Albert II, Duke Of Austria
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Albert II (; 12 December 1298 – 16 August 1358), known as ''the Wise'' () or ''the Lame'' (), a member of 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 ...
, was
duke of Austria From 976 until 1246, the Margraviate of Austria and its successor, the Duchy of Austria, was ruled by the House of Babenberg. At that time, those states were part of the Holy Roman Empire. From 1246 until 1918, the duchy and its successor, the A ...
and
Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...
from 1330, as well as
duke of Carinthia The Duchy of Carinthia (; ; ) was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, and was the first newly created Imperial State after the original German stem duchy, stem duc ...
and margrave of Carniola from 1335 until his death.


Biography

Albert II was born at
Habsburg Castle Habsburg Castle (, ) is a medieval Swiss fortress located in what is now Habsburg, Switzerland, in the canton of Aargau, near the Aar River. At the time of its construction, the location was part of the Duchy of Swabia. Habsburg Castle is th ...
in
Swabia Swabia ; , colloquially ''Schwabenland'' or ''Ländle''; archaic English also Suabia or Svebia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany. The name is ultimately derived from the medieval Duchy of Swabia, one of ...
, a younger son of King
Albert I of Germany Albert I of Habsburg () (July 12551 May 1308) was a List of rulers of Austria, Duke of Austria and Duchy of Styria, Styria from 1282 and List of German monarchs, King of Germany from 1298 until his assassination. He was the eldest son of King Ru ...
and his wife Elisabeth of Carinthia, a member of the House of Gorizia (''Meinhardiner''). He initially prepared for an ecclesiastical career and, though still a minor, was elected Bishop of Passau in 1313. However, he had to rival with an opposing candidate and finally renounced the office in 1317. After the death of their elder brother
Frederick the Fair Frederick the Fair () or the Handsome ( – 13 January 1330), from the House of Habsburg, was the duke of Austria and Styria from 1308 as well as the anti-king of Germany from 1314 until 1325 and then co-king until his death. Background Frederi ...
in 1330, the surviving sons Albert II and Otto the Merry became joint rulers of all Habsburg dominions in
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
and
Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...
. Albert was able to further increase his possessions by the inheritance of his wife Joanna of Pfirt, which was made up of the Alsatian county of Pfirt and several cities. Furthermore, upon the death of his maternal uncle Duke Henry of Carinthia in 1335, Albert succeeded in establishing his claims on the
Duchy of Carinthia The Duchy of Carinthia (; ; ) was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, and was the first newly created Imperial State after the original German stem duchies. Car ...
and the
March of Carniola March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March. The March equinox on the 20 or 21 ...
, when he reached his enfeoffment by Emperor Louis IV against the claims raised by his mighty
Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...
rival King
John of Bohemia John of Bohemia, also called the Blind or of Luxembourg (; ; ; 10 August 1296 – 26 August 1346), was the Count of Luxembourg from 1313 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King of Poland. He is well known for having died while fighting ...
. Reflecting his high reputation among the secular and church leaders of Europe, in 1335 Pope Benedict XII asked him to mediate in the church's conflict with Emperor Louis. Two years later, King
Philip VI of France Philip VI (; 1293 – 22 August 1350), called the Fortunate (), the Catholic (''le Catholique'') and of Valois (''de Valois''), was the first king of France from the House of Valois, reigning from 1328 until his death in 1350. Philip's reign w ...
1337 asked him for help against the
Wittelsbach The House of Wittelsbach () is a former Bavarian dynasty, with branches that have ruled over territories including the Electorate of Bavaria, the Electoral Palatinate, the Electorate of Cologne, County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, ...
emperor and King
Edward III of England Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...
. Nevertheless, Albert remained faithful to the emperor until Louis' death in 1347; he also was a close ally of his son Duke Louis V of Bavaria. After the demolition of Rapperswil Castle by the forces of Rudolf Brun in 1350, the Austrian duke marched against the
Swiss Confederacy The Old Swiss Confederacy, also known as Switzerland or the Swiss Confederacy, was a loose confederation of independent small states (, German or ), initially within the Holy Roman Empire. It is the precursor of the modern state of Switzerlan ...
and laid siege to the city of
Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
, though to no avail. In Austria, Duke Albert had the construction of the Gothic Choir begun in St. Stephen's Cathedral in
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
, known as the ''Albertinian Choir''. He established the "Albertinian House Rule" (''Albertinische Hausordnung'') to predetermine the rules of succession in the Habsburg lands according to the principle of
primogeniture Primogeniture () is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn Legitimacy (family law), legitimate child to inheritance, inherit all or most of their parent's estate (law), estate in preference to shared inheritance among all or some childre ...
. Although the rule was disregarded after his death, it was re-assumed under Emperor Maximilian. Adopted as part of the
Pragmatic Sanction A pragmatic sanction is a sovereign's solemn decree on a matter of primary importance and has the force of fundamental law. In the late history of the Holy Roman Empire, it referred more specifically to an edict issued by the Emperor. When used ...
in 1713, the Albertinian House Rule effectively remained one of the basic laws of Austria until 1918. Styria owes him its (former) constitution, the so-called "Mountain Book" (''Bergbüchel''); the same is true for Carinthia. It has been speculated that Albert had experienced temporal paralysis (explaining his nickname "Albert the Lame") caused by polyarthritis. If so, however, it did not prevent him from fathering numerous children, of whom six survived childhood. Albert died at Vienna in 1358 and was buried in a monastery of his own foundation, Gaming Charterhouse in present-day
Lower Austria Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...
. In 1782 the Gaming Charterhouse was
secularized In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...
by
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II (13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Francis I, ...
; at that time Albert's remains were transferred to the local parish church. In April 1985 they were returned to the Gaming Charterhouse in a ceremony attended by Regina von Habsburg, wife of the Head of 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 ...
, Otto von Habsburg, as well as her son
Karl von Habsburg Karl von Habsburg (given names: ''Karl Thomas Robert Maria Franziskus Georg Bahnam''; born 11 January 1961) is an Austrian politician and the head of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, the former royal house of the defunct Austro-Hungarian thrones ...
. According to his House Rule, Albert was succeeded by his eldest son Rudolf IV whose younger brothers acted as regents. However, after Rudolf's death in 1365, the Habsburg lands were divided among Albert's younger sons Albert III and Leopold III by the 1379
Treaty of Neuberg The Treaty of Neuberg, concluded between the Austrian duke Albert III and his brother Leopold III at Neuberg Abbey on 25 September 1379, determined the division of the Habsburg hereditary lands into the Albertinian line and the Leopoldian l ...
.


Family and children

On 15 February 1324, Albert married Countess Johanna of Pfirt, daughter of Count Ulrich III of Pfirt, in Vienna. The couple had the following children: #
Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria Rudolf IV (1 November 1339 – 27 July 1365), also called Rudolf the Founder (), was a scion of the House of Habsburg who ruled as duke of Austria (self-proclaimed archduke), Styria and Carinthia from 1358, as well as count of Tyrol from 136 ...
(1 November 1339,
Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
– 27 July 1365,
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
), who succeeded his father as Duke of Austria, Styria and Carinthia. His marriage with Catherine of Luxembourg remained childless; upon his death, he was succeeded by his younger brothers Albert III and Leopold III. # Catherine (1342, Vienna – 10 January 1381, Vienna), Abbess of St. Klara in Vienna. # Margaret (1346, Vienna – 14 January 1366,
Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
), married: ## in
Passau Passau (; ) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany. It is also known as the ("City of Three Rivers"), as the river Danube is joined by the Inn (river), Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's population is about 50,000, of whom ...
4 September 1359 Count Meinhard III of Gorizia-Tyrol; ## in Vienna 1364 Margrave John Henry of Moravia. # Frederick III of Austria (1347, Vienna – 1362, Vienna). Died unmarried. # Albert III, Duke of Austria (9 September 1349, Vienna – 29 August 1395, Castle
Laxenburg __NOTOC__ Laxenburg (Central Bavarian: ''Laxnbuag'') is a market town in the district of Mödling, in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. Located about south of the Austrian capital Vienna, it is chiefly known for the Laxenburg castles, which, be ...
). His first marriage with Elisabeth of Bohemia, a daughter of the Luxembourg emperor Charles IV remained childless; he married, secondly,
Beatrix of Nuremberg Beatrix of Nuremberg (, Nuremberg – 10 June 1414, Perchtoldsdorf) was a daughter of Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg and his wife Elisabeth of Meissen. In 1375 in Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of la ...
, a daughter of the Hohenzollern burgrave Frederick V. Progenitor of the Habsburg Albertinian line. # Leopold III, Duke of Austria (1 November 1351, Vienna – 9 July 1386,
Sempach Sempach is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Sursee (Amt), Sursee in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Lucerne (canton), Lucerne in Switzerland. History It has retained some traces of its medieval appearance, ...
). Married to Viridis Visconti, second daughter of Barnabò Visconti,
Lord of Milan The Lordship of Milan was a state in Northern Italy created in May 1259 following the election of Martino della Torre as lord of Milan. From 1259 to 1277 it was governed by the Della Torre, Della Torre family until, following the Battle of Desio, ...
; progenitor of the Habsburg Leopoldian line.


Male-line family tree


Notes


References


Citations


Sources

* Gabrielle Caerr-Stamm: ''Johanna von Pfirt, Gattin des Habsburgers Albrecht II. Herzog von Österreich oder das europäische Schicksal einer Elsässerin'' ("wife of Habsburg Albert II Duke of Austria or the European Fate of an Alsatian"). Sundgaugeschichtsverein, Riedisheim 1996, . * Franz Kurz: ''Österreich unter Herzog Albrecht dem Lahmen'' ("Austria under Duke Albert the Lame"), Haslinger, Linz 1819. *


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Albert 02, Duke of Austria Albert 2 of Austria Albert 2 of Austria 14th-century dukes of Austria Albert 2 Albert 2 Austrian twins Austrian royalty and nobility with disabilities Sons of kings