European Kingdoms

Duchy of Carinthia (Habsburg Inner Austria) (Austria) (Central Europe)
AD 1335 - 1620

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Situated in the south of Austria, close to modern Slovenia, the medieval region of Carinthia emerged out of Roman domination. In the sixth and seventh centuries it was settled by Slav groups before being organised into a 'Slav Kingdom' across a wide swathe of Central Europe. Following the death of its founder in AD 658 the kingdom fragmented.

The Carinthian section became known by its Slav name of Khorushka. In time it was absorbed by the Eastern Franks and a duchy was created which enjoyed a series of 'Non-Dynastic Dukes'. The county of Spontheim provided the next dynasty of ruling dukes, the 'Spontheim Dukes'. The duchy was appended to Ottokar's powerful kingdom of Bohemia, making him the one and only 'Przemyslid Duke' of Carinthia.

Implacably opposing Ottokar, Rudolph of Austria gained the duchies of Austria and 'Habsburg Carinthia' in 1276, slicing them away from Bohemian control as he geared up towards killing Ottokar just two years later in battle on the Moravia Field. Rudolph became Holy Roman emperor, so that various of his territories needed to be handed out to relatives and subjects.

At the Imperial Diet of Augsburg in 1286, Carinthia was handed to the family of Gorizia-Tyrol, the ruling counts of the Tyrol in the person of Meinhard II, who had already been raised to the position of a prince of the empire in 1278. Rudolph and his Habsburg successors would remain the titular rulers of 'Tirol Carinthia' until the end of the First World War, but its day-to-day governance had to be passed to a subordinate, hence the apparent hand-over.

With the death of Duke Henry V, the now-vacant duchy was passed by Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV 'the Bavarian' to Otto and Albert, the sons of Duke Albert I of Austria. The southern section of the Tyrol was added to Carinthia's holdings, all of this taking place on 2 May 1335.

Otto led a fairly lively and spirited court in his duchy, gaining for himself the nickname of 'the Cheerful' or 'the Merry'. Governance of the duchy was often shared between two brothers, both of whom were also dukes of Austria. In Austria itself it was usually the elder brother who held the senior position, while in Carinthia that was reversed, permitting a level of oversight and restraint for the senior rulers of each duchy.

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from From Roman Provinces to Medieval Kingdoms, Thomas F X Noble, and from External Links: Medieval Secular Order Names: Courtly Orders and Awards, and Foundation for Medieval Genealogy, and Encyclopaedia.com, and Cranach Digital Archive (in German and English), and Special Collections (University of Arizona), and The Holy Roman Empire (Heraldica), and The Holy Roman Empire, Christopher Brooks (Portland Community College via LibreTexts Humanities), and The World of the Habsburgs.)

1335 - 1339

Son of Albert I of Austria. Duke of Austria (1330-1339).

1335 - 1358

Brother. Joint rule. Duke of Austria (1330-1358).

1337 - 1339

Otto founds the 'Society of the Grail Templars' (Societas Templois, now known as the Grail-Templars of Saint George (Austria)) to play a part in the suppression of the native Prussians and the conquest of the Lithuanians on the Baltic coast. Two years later he dies at Neuberg an der Mürz.

Duke Otto IV 'the Cheerful' shown in oils with his two sons, one of whom would die before reaching adulthood and being able to claim his own place as duke

1339 - 1344

Son of Otto. In line to succeed him but died a minor in 1344.

1344

Otto's son, Leopold II, is due to succeed him once he comes of age, but his early death prevents that. With Otto's own individual line of Habsburgs extinct, the duchy of Carinthia passes to Frederick, the second son of Albert II.

1358 - 1362

Son of Albert II.

1358 - 1365

Brother. Joint rule. Austria (1358), Styria, Tyrol & Carniola.

1356 - 1359

The title of archduke is 'granted' to Austria in 1359, even though it has to be invented and proclaimed by the first archduke, Rudolph IV. The bluff is propagated to make up for the loss to the Habsburgs of the imperial title and their failure to receive an electoral vote in the Golden Bull of 1356 which had been proclaimed by Emperor Charles IV.

Instead, Rudolph creates the Privilegium Maius, a document which has no authority behind it but which raises the dukes of Austria to archdukes, a new title, and one which grants them the same level of status as the seven prince-electors of the Holy Roman empire.

Duke Rudolf IV was the most influential Habsburg of the fourteenth century - despite his short life of only twenty-six years he place an enduring stamp on his dominions in terms both of culture and politics

1363

Rudolph agrees with the widowed Margaret Maultash, countess of Gorizia-Tyrol, that upon the death of her only son, Meinhard III, he will inherit the county of Tyrol. In the end, Meinhard predeceases his mother and she remains in full command of the county until her own death in 1369, not least because her brother-in-law, Duke Stephen II of Bavaria, invades and holds the county.

Once Rudolph's successor has the Tyrol region safely under his control, the title of count will frequently be passed to junior members of the Austrian Habsburgs.

1365

One of the last acts of Rudolph IV before his unexpected death at the age of twenty-six is to found the University of Vienna as a rival to the University of Prague which had been founded by Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV in 1348. Rudolph has dedicated much of his efforts as archduke of Austria to increasing Vienna's prestige, making it a major European capital.

Today's Tyrol is one of the lande (states) of Austria, in the heart of the Alps and consisting of North Tyrol and East Tyrol, which are separated by a strip of Salzburg and Italy

1365 - 1395

Brother. Followed Frederick & Rudolph. Archduke of Austria.

1379

Albert and his brother, Leopold, share the rule of Austria under the principles of Rudolph's 'Rudolfinian House Rules', but in reality all they do is quarrel. Their disputes threaten Austria's unity, so they agree to divide their holdings under the terms of the Treaty of Neuberg. Albert becomes sole archduke of Austria, while Leopold takes precedence in Carinthia, Further Austria, Styria, and Tyrol.

1379 - 1386

Brother. Joint rule. Archduke of Austria. Count of Tyrol (1365).

1386 - 1406

Son. Ruled Carniola, Styria, & Tyrol.

1406

William's death at a relatively young age - he is about thirty six - sees his lands divided between his brothers. Frederick, who has already been sharing the rule of the Tyrol, gains that territory while Ernest is granted Carinthia, Carniola, and Styria, which are now formally and collectively being referred to as Inner Austria. Both brothers also act as guardians for the young Albert V of Austria.

The modern southern Austrian region of Carinthia marked the upper edge of the Adriatic hinterland, and the southern borders of a seventh century Slav kingdom here, one of the earliest Slav states to appear

1406 - 1424

Brother. Duke of Further Austria (1411).

1407 - 1411

Ernest has been in conflict with a brother, Leopold IV of Further Austria, and now their enmity erupts into civil war. It is resolved by 1409, and when Leopold dies in 1411 without having produced a male heir, Ernest becomes head of the house and sole ruler of both Inner Austria and Further Austria.

1424 - 1493

Son. HRE (1440). Archduke Frederick V of Austria (1458).

1440

Elected king of the Romans, the last Holy Roman emperor to enjoy this honour, Duke Frederick III begins to unite all of the divided Habsburg lands under one ruler, laying the foundations for the later greatness of the Habsburgs in Central Europe.

As an Austrian duke of the Habsburg dynasty, Frederick IV 'the Fair' ruled over Further Austria (the largely-Swabian territories), and gained the county of Tyrol in 1406, while from 1424 he served as regent of Inner Austria for his nephews

1458 - 1564

With the accession of Frederick, Holy Roman emperor and duke of Carinthia, to the seat of control of the archduchy of Austria, the duchy of Carinthia is united fully to Austria. It remains an integral part of the Austrian succession until 1564 when, upon the death of Charles I of Spain, his vast single dominion is divided between his son and his brother.

The son, Philip, gains the throne of Spain, and the holdings in the Netherlands, while his younger brother, Ferdinand, is confirmed in Austria, Bohemia, and Hungary. Younger members of the royal house are also confirmed as dukes of Carinthia (Inner Austria) and counts of Tyrol.

1564 - 1590

Son of Ferdinand I of Austria. Archduke of Inner Austria.

1590 - 1620

Archduke of Austria (1619). Ruled Tyrol (1564). HRE.

1620 - 1806

Carinthia and the rest of Inner Austria are passed onto Ferdinand III when Ferdinand II becomes Holy Roman emperor. Rule of Inner Austria is merely nominal by this stage, as it is a permanent appendage to Austria, with the title of archduke of Inner Austria being handed onto the next available candidate. This remains the case until 1806.

Much of what survives of ancient Carinthia - after various divisions of its once-large territory - remains a constituent federal state of the modern republic of Austria

1806

With the termination of the Holy Roman empire, the duchy of Carinthia remains a crown territory of the emperor of Austria. The Canal Valley region is ceded in 1919 to the kingdom of Italy under the terms of the Treaty of St Germain.

The Carinthian Plebiscite of 1920 sees the majority of Carinthia become a constituent state of Austria, while a small slice is adjoined to the kingdom of Serbs, Croats, & Slovenes (the modern region of Slovenian Carinthia).

Following occupation by Nazi Germany between 1938 and 1945, Austria maintains its Carinthian holdings, and Carinthia's history as a federal state of that name follows the general history of modern Austria from this point onwards.