Barbara of Austria

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Archduchess Barbara of Austria, Duchess of Ferrara (painting by Francesco Terzio , 1565)
Funerary monument in the Chiesa del Gesù in Ferrara

Barbara of Austria (born April 30, 1539 in Innsbruck , † September 19, 1572 in Ferrara ) was an Archduchess of Austria and by marriage to Alfonso II. D'Este from December 5, 1539 until her death, Duchess of Ferrara , Modena and Reggio .

biography

Barbara was the eleventh of the fifteen children of the future emperor Ferdinand I (1503–1564) from his marriage to Anna Jagiello (1503–1547), daughter of King Vladislav II of Bohemia and Hungary . Barbara was raised strictly Catholic in relatively simple circumstances .

On December 5, 1565, the 25-year-old Barbara married in Ferrara as his second wife, Alfonso II. D'Este , Duke of Ferrara , Modena and Reggio (1533–1597). The Habsburgs pursued by the marriage project prevention of further convergence of the house d'Este to France, which had been strengthened by the marriage of Alfonso's parents. The marriage was preceded by several years of negotiations, as Alfonso was originally trying to get Barbara's eight years younger and more attractive sister Johanna . The marriage remained childless. Torquato Tasso , who was called to the court of Ferrara and who arrived at the court during Barbara's wedding celebrations, which were celebrated with great splendor, dedicated a few sonnets to her.

In Ferrara, after an earthquake in 1570, Barbara founded the Santa Barbara orphanage named after her, for which she also set up an oratory in 1572 , from which the Santa Barbara Church later emerged. At the age of 33, she died of tuberculosis , which she had already contracted in 1566.

literature

Web links

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

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Edith Schlocker: Ambras Castle: The Emperor's Unhappy Daughters. Die Presse, July 25, 2010, accessed on July 26, 2010 (The exhibition "Nozze italiane" illustrates the marriage policy of the Habsburgs. The focus is on three daughters of Ferdinand I who were married to Italy).
  2. ↑ Heinrich von Cybel: Historical Journal , 1868, p 31 Digitalisat
  3. ↑ Ludwig Eckardt: Lectures on Goethe's Torquato Tasso , Chr. Fischer, 1852, p. 26
  4. ^ Gregor Scherf: Giovanni Battista Aleotti (1546–1636) , Tectum Verlag DE, 1998, p. 56
personal data
SURNAME Barbara of Austria
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Archduchess of Austria, Duchess of Ferrara
DATE OF BIRTH April 30, 1539
PLACE OF BIRTH innsbruck
DATE OF DEATH September 19, 1572
Place of death Ferrara