Elisabeth of Gorizia and Tyrol

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Bronze statue in the court church in Innsbruck

Elisabeth of Gorizia and Tyrol (* around 1262 in Munich ; † October 28, 1313 in Königsfelden ) was duchess of Austria and Styria from 1283 and was elected queen of the Romans from 1298 by marrying the Habsburg Albrecht .

Life

Elisabeth, whose date of birth was not recorded by any of the contemporary chroniclers, was the daughter of Count Meinhard II of Gorizia and Tyrol , from 1286 Duke of Carinthia , from the Meinhardin family and his wife Elisabeth of Bavaria , the eldest daughter of Duke Otto II. From the Wittelsbach family and widow of the Roman-German King Konrad IV. On the maternal side, Elisabeth was a half-sister of Konradin .

Around 1272 Meinhard betrothed his daughter Elisabeth to Albrecht von Habsburg (1255–1308), the eldest son of the later Roman-German King Rudolf I and his first wife Gertrud von Hohenberg . This engagement was intended to confirm the friendship between Meinhard and Rudolf, who were old partisans of the Hohenstaufen and like-minded territorial lords. Both successfully strived for an expansion of their household power, supported each other in their political goals and, after Rudolf's election as king (1273), finally became related by marriage between Elisabeth and Albrecht on November 20, 1274 in Vienna.

Elisabeth's marriage was a happy one. At the side of her husband she rose politically and first became Duchess of Austria and Styria in 1283. She had great insight into the political situation and had a significant influence on Albrecht. So she proved herself as a balancing personality in many disputes between her husband and local rulers. Among other things, she acted as mediator in the revolt of the Viennese against the duke, in his fight against the archbishop of Salzburg and in the dispute against the Styrian and Austrian nobility. Her deep understanding of the exercise of sovereignty is also evident from her numerous foundations and the privileges she granted, with which she primarily promoted the goods of her morning gift. She was often appointed by Albrecht as his governor because of her political talent. In the difficult years of the initially unsuccessful struggle for the German royal crown after the death of Rudolf I (1291), she led the regiment in the duchies for her absent husband. After her husband was elected as king, she was crowned Roman-German queen in Aachen on November 16, 1298 . In this position she could also influence politics. Therefore, like her husband, she incurred the wrath of Pope Boniface VIII . As Queen she often stayed at the court of her son Rudolf in Vienna.

On May 1, 1308, King Albrecht near Brugg an der Aare was murdered by his nephew Johann Parricida (1290-1313), as Johann saw himself betrayed by Albrecht for failing to meet the requirements of the Rheinfeld house rules . Elisabeth was deeply dismayed by the violent death of her husband. She was also afraid that the Habsburgs might now lose their home country. She let those responsible for Albrecht's death and their supporters persecute until an agreement between her sons and the new King Henry VII was reached in September 1309 , which she had eagerly contributed to. With this arrangement she believed the rule of the Habsburgs secured. In this dynasty hostile sources, Elisabeth is labeled a vengeful fury for her relentless attitude towards her husband's murderers .

St. Paul Abbey in Lavanttal , access to the crypt of the early Habsburgs

Elisabeth was able to maintain her political authority even as a widow. In 1311 she played a key role in bringing Austria and Bavaria to an agreement. In addition, she was appointed in the same year to make the arbitration in the conflict between her son Friedrich the beautiful and her brother Heinrich von Kärnten .

Elisabeth's Wittum was in the Salzkammergut ; she owned Gmunden and Lauffen , in Aussee and Ischl she exercised common rights with her sons. As a clever and enterprising woman with certain commercial talents, she had suggested the construction of the salt works in Hallstatt . The citizens of Hallstatt gained market freedom and the right to trade in the salt they had extracted.

Elisabeth had the Königsfelden monastery built on the spot where Albrecht was murdered , to which she withdrew towards the end of her life and where she died and was buried in 1313 at the age of about 50. Through the solemn translation of the imperial-royal-also-ducal-Austrian highest corpses , their remains were transferred to the monastery of St. Blasien in 1770 ; In 1809 her bones came to St. Paul Abbey in the Lavant Valley in Carinthia , where they were buried in the collegiate church.

progeny

The marriage of Elisabeth and Albrecht had 21 children, including:

Nine other children of the couple died immediately after birth. They remained nameless and were buried in the Dreikönigskapelle in Tulln in Lower Austria.

literature

Web links

Commons : Elisabeth von Görz und Tirol  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ^ So Adolf Gauert, NDB, Vol. 4 (1959), p. 440; according to Richard Reifenscheid ( King Albrecht I , in: Gerhard Hartmann, Karl Schnith (ed.): Die Kaiser , Verlag Styria, 1996, ISBN 3-222-12421-3 , p. 384) Elisabeth and Albrecht married around 1276 .
predecessor Office Successor
Imagina of Isenburg-Limburg Roman-German queen
1298–1308 		Margaret of Brabant
personal data
SURNAME Elisabeth of Gorizia and Tyrol
BRIEF DESCRIPTION by marriage, Duchess of Austria and Roman-German Queen
DATE OF BIRTH around 1262
PLACE OF BIRTH Munich
DATE OF DEATH October 28, 1313
Place of death Koenigsfelden