Maximilian III of Austria (12 October 1558 – 2 November 1618), was 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 ...

and the Archduke of Further Austria from 1612 until his death. He was also briefly known as Maximilian of Poland during his claim for the Polish throne. After trying and failing to be elected as

King of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

, he launched the

War of the Polish Succession The War of the Polish Succession (; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a civil war in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth over the succession to Augustus II the Strong, which the other European powers widened in pursuit of ...

and was defeated by the winner,

Sigismund III Vasa Sigismund III Vasa (, ; 20 June 1566 – 30 April 1632 N.S.) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1587 to 1632 and, as Sigismund, King of Sweden from 1592 to 1599. He was the first Polish sovereign from the House of Vasa. Re ...

. He was also

Grand Master of the Teutonic Order The grand master of the Teutonic Order (; ) is the supreme head of the Teutonic Order. It is equivalent to the Grand master (order), grand master of other Military order (religious society), military orders and the superior general in non-milit ...

Biography

Born in Wiener Neustadt, Maximilian was the fourth son of the Emperor Maximilian II and Maria of Spain. He was a grandson of Anna of Bohemia and Hungary, daughter and heiress of Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary, who himself was the eldest son of Casimir IV of Poland from the

Jagiellonian dynasty The Jagiellonian ( ) or Jagellonian dynasty ( ; ; ), otherwise the Jagiellon dynasty (), the House of Jagiellon (), or simply the Jagiellons (; ; ), was the name assumed by a cadet branch of the Lithuanian ducal dynasty of Gediminids upon recep ...

. In 1585, Maximilian became the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order; thanks to this he was known by the epithet ''der Deutschmeister'' ("the German Master") for much of his later life.The ''Deutschmeister'' ("German Master") was the Order's third-highest officer, who administered its

bailiwick A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. In English, the original French combi ...

s in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

. The State of the Teutonic Order in

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

and

Livonia Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia. By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...

was administered by the Grand Master. But after 1525, the Order had only its German holdings, and after 1561, these offices were united and the Grand Master was also German Master. In the 1587 Polish–Lithuanian royal election Maximilian stood as a candidate for the throne of the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

, following the death of the previous king, Stephen Báthory. A portion of the Polish nobility supported Maximilian, but the larger faction elected Prince Sigismund of Sweden, grandson of

Sigismund I the Old Sigismund I the Old (, ; 1 January 1467 – 1 April 1548) was List of Polish monarchs, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until his death in 1548. Sigismund I was a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty, the son of Casimir IV of P ...

, as

. Maximilian then invaded Poland, starting the War of the Polish Succession (1587–1588). He had considerable support in Poland, but fewer Poles flocked to his army than to that of his rival. In late 1587, he tried and failed to storm

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. At Pitschen in Silesia, he met Sigismund's army, commanded by Polish hetman Jan Zamojski. In the Battle of Byczyna (24 January 1588), Maximilian was defeated and captured. He was released a year and half later after the intervention of

Pope Sixtus V Pope Sixtus V (; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death, in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order, where h ...

in the aftermath of the

Treaty of Bytom and Będzin Treaty of Bytom and Będzin or Treaty of Będzin and Bytom ( or ''traktat będzińsko-bytomski'') was a treaty signed between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Austrian House of Habsburg on 9 March 1589. It was favorable to the Common ...

. In 1598, he formally renounced his claim to the Polish crown. The inactivity of his brother, Emperor

Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the H ...

, in this matter contributed to Rudolf's poor reputation. From 1593 to 1595, Maximilian served as regent for his young cousin, the future Emperor Ferdinand II as Archduke of Inner Austria. In 1595, Maximilian succeeded to the territories of their uncle Ferdinand II, Archduke of Further Austria, 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 ...

, where he proved to be a solid proponent of the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...

. He also worked to depose Melchior Khlesl, and to ensure that Ferdinand succeeded as

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

. Today, Maximilian is perhaps best remembered for his

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

archducal hat, exhibited in the treasury of the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

of Klosterneuburg and used for ceremonial purposes as late as 1835. He died at Vienna in 1618, and is buried in the canopied tomb in

Innsbruck Cathedral Innsbruck Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of St. James (), is an eighteenth-century Baroque architecture, Baroque cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Innsbruck in the city of Innsbruck, Austria, dedicated to the apostle Saint James, ...

Ancestors

Male-line family tree

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maximilian Iii, Archduke Of Austria Maximilian III of Austria Maximilian III of Austria 17th-century archdukes of Austria 16th-century House of Habsburg Roman Catholic monarchs Candidates for the Polish elective throne Austrian princes Sons of emperors Children of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor Sons of kings Further Austria