Sigismund Franz (Austria-Tyrol)

Archduke Sigismund Franz of Austria-Tyrol

Archduke Sigismund Franz's grave

Sigismund Franz von Habsburg (born November 28, 1630 in Innsbruck ; † June 25, 1665 ibid) was from 1662 to 1665 sovereign of the Austrian foothills and Tyrol as well as the owner of several bishoprics .

Life

Sigismund Franz was born in Innsbruck as the second son of Leopold V and the Etrurian Princess Claudia de Medici . His sister was Leopoldine von Tirol , the second wife of Emperor Ferdinand III. He himself was a nephew of Emperor Ferdinand II , whose brother Leopold was his father.

Without ever being ordained a priest or a bishop, Sigismund Franz became bishop of Augsburg in 1646 , bishop of Gurk in 1653 and of Trento in 1659 . He was thus generously endowed with church benefices . When his brother Ferdinand Karl died in 1662 without a male heir, Sigismund Franz applied - against the will of Emperor Leopold I - to succeed him as Prince of Tyrol. In 1663 the Landtag of Hereditary Homage met in Innsbruck.

His skills and talents could have made him a much better sovereign than Ferdinand Karl. In Innsbruck, above all, his deliberate manner, his interest in welfare and his savings in running the farm were felt to be very beneficial. With that he stepped into stark contrast to his brother. In 1665, the Archduke gradually renounced his ecclesiastical offices and bishopric as he had decided to marry.

He applied for the hand of Hedwig of Hessen-Darmstadt, but the marriage did not take place for religious reasons. On June 3, 1665 he married Hedwig Augusta von Sulzbach by procuration , but the actual wedding never took place because the Archduke suddenly died on June 25.

With his early death, the Tyrolean line of the Habsburgs died out in 1665. Emperor Leopold I immediately took over the government of Tyrol. Sigismund Franz was buried in the crypt of the Innsbruck Jesuit Church.

literature

• Constantin von Wurzbach : Habsburg, Sigismund Franz von Tirol . In: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich . 7th part. Imperial and Royal Court and State Printing Office, Vienna 1861, p. 148 ( digitized version ).
• Jakob Obersteiner: The bishops of Gurk. 1072–1822 (= From Research and Art. 5, ISSN  0067-0642 ). Verlag des Geschichtsverein für Kärnten, Klagenfurt 1969, pp. 386–391.
• Brigitte Hamann (ed.): The Habsburgs. A biographical lexicon. 2nd, corrected edition. Ueberreuter et al., Vienna et al. 1988, ISBN 3-8000-3247-3 , p. 420.

Web links

Commons : Archduke Sigismund Francis of Austria  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Entry on Sigmund Franz Archduke of Austria on catholic-hierarchy.org

Individual evidence

1. ↑ In the literature the date of the birth of Sigismund Franz is variously assumed to be November 27, 1630 (Wurzbach, B. Hamann et al.). Sabine Weiss in their work on Claudia de 'Medici and Gertraud Pfaundler-Spat in the Tirol Lexikon mention November 28th. The latter date can be confirmed by an entry in the diary of Abbot Paulus Gay (the 25th Abbot of Stams Abbey). The abbot, who was in close contact with the archducal couple, writes in his diary on p. 129: On the 28th of November (November) at 2 o'clock in the night, the archduchess was indulged and a young prince was born with great joy Etc.
2. ^ Hugo Altmann:  Leopold V. Ferdinand. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 14, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-428-00195-8 , pp. 290-293 ( digitized version ).

predecessor	Office	successor
Heinrich V of Knöringen	Bishop of Augsburg 1646–1665	Johann Christoph von Freyberg
Franz I. Count of Lodron	Bishop of Gurk 1653–1665	Wenceslaus Count of Thun
Carlo Emanuele Madruzzo	Bishop of Trento 1659–1665	Ernst Adalbert von Harrach
Ferdinand Karl	Archduke of Front Austria-Tyrol 1662–1665	Leopold I.