What is the HABSBURG Dynasty

In the european history there are a series of royal houses that have had a lot of power and have occupied some of the most relevant crowns in Europe. Some of them, thanks to marriages or other political mechanisms, managed to take power in more than one nation, a clear example of this being that of the Habsburgs. To talk about one of the most important European crowns in this lesson from a Teacher we must talk about what is the Habsburg dynasty.

The Habsburg dynasty has its origin in Aargau, the current Switzerland, where this house had a castle called Habichtsburg, from which the word is born Habsburg. At this first moment the Habsburgs were just a few more nobles, receiving the title of count and being a vassal of some of the dukes of the Holy German Empire.

The Habsburg leaders were dissatisfied with the position of earl and over the years they formed a system of marriage and military alliances with other German houses looking for the continuous increase of influence. After a few years of alliances in which they managed to take numerous territories, especially in the Austrian area, the Habsburgs managed to take the crown from the Romans in the 13th century, the crown being taken by Rudolph I of Habsburg.

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Thanks to this, they took even more regions in the Austrian zone and formed the duchy of Austria as one of the strongest areas of the Empire. Already in the fifteenth century, Frederick III was appointed emperor of the Holy German Empire, being the first of the many Habsburgs that occupied this position and initiating the stage of influence Habsburgs in Europe.

What is the Habsburg dynasty - What was the origin of the Habsburg dynasty?

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To continue with this lesson on what is the Habsburg dynasty, we must talk about the most important crowns of the history of this dynasty, commenting on its main occupations in order to understand its enormous influence, being therefore the German and Spanish that deserve our attention, being the two great dynasties of the Habsburgs.

Habsburgs in the Holy Roman Empire

Since they began their increase in power, the Habsburgs occupied important roles in the Germanic governments, being the first Roman kings and later emperors crowned by the Pope himself. Of all the crowns they occupied, we can say that the imperial was the most important, since it is where the dynasty itself and its power were born. The most important Habsburg kings and emperors in the Holy Roman Empire are as follows:

Rodolfo I: The first Habsburg to be king of the Romans, he was the cause of the great expansion by Austria of his dynasty.
Frederick III: The first Habsburg to be Holy Roman Emperor, initiating the great influence of his family in Europe.
Carlos V of Germany and I of Spain: Emperor of the Germans and King of the Spanish was one of the most powerful people in European history.
Ferdinand I: His reign was marked by the struggle against the Protestants, the increasing decentralization in the Empire and by the increasing danger of the Ottomans approaching.
Ferdinand II: Great supporter of the Catholic religion, banning the Protestant religion in the empire and thereby causing the start of the Thirty Years War.
Charles VI: German emperor who was a pretender to the Spanish crown after the death of Charles II, but who after being appointed emperor he renounced the Spanish crown and the influence of the Habsburgs in she.
Francis II: The last emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, since after his defeat against Napoleon he dissolved the state to form other countries such as the Austrian Empire.

The Habsburgs in Spain

The other crown with great influence of the Habsburgs was the Spanish, forming the Austrian House, occupying this surname and not that of the Habsburgs. Governing the Spanish crown between the 16th and 17th centuries, among these monarchs we find the leaders of the great Spanish Empire and those who caused its decline. The Habsburg kings who ruled in Spain They were the following ones:

Philip I: Thanks to his marriage to Juana I of Castilla, and making people consider that she was crazy, He was the first Habsburg to have the Spanish crown, although in this case only from the Castilian area.
Carlos I: Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, but also king of Castile and Aragon, being under his command when both were one. He had to abandon his position as emperor for the European fear that someone would have so much power.
Philip II: Spanish king who managed to be also monarch of Portugal and England for a time. His great power and dominance of almost the entire planet makes him considered one of the most powerful kings in the history of mankind.
Philip IIIAlthough he was the Spanish king who reached the greatest territorial extension, he is considered one of the lesser Austria, since it is considered that his management was more inefficient than that of his father and grandfather.
Philip IV: The Austrian king who spent the longest time on the Spanish throne, being considered one of the worst Spanish kings, bringing the decline of the empire and the loss of Portugal and the United Provinces.
Charles II: Sick king who could not have offspring, causing the end of the Habsburgs as Spanish monarchs.

What is the Habsburg dynasty - Main Habsburg crowns

To conclude this lesson from a Professor we must list the Hapsburg family trees, to see with it all the figures with great relevance in the history of this Royal House, dividing them in their kingdom to make it more simple.