European Kingdoms

Austria

Only once the German Holy Roman Empire was unified and strengthened by Otto I did Austria begin to emerge with any identity of its own. Once the Habsburgs inherited the title, it became virtually indivisible from that of Holy Roman Emperor, and then Emperor of Austria. However, reignal numbering for the Habsburgs in Austria itself was often different to that of the imperial title, due to the differing origins of the two bodies.

15 BC - AD 445

The region is part of the Roman Empire.

c.445 - 451

The Hunnic Empire controls the area.

c.451 - 488

The Ostrogoths' territory now encompases the area.

488 - 568

The region falls under the control of the Lombards' until they move into Northern Italy.

568 - 788

The area falls to the Bavarians.

788 - 843

The region is conquered and controlled as part of the Carolingian Empire of the Western Franks.

843 - 907

The Treaty of Verdun. The Western Franks secede from the Germanic Empire, and Austria is controlled by the various Frankish rulers of the fledgling Holy Roman Empire.

880 - 907

Aribo

Also ruled Styria.

907 - 955

Austria passes to Hungary, until the latter is defeated by Saxon emperor Otto I.

Margraves of Austria (Regensburg)

Now that the German Holy Roman Empire had full control of Austria, the title of Margrave was granted to its ruler.

c.960 - 975

Burchard

Margraves of Austria (Babenburg)

976 - 994

Leopold I

994 - 1018

Henry I

1018 - 1055

Adalbert

1055 - 1075

Ernest

1075 - 1102

Leopold II

1102 - 1136

Leopold III the Saint

1136 - 1141

Leopold IV

1141 - 1177

Henry II Jasomirgott

Title elevated to duke of Austria (1156).

1177 - 1194

Leopold V

1192

Austria gains the margraviate of Styria.

1194 - 1199

Frederick I

1199 - 1230

Leopold VI the Glorious

1230 - 1246

Frederick II the Warlike

1246 - 1248

Frederick III

Dukes of Austria (Zahringen)

1248 - 1250

Herman

Herman VI of Baden.

Dukes of Austria (Przemyslid)

1250 - 1278

Ottokar II the Great

King of Bohemia. Duke of Carinthia. Margrave of Slovenia, Margrave of Styria.

1278

Rudolf of Habsurg wrests the Duchy of Austria from Ottokar, and kills the Przemysl king in battle on the Moravia Field, on the right bank of the River Morava in Austria.

Dukes of Austria (Habsburg)

From this point forward, the Habsburg rulers of Austria became heavily involved in the title of Holy Roman Emperor. After several non-dynastic periods of rule, from 1438 onwards the two titles became virtually indistinguishable. Following German custom, there were some subdivisions created within Habsburg-controlled territory, but no real power was handed out until 1379-1457, when the descendants of Albert III and Leopold III ruled the duchy and the Tyrol separately.

1278 - 1282

Rudolf I of Habsburg

HRE (1273-1291), Duke of Carinthia (1276-1286).

1282 - 1308

Albert I

HRE (1298-1308).

1282 - 1290

Rudolph II

Joint rule.

1306 - 1307

Rudolph III

HRE (1306-1307). King of Bohemia-Moravia (1306-1307).

1308 - 1330

Frederick IV

Rival HRE (1325-1330).

1308 - 1326

Leopold VII

Joint rule.

1330 - 1358

Albert II the Wise

Archdukes of Austria (Habsburg)

The title of archduke was granted to Austria in 1359. It would be a further seventy-nine years before a Habsburg gained the imperial throne again, but once they did they held onto it for good. The descendants of Albert III died out in 1457, and the divided lands were reunited under Frederick V.

1358 - 1365

Rudolph IV

Also Count of Tyrol (1363-1365).

1365 - 1395

Albert III

Also Count of Tyrol (1386-1395).

1395 - 1404

Albert IV

1404 - 1439

Albert V

HRE Albert II & King of Bohemia (1437/8-1439), & Hungary.

1420

Austria gains part of the partitioned province of Istria.

1439 - 1440

The title is vacant.

1440 - 1457

Ladislas Posthumus

King of Bohemia (1439-1457).

1457 - 1458

The title is vacant.

1458 - 1493

Frederick V

HRE Frederick III (1440-1493). Duke of Carinthia.

1493 - 1519

Maximilian I

HRE (1493-1519), Count of Tyrol (1490-1519).

1519 - 1520

Charles I

HRE Charles V (1519-1556).

1519 - 1534

Austria controls Württemberg directly.

1520 - 1564

Ferdinand I

HRE (1558-1564), Count of Tyrol (1519), King of Bohemia (1526), King of Croatia (1527).

1564 - 1576

Maximilian II

HRE (1564-1576).

1576 - 1608

Rudolf V

HRE Rudolf II (1576-1612).

1602 - 1605

Austria occupies Transylvania.

1608 - 1619

Matthias

HRE (1612-1619).

1619 - 1637

Ferdinand II

HRE.

1637 - 1657

Ferdinand III

HRE.

1657 - 1705

Leopold VIII

HRE Leopold I.

1665

Austria permanently absorbs the County of Tyrol.

1699

Austria takes permanent control of Transylvania.

1705 - 1711

Joseph I

HRE.

1711 - 1740

Charles II

HRE Charles VI .

1713 - 1735

Austria is ceded Naples and Sardinia by Spain.

1740 - 1780

Maria Theresa

HRE. Heiress of Austria.

1740 - 1748

The War of Succession.

Archdukes of Austria (Lorraine-Habsburg / Baudemont)

1780 - 1790

Joseph II

HRE.

1790 - 1792

Leopold II

HRE. Died suddenly.

1792 - 1806

Francis II

HRE. Last Holy Roman Emperor.

1797

Austria gains the remainder of the province of Istria.

1805 - 1814

Austria loses the County of Tyrol to Bavaria.

1806

The formal end of the Holy Roman Empire is declared under the dictates of the French Emperor Napoleon I. However, the Austrian Empire retains most of its eastern possessions and is (to an extent) a continuation of the HRE in all but name. Archduke Francis II of Austria becomes Emperor Francis I of the Austrian Empire.

Emperors of Austria (Lorraine-Habsburg / Baudemont)

1806 - 1835

Francis / Franz I

Formerly HRE Francis II.

1835 - 1848

Ferdinand (IV)

Died 1875.

1848 - 1916

Francis / Franz Josef

Born 1830.

1914

The heir to the throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, is assassinated by Serb nationalists. The murder is used by Austria to declare war on Serbia, from which declaration the Great War results.

1916 - 1918

Charles / Karl (III)

Last Austrian Emperor. Deposed (1918). Banished.

1918 - 1919

On 11 November 1918 an Austrian republic is declared by the World War I victors. The Austro-Hungarian Empire is dismantled. Hungary is declared a separate republic. Croatia is merged with Serbia to form Yugoslavia. Transylvania is transferred to Rumania. Italy gains Istria.

1919 - 1938

The Austrian First Republic is created.

1938 - 1945

Austria is annexed to Nazi Germany.

1945 - 1950

Austria is subject to Allied military occupation.

1950

The Austrian Second Republic is created.

Hereditary Emperors of Austria

Karl III was expelled from his Austrian domains after the conclusion of World War I and the empire was divided up into a series of democratic states which helped to shape modern Europe. The archduke and his family were forced out of Austria in 1919, and the Habsburg titles remain unrecognised there to date. (More details are available on the German language web site, below.)

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Otto von Habsburg

1918 - 1922

Karl (III) von Habsburg

Died 1922.

1919

Otto is forced to flee Austria on 24 March 1919. He goes into exile in Switzerland. When his father dies in 1922, he becomes head of the House of Habsburg with his mother, French-born Empress Zita, as guardian. Following a failed attempt to re-establish the empire in 1922, Otto is exiled to Spain until 1929, Belgium (1929-1940 - where he studies at university and gains a doctorate), France (1940), USA (1940-1944), and then France & Spain (1944-1954). In 1951 Otto marries Princess Regina von Saxonia Sachsen-Meiningen (b.1925). From 1966 he is allowed access into Austria, and becomes a member of the European Parliament for the CSU on 10 June 1979. In 1999 he stands down for health reasons.

1922 - Present

Otto von Habsburg

Son. Born 20 November 1912.

1922 - 1930

Zita von Bourbon-Parma

Mother. Guardian.

Karl  von Habsburg-Lothringen

Son and heir. Born 11 January 1961.