247
HAbSbURGS
Joseph ii
From the time of
Rudolf i onward,
the habsburg family extended its power throughout
europe. Joseph ii, son of Maria Theresa, was appalled by the
living conditions of his poorer subjects. he began reforms
that included freeing serfs
and abolishing
privileges.MaRia TheResa
in 1740, Maria Theresa came
to the austrian throne. she
was only 23 and her empire was
bankrupt. over the next 40 years,
she pulled austria back from
poverty and restored habsburg
power in europe.ausTRia
under Maria Theresa, austria became the leading artistic center of europe.
austria was home to the composers Franz Joseph haydn and Wolfgang
amadeus Mozart. artists and architects came from all over europe to work
on great palaces such as the schönbrunn in Vienna (above).DuRing The 900s, a family named habsburg owned some
land in France and switzerland. From this position, they rose
to dominate european history for more than 1,000 years. The
name habsburg comes from one of the family’s first castles,
the habichtsburg, in switzerland. Through a series of wars,
inheritances, and careful marriages, the family acquired
more and more land. By the 1500s, it owned most of southern
and central europe and much land in the americas. The
habsburg possessions became so big that, in 1556, the
habsburg emperor, Charles V, split the land between
members of his family. philip ii governed one half from
Madrid, spain, while Ferdinand of austria governed
the other half from Vienna, austria. The spanish
habsburgs died out in 1700, but the austrian habsburgs continued to expand
their empire. in the 19th century, however, their power began to weaken because
the empire contained so many different peoples. When it collapsed after World
War i (1914-18), four new
nations emerged: austria,
Czechoslovakia, hungary,
and Yugoslavia.habsburgs
1273 Rudolf i becomes
the holy Roman emperor.
1282 albert i becomes first
habsburg ruler of austria.
1438 albert ii becomes
holy Roman emperor.
1519 Charles V becomes
holy Roman emperor.
1526 Ferdinand, brother of
Charles, acquires Bohemia.
1556 Charles V splits
habsburg lands in half.
1700 Charles ii, last spanish
habsburg monarch, dies.
1740-1780 Maria Theresa
increases habsburg power
in europe.
1781 Joseph ii, son of Maria
Theresa, introduces major
reforms and frees serfs.
1867 austrian empire is split
between two monarchs:
austrian and hungarian.
1918 Charles i,
last habsburg
emperor, gives
up throne.Find out more
austria
Charlemagne
europe, history of
France
switzerlandJoseph IIChaRles V
under Charles V, who reigned as holy
Roman emperor from 1519 to 1556, the
habsburgs reached the height of their
power. Charles V ruled a vast empire
FaMilY CResT shown in pink on the map above.
The crest of the
habsburg family was the
black double-headed
eagle. it appeared on all
their flags and banners.The Netherlands
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