Ernst of Austria (1553–1595)

Archduke Ernst of Austria, governor of the Spanish Netherlands

Ernst of Austria

Ernst (III.) Von Habsburg , Archduke of Austria (born June 15, 1553 in Vienna , † February 20, 1595 in Brussels ), was governor (regent) of Lower Austria , (in guardianship) in Inner Austria , and then the Netherlands .

Life

Ernst was the second son of Emperor Maximilian II and thus the younger brother of Emperor Rudolf II. He is the only person of trust of the Emperor and was intended to be his successor.

In 1572 the House of Habsburg tried to gain the crown of the Kingdom of Poland-Lithuania after the elective monarchy had been introduced into it. As a candidate of the Habsburgs in the free election , in which a total of five candidates had run, Ernst was subject to the French candidate Heinrich von Valois .

In 1590 he was given the guardianship of the young Archduke Ferdinand of Inner Austria , making him regent there too. In 1592 he suffered a defeat in Hungary by the Turks .

In the same year King Philip II of Spain entrusted the government of the Netherlands to him, but Ernst did not arrive in Brussels until 1594, where he died in early 1595.

His governorship in the Netherlands was too short to acquire any political significance, but is relevant to the history of the Habsburg collections, as he became aware of Pieter Bruegel in the Netherlands and recommended him to his brother. This is the basis of the Bruegel collection at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. Archduke Ernst was an advocate of the Counter-Reformation and was therefore honored by King Philip II and Pope Sixtus V , but had no lasting success in any of the areas he ruled.

literature

Constantin von Wurzbach : Ernst, Archduke of Austria . No. 79. In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 6th part. Imperial-Royal Court and State Printing Office, Vienna 1860, p. 180 f. ( Digitized version ).
Almut Bues: The Habsburg candidacy for the Polish throne during the First Interregnum in Poland 1572/1573. Dissertations from the University of Vienna, Association of Austrian Scientific Societies, Vienna 1984, ISBN 3-85369-559-0 .

Web links

Commons : Ernst von Österreich (1553–1595) - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Entry on Ernst von Österreich (1553–1595) in the Memory of the State database for the history of the State of Lower Austria ( Museum Niederösterreich )

Individual evidence

↑ I was Ernst the Iron in the 14th century, II was his son, who died young
^ Karl Eder: Ernst, Archduke of Austria. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 4, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1959, ISBN 3-428-00185-0 , p. 617 ( digitized version ).

predecessor	Office	successor
Rudolf (V.)	Governor of Lower Austria 1576–1593	Matthias
Charles II (as Archduke)	Regent (governor) of Inner Austria (for Archduke Ferdinand ) 1590–1593	Maximilian (the German master)
Peter Ernst I. von Mansfeld	Governor of the Habsburg Netherlands 1594–1595	Pedro Henriquez de Acevedo

personal data
SURNAME	Ernst of Austria
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Archduke Ernst von Habsburg; Archduke Ernst III. of Habsburg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Governor in Austria and the Netherlands
DATE OF BIRTH	June 15, 1553
PLACE OF BIRTH	Vienna
DATE OF DEATH	February 20, 1595
Place of death	Brussels

[Anm._Nummer-1] I was Ernst the Iron in the 14th century, II was his son, who died young

[2] Karl Eder: Ernst, Archduke of Austria. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 4, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1959, ISBN 3-428-00185-0 , p. 617 ( digitized version ).