Ferdinand Charles (17 May 1628 – 30 December 1662) was the Archduke of

Further Austria Further Austria, Outer Austria or Anterior Austria (; , formerly ''die Vorlande'' (pl.)) was the collective name for the early (and later) possessions of the House of Habsburg in the former Swabian stem duchy of south-western Germany, includin ...

, including

Tyrol Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...

, from 1646 to 1662. As the son of Archduke Leopold V and

Claudia de' Medici Claudia de' Medici (4 June 1604 – 25 December 1648) was Regent of the Austrian County of Tyrol during the minority of her son from 1632 until 1646. Biography Early life Born in Florence into the House of Medici, Claudia was the youngest d ...

, he succeeded his father upon the latter's death in 1632, under his mother's regency. He took over his mother's governatorial duties when he came of age in 1646. To finance his extravagant living style, he sold goods and entitlements. For example, he wasted the exorbitant sum which

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

had to pay to the Tyrolean

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

s for the cession of their fiefs west of the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

(

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Sundgau Sundgau ( or ; ) is a geographical territory in the southern Alsace region (Haut Rhin and Territoire de Belfort, Belfort), on the eastern edge of France. The name is derived from Alemannic German ''Sunt-Gau (territory), gowe'' ("South shire"), den ...

and

Breisach Breisach am Rhein (, ; formerly Alt-Breisach, , in contrast to " New Breisach"; Low Alemannic: ''Alt-Brisach''), commonly known as Breisach, is a town with approximately 16,500 inhabitants, situated along the Rhine in the Rhine Valley, in the di ...

). He also fixed the border to Graubünden in 1652. Ferdinand Charles was an absolutist ruler, did not call any

diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

after 1648 and had his

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

Wilhelm Biener executed illegally in 1651 after a secret trial. On the other hand, he was a lover of music:

Italian opera Italian opera is both the art of opera in Italy and opera in the Italian language. Opera was in Italy around the year 1600 and Italian opera has continued to play a dominant role in the history of the form until the present day. Many famous ope ...

was performed in his court.

Marriage, children and death

Ferdinand Charles married Anna de' Medici. She was a daughter of

Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo II de' Medici (12 May 1590 – 28 February 1621) was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1609 until his death. He was the elder son of Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Christina of Lorraine. For the majority of his 12-year rei ...

and Maria Magdalena of Austria († 1631). They had three children: * Claudia Felicitas of Austria (30 May 1653 – 8 April 1676). Married

Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; ; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia, and List of Bohemian monarchs, Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Rom ...

. *Daughter (born and died 19 July 1654), died at birth. *Maria Magdalena of Austria (17 August 1656 – 21 January 1669). He died in Kaltern. Anselmus-van-Hulle-Hommes-illustres MG 0434.tif, Bust portrait of Ferdinand Charles, after a painting by

Anselm van Hulle Anselm van Hulle or Anselmus van Hulle (Ghent, Gent, 1601 - 1674/1694) was a Southern Netherlands, Flemish painter mainly of portraits whose works were highly prized at the Northern European Courts. He was court painter to the Prince of Orange a ...

. Collection

Peace Palace Library The Peace Palace Library is a collection of studies and references specializing in international law. It is located in The Hague, Netherlands, and was established to support the Permanent Court of Justice. Description The library is one of ...

. Justus Sustermans - Anna de' Medici, wife of archduke Ferdinand Charles of Austria.jpg, Anna Medici, his wife by

Justus Sustermans Justus Sustermans, Joost Sustermans or Suttermans, his given name Italianised to Giusto (28September 159723April 1681), was a Flemish people, Flemish painter and draughtsman who is mainly known for his portraits. He also painted history and ge ...

Ancestors

Male-line family tree

References

External links

A listing of descendants of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
1628 births 1662 deaths 17th-century archdukes of Austria Counts of Tyrol Knights of the Golden Fleece Further Austria {{Austria-royal-stub