Margaret 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 ...

: ''Margarethe von Österreich''; 16 February 1536 – 12 March 1567) 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 ...

Margaret of Austria was born in Innsburck,

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 pr ...

(in present-day

) on 16 February 1536 as the ninth child and seventh 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

Margaret and her older sister

Archduchess Magdalena of Austria Magdalena of Austria (German: ''Magdalena von Österreich''; 14 August 1532 – 10 September 1590) was a co-founder and first abbess of the Ladies' Convent of Hall (''Haller Damenstift)'', born an archduchess of Austria from the House of Habsb ...

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 they both became

nuns 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 ...

, 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 sisters Archduchesses Magdalena (1532–1590) 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 * ...

(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. She died there on 12 March 1567 at the age of 31.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Margaret of Austria (nun), Archduchess 1536 births 1567 deaths 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