Andreas of Austria

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Andreas Cardinal of Austria
Coat of arms of Cardinal Andreas of Austria (coat of arms collection from 1594)
Heraldic shield as the Bishop of Constance

Andreas of Austria (born June 15, 1558 at Bresnitz Castle, Březnice , Bohemia , † November 12, 1600 in Rome ) was cardinal and bishop of Constance and Brixen . His parents were the Habsburg Archduke Ferdinand II , Prince of Tyrol and his wife, the Augsburg patrician daughter Philippine Welser . He was abbot of the Murbach monastery from 1587 to 1600 . His tomb is in the Church of Santa Maria dell'Anima in Rome.

Life

Childhood and youth

Like his younger brother Karl , he was laid as a supposed foundling on the threshold of the Březnice Castle in Bohemia, where he was lifted by Philippine Welser, his birth mother, and thus adopted as a child. Philippine lived there with her aunt Katharina von Lokšan and, as only close confidants knew, had previously secretly married the Bohemian governor Archduke Ferdinand II in a morganatic marriage. Few knew that the two were his birth parents. The marriage was only announced later and the children were given the name of Austria . The House of Habsburg declared them eligible for succession only in the event that all other Habsburgs died out.

Together with his younger brother, he grew up first in Bohemia and later in Tyrol. Since a noble marriage was out of the question due to the improper mother, the sons had to be looked after elsewhere. The parents decided that Andreas should pursue a spiritual career. In March 1574 he traveled to Rome with a large entourage, the future cardinal should be able to lead a befitting life. For Pope Gregory XIII. the mother had sent a chest with medicines, which the son should present when he first met him. However, it was a long time before the encounter took place. When he finally appointed the now 17-year-old cardinal , he said that he owed this high distinction solely and exclusively to his father.

Andreas of Austria had two illegitimate children, Hans-Georg Degli Abizzi (* 1583) and Susanna Degli Abizzi (1584–1653), who grew up with his brother Karl, Margrave of Burgau .

Church career

In the consistory of November 19, 1576, Pope Gregory XIII awarded Andreas of Austria wore the cardinal's hat and appointed him cardinal priest with the titular church Santa Maria Nuova in 1577 . From 1580 he was coadjutor of the Bishop of Constance and succeeded him as Prince-Bishop of Constance in 1589 . He received his episcopal ordination on January 8, 1590. From 1591 he was also briefly coadjutor, then Bishop of Brixen . Andreas of Austria was Margrave of Burgau (1578–1600) and, on behalf of his cousin, Archduke Albrecht VII of Austria , governor of the Southern Netherlands (1598–99).

As a cardinal he was able to take part in four papal elections : The conclaves of 1585 , October – December 1590 , 1591 and 1592 .

literature

Web links

Commons : Andreas von Österreich  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Sigrid-Maria Grossing: Passionate Habsburg. Verlag A&M, Salzburg 2006, ISBN 3-902509-12-0 .
predecessor Office successor
Markus Sittikus of Hohenems Prince-Bishop of Constance
1589–1600 		Johann Georg von Hallwyl
Johann Thomas von Spaur Bishop of Brixen
1591–1600 		Christoph Andreas von Spaur
personal data
SURNAME Austria, Andreas von
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Burgau, Andreas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Cardinal, Bishop of Constance and Brixen
DATE OF BIRTH June 15, 1558
PLACE OF BIRTH Březnice Castle , Bohemia
DATE OF DEATH November 12, 1600
Place of death Rome