Helena of Austria (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: ''Helena von Österreich''; 7 January 1543 – 5 March 1574) was a co-founder of the Ladies' Convent of Hall (''Haller Damenstift)'', born an

archduchess 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 ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

from the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

as the daughter of

Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I ( es, Fernando I; 10 March 1503 – 25 July 1564) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Hungary, and List of rulers of Croatia, Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1 ...

Life

Early life

Archduchess 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 ...

Helena of Austria was born in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

in the

Archduchy of Austria The Archduchy of Austria (german: Erzherzogtum Österreich) was a major Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire and the nucleus of the Habsburg monarchy. With its capital at Vienna, the archduchy was centered at th ...

on 16 February 1536 as the fourteenth child and tenth daughter of

(1503–1564) and his wife, born Princess Anna of Bohemia and Hungary (1503–1547). She had a strict, religious upbringing with a heavy influence from

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

Life as a nun

Due to her frail health, her father considered her unfit for marriage, so she became a

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

Hall in Tirol Hall in Tyrol is a town in the Innsbruck-Land district of Tyrol, Austria. Located at an altitude of 574 m, about 5 km (3 mi) east of the state's capital Innsbruck in the Inn valley, it has a population of about 13,000 (Jan 2013). History ...

, County of Tyrol, founding the Ladies' Convent of Hall ''(Haller Damenstift)'' under the supervision of the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

with her older sisters Archduchesses Magdalena (1532–1590) and

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

(1536–1567) of Austria. She died there on 5 March 1574 at the age of 31, and was buried in the local Jesuit Church (''Jesuitenkirche).''Ludwig Albrecht Gebhardi: ''Genealogische Geschichte der erblichen Reichsstände in Teutschland''. vol. 2, Gebauer, 1779, p. 448.

Notes

References

* Constantin von Wurzbach
''Habsburg, Helene.''
N°. 111 in: ''

Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich ''Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich'' (English, ''Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire'') (abbreviated ''Wurzbach'' from the author's surname) is a 60-volume work, edited and published by Constantin von Wurzbach, cont ...

''. vol 6. ed. L. C. Zamarski, Vienna 1860, p. 27
online
* Ferdinand Leopold, Freiherr von Biedenfeld: ''Ursprung, Aufleben ... und jetzige Zustände sämmtlicher Mönchs- und Klosterfrauen-Orden im Orient und Occident.'' 1837, p. 33
online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helena of Austria 1543 births 1574 deaths Daughters of emperors 16th-century House of Habsburg 16th-century Austrian women 16th-century Roman Catholic nuns Austrian princesses Hungarian princesses Bohemian princesses Children of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor Daughters of kings Nobility from Vienna Austrian Roman Catholic religious sisters and nuns