Magdalena 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 **Ge ...

: ''Magdalena von Österreich''; 14 August 1532 – 10 September 1590) was a co-founder and first

abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Copt ...

of the Ladies' Convent of Hall (''Haller Damenstift)'', born an archduchess of

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 Margaret of Austria was born on 14 August 1531 as the sixth child and fourth 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 , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

Life as an abbess

Archduchess Magdalena and her younger sister

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 through ...

had long expressed a desire to remain unmarried and create a community of pious women, which their father had a difficult time accepting. After his death in 1564, Magdalena took a vow of celibacy and founded the Ladies'

Convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Angl ...

of Hall ''(Haller Damenstift)'' in

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). Histo ...

County of Tyrol The (Princely) County of Tyrol was an estate of the Holy Roman Empire established about 1140. After 1253, it was ruled by the House of Gorizia and from 1363 by the House of Habsburg. In 1804, the County of Tyrol, unified with the secularised ...

, a place for like-minded women to lead a reclusive, pious and God-fearing lives 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 ...

. She became the first

of the new convent where she was joined by her younger sisters Archduchesses

(1536–1567) and

Helena Helena may refer to: People *Helena (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Katri Helena (born 1945), Finnish singer *Helena, mother of Constantine I Places Greece * Helena (island) Guyana * H ...

(1543–1574) of Austria.Johann Jacob Staffler: ''Tirol und Vorarlberg: in 2 Theilen. Tirol und Vorarlberg, statistisch : mit geschichtlichen Bemerkungen''. vol. 1, Rauch, 1839, p. 512. Magdalena died on 10 September 1590 at the age of 58 after a short sickness. She was buried in the Jesuit Church ''(Jesuitenkirche)'' in Hall in Tirol. In 1706, her remains were transferred to the church of the convent.

Ancestors

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magdalena of Austria 1532 births 1590 deaths Roman Catholic abbesses 16th-century House of Habsburg 16th-century Austrian women 16th-century Roman Catholic nuns Daughters of emperors Austrian princesses Bohemian princesses Hungarian princesses Children of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor Daughters of kings