. Geography Brixen is the third-largest city and oldest town in the province, with a population of nearly twenty-three t ...

. He belonged to the Austrian nobility, descending from its ruling dynasty, the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful Dynasty, dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout ...

Youth

Andrew and his younger brother

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

grew up at Bresnitz Castle in Březnice, Bohemia, and later at

Ambras Castle Ambras Castle () is a Renaissance architecture, Renaissance castle and palace located in the hills above Innsbruck, Austria. Ambras Castle is above sea level. Considered one of the most popular tourist attractions of the Tyrol (state), Tyrol, Amb ...

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

, Tyrol. The marriage of their parents,

Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria Ferdinand II, Archduke of Further Austria (Linz, 14 June 1529 – 24 January 1595, Innsbruck) was ruler of Further Austria and since 1564 Imperial count of County of Tyrol, Tyrol. The son of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, he was married to ...

and

Philippine Welser Philippine Welser (1527 – 24 April 1580) was the morganatic wife of Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria. She was granted the titles Baroness of Zinnenburg, Margravine of Burgau, Landgravine of Mellenburg and Countess of Oberhohenberg and Ni ...

, was

morganatic Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

. This meant that the brothers were not considered members of the Habsburg

dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

and could not use their father's title,

Archduke of Austria Archduke (feminine: Archduchess; German: ''Erzherzog'', feminine form: ''Erzherzogin'') was the title borne from 1358 by the Habsburg rulers of the Archduchy of Austria, and later by all senior members of that dynasty. It denotes a rank within ...

, bearing instead that of ''

Margrave Margrave was originally the Middle Ages, medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a monarchy, kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain Feudal ...

Burgau Burgau () is a Town#Germany, town in Günzburg (district), the district of Günzburg in Swabia (Bavaria), Swabia, Bavaria. Burgau lies on the river Mindel (river), Mindel and has a population of just under 10,000. History The territory around ...

''. His father decided that Andrew should have a career in the clergy. In March 1574, Andrew travelled to Rome, where

Pope Gregory XIII Pope Gregory XIII (, , born Ugo Boncompagni; 7 January 1502 – 10 April 1585) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 May 1572 to his death in April 1585. He is best known for commissioning and being the namesake ...

made him a cardinal, with Santa Maria Nuova as his

titular church In the Catholic Church, a titular church () is a Churches in Rome, church in Rome that is assigned to a member of the Holy orders in the Catholic Church, clergy who is created a Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal. These are Catholic churches in ...

. Andrew was only 17 years old, his father having obtained the position for him.Sigrid-Maria Größing, ''Leidenschaftliches Habsburg'', Verlag A&M

Later life

Andrew was

Abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

of Murbach from 1587 until his death. From 1589, he was also Bishop of Constance and from 1589 Bishop of Brixen. In 1598 and 1599, he briefly served as acting Governor General of the

Habsburg Netherlands Habsburg Netherlands were the parts of the Low Countries that were ruled by sovereigns of the Holy Roman Empire's House of Habsburg. This rule began in 1482 and ended for the Northern Netherlands in 1581 and for the Southern Netherlands in 1797. ...

while Archduke Albert VII travelled to Spain to marry Infanta

Isabella Clara Eugenia Isabella Clara Eugenia (; 12 August 1566 – 1 December 1633), sometimes referred to as Clara Isabella Eugenia, was sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, which comprised the Low Countries and the north of modern France, with her husband Albert ...

. In 1600, he traveled to Rome to celebrate the

Jubilee A jubilee is often used to refer to the celebration of a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term comes from the Hebrew Bible (see, "Old Testament"), initially concerning ...

, afterwards visiting Naples. On his return journey, he fell ill and died after receiving the

last rites The last rites, also known as the Commendation of the Dying, are the last prayers and ministrations given to an individual of Christian faith, when possible, shortly before death. The Commendation of the Dying is practiced in liturgical Chri ...

from the Pope himself. He was buried in

Santa Maria dell'Anima Santa Maria dell'Anima () is a church in central Rome, Italy, just west of the Piazza Navona and near the Santa Maria della Pace church. It was founded during the course of the 14th century by Dutch merchants, who at that time belonged to the Ho ...

in Rome. His marble funeral monument in the church was completed by the sculptors

Gillis van den Vliete Gillis van den Vliete known in Italy as Egìdio della RivieraEgìdio della Riviera
at Tre ...

and Nicolas Mostaert around 1600 and includes a portrait of Andrew kneeling in prayer.Tancredi Farina, ''Gillis van den Vliete e la comunità tedesca della chiesa di Santa Maria dell'Anima''
in: 'In corso d'opera 2. Ricerche dei dottorandi in Storia dell'Arte della Sapienza', a cura di C. Di Bello, R. Gandolfi, M. Latella (Collana Ricerche dei dottorandi - 2), Campisano Editore, Rome, 2019, pp. 123-130

Issue

Andrew had two illegitimate children with Dorotea de Montfort. They were raised by his brother

and his wife Sibylle. * Hans-Georg Degli Abizzi (b. 1583), married Susanna Yperhofen von Yperhofstal * Susanna Degli Abizzi (1584–1653), married Johann Schratz with issue

Male-line family tree

Notes

References

* * Margot Rauch: ''Karl von Burgau und Kardinal Andreas von Österreich'', in: Philippine Welser & Anna Caterina Gonzaga: ''Die Gemahlinnen Erzherzog Ferdinands II.'', catalogue for an exhibition, Innsbruck, 1998 * Margot Rauch: ''Kardinal Andreas von Österreich'', in: ''Ambras — Das Schloss der Philippine Welser'', permanent presentation, Innsbruck, 2007 * Eduard Widmoser: ''Kardinal Andreas von Österreich, Markgraf von Burgau (1558-1600)'', in: ''Lebensbilder aus dem Bayerischen Schwaben'', vol. 4, Munich, 1955, p. 249-259. *

Constantin von Wurzbach Constantin Wurzbach Ritter von Tannenberg (11 April 1818 – 17 August 1893) was an Austrian biographer, lexicographer and author. Biography He was born in Laibach, Carniola (present-day Ljubljana, Slovenia).He later went on to complete a cou ...

:

', in: ''Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich''

External links

*
Short biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andrew Of Burgau, Margrave 1558 births 1600 deaths 16th-century Austrian cardinals Bishops of Brixen Roman Catholic bishops of Constance 16th-century House of Habsburg Margraves of Burgau House of Welser Prince-bishops in the Holy Roman Empire Sons of dukes