Our dynasty – the house of Habsburg

A European history of success

The house of Habsburg is a European noble family, named after the Swiss Habsburg castle, built in the eleventh century by Radbot and Werner of Strassburg. The first member of the family officially called "von Habsburg" was Count Otto, who died in 1111.

The rise of the Habsburgs began in 1273, when Rudolf I. was elected German king. Their 700-years connection to Austria dates back to 1278, when Rudolf acquired the dukedoms Upper and Lower Austria and Styria.

In 1452 Frederick III was elected emperor of the Holy Roman Empire – henceforth, for more than 350 years the crown of the empire rested mainly in the hands of the house of Habsburg, until the empire ceased to exist in 1806. During this period the Habsburgs enlarged their power and influence by means of smart politics of contracts and marriages. Thus their lands became a worldwide realm in the sixteenth century, when Charles V reigned over a realm in which the sun would never go down. Many know the famous saying of the Hungarian king Mátyás Corvinus and motto of Emperor Maximilian I "Bella gerant alii, tu, felix Austria, nube – Others shall fight wars, but you, lucky Austria, marry!"

The house of Habsburg received the name "Austria" in the fifteenth century, when Upper and Lower Austria were declared archduchy under Duke Rudolf IV in 1359 and was formally recognized by Emperor Frederick III in 1453. Further possessions of the family were Tyrol, Styria, Carinthia, Krain, the non-turkish parts of Hungary, Silesia, Moravia, Lusatia and Bohemia. In Western Europe the Habsburgs reigned over Bourgogne, the Netherlands and parts of Alsace; in Italy they governed the duchy of Milan as well as the realm of Naples, which reached out to Sardinia and Sicily. They were kings of Spain and Portugal and reigned over Mexico, Brazil, Peru and Chile.

In 1804 Emperor Francis II decreed that the Habsburg lands should from now on form the Empire of Austria, thus reacting to the imperial coronation of Napoléon Bonaparte. In 1806, due to the political developments between France and some German principalities, he laid down the crown of the Holy Roman Empire, thus ending its existence. In 1867 his grand-nephew Francis Joseph I separated the realm into two halves – from now on the state was called "Imperial and Royal Double Monarchy" or simply "Austria-Hungary".

In 1914 this Austro-Hungarian double monarchy was a polyethnic state of 676,615 square kilometres and 53 million inhabitants. It contained the modern states Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, parts of Romania, of Poland, the Ukraine, Serbia and Montenegro. So Austria-Hungary was, apart from Russia, the second-largest state and concerning population third to Russia and the German Empire.

After the end of WWI, which had begun under the reign of Emperor Francis Joseph, the Austro-Hungarian monarchy was abolished and the countries declared themselves independent. In Austria the republic was proclaimed illegally in 1918 – the people weren't asked and Emperor Charles I only declared that he would not participate in government. He and his family were sent to exile, where he died in poverty in 1921. In 2004 Charles of Austria, as of now last emperor of Austria, the "emperor of peace", was blessed by pope John Paul II for his faith and his attempts to end the war.

The Habsburg's influence on European politics started again when His Imperial and Royal Highness Archduke Dr. Otto von Habsburg (* 20 November 1912), son of the last Austrian emperor, took over leadership of the house. Thanks to his efforts, the republic of Austria could become an independent state again after WWII and was considered as victim of Nazi Germany. He was a member of the European parliament, president of the Paneuropean Union and is today its president of honour. His "Paneurope Picknick", which took place on August 19th 1989 on the Austrian-Hungarian border, enabled 661 citizens of Eastern Germany their escape and thus indirectly led to the opening of the borders of the German Democratic Republic.

HIH Archduke Otto between his sons Charles and George

Archduke Otto has been married since 1951 to Princess Regina of Saxe-Meiningen. Their first born son, Archduke Charles (* 11 January 1961), married to Baroness Francesca of Thyssen-Bornemizsa, is currently president of the Austrian Paneuropean Union. Together with his two daughters Eleonore and Gloria and his son and heir Ferdinand Zvonimir he lives in Vienna. His younger brother, Archduke George (* 16 December 1964), married to Eilika of Oldenburg, lives in Budapest as EU ambassador of Hungary. Up to now, the pair has got three children: Sophia, Ildikó and Charles Constantine.

On whole, Archduke Otto and Archduchess Regina have seven children: The two boys and the Archduchesses Andrea (*1953), Monika (*1954), Michaela (*1954), Gabriela (*1956) and Walburga (*1958). Archduchess Walburga, married to Count Archibald Douglas, is also dealing with politics. In 1973 she was co-founder of the German Paneurope Youth, from 2004 on she has been managing chairman of the International Paneuropean Union. In Sweden, where she currently lives, she is chairman of the Moderata Samlingspartiet, the main conservative party of Sweden. In 2006 she was elected member of the Swedish parliament.