Emperor Francis Joseph was born on 18 August 1830. At birth, he was not a member of the main line and thus not the heir apparent to the Imperial throne. On the other hand, there was hardly a wide choice of candidates, as the incumbent monarch, the epileptic Ferdinand, was fit neither to rule nor […]
Archduchess Anna, the eldest daughter of Charles II of Inner Austria and Maria Anna of Bavaria, was born on 16 August 1573. Her parents were closely related, being uncle and niece. She grew up among a large horde of siblings under the loving care of her parents and received a strict Catholic education. As the […]
The Archduchesses Maria Elisabeth and Maria Karolina were born on 13 August, in 1743 and 1752 respectively. They were the fifth and tenth daughters of Maria Theresa and Francis Stephan. Due to the considerable age gap, the two sisters neither played together nor shared tutors or lesson programmes. Apart from their common birthday, they had […]
Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia was born on 12 August 1566. She was the eldest surviving daughter of Philip II of Spain from his third marriage to Elisabeth of Valois, the daughter of Henry II of France. Despite the early loss of their mother, Isabella Clara and her sister Catalina Michaela enjoyed a safe and loving […]
Archduchess Maria Christina and Sigismund Báthory, Prince of Transylvania, were married on 6 August 1595. For a long time, the Principality of Transylvania had been a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire. Its political life was a bewildering tangle of local noble ambitions, rival cousins, religious conflicts, extravagant conspiracies, and secret assassinations. In the early […]
Archduke Leopold, the second surviving son of Maria Theresa and Francis Stephan, and Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain were married on 5 August 1765 in Innsbruck. The young couple were to travel to Italy and assume government of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany — the designated inheritance of the imperial secundogenitur — from Leopold’s father. […]
The Holy Roman Emperor Karl VI and Elisabeth Christine of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel married on 1 August 1708. Theirs was a marriage of vital importance. As the last male Habsburg, Karl had an urgent need for a legitimate son and heir. The Imperial throne had been in possession of the dynasty since the 15th century. The potential […]
Emperor Maximilian II was born on 31 July 1527, the eldest son of Ferdinand I and Anne of Bohemia. In his youth, he was regarded as a promising commander, serving under his uncle Emperor Charles V in Italy and in religious conflicts against the Protestant Schmalkaldic League in Germany. As heir to the throne, Maximilian […]
Princess Luisa of Naples and Sicily was born on 27 July 1773. Through her mother, Queen Maria Karolina of Naples and Sicily, she was a granddaughter of Empress Maria Theresa. Luisa’s life was marked by the widespread belief that she was ugly — a judgement curiously resistant to rational analysis. A well-known story tells of […]
Emperor Joseph I was born on 26 July 1678 and grew up in a large family. From an early age, Joseph showed a deep love for the arts and music. After ascending the throne in 1705, he had the Vienna opera house built – at the time, the largest in Europe. Unlike many of his […]
Access to the Metatext via placing an order for an augmented product. See Terms of Use
