Ferdinand II of Austria

Archduke Ferdinand of Austria (born June 14, 1529 in Linz; died January 24, 1595) was Regent of Tyrol.

Related Topics:
June 14 - 1529 - Linz - January 24 - 1595 - Regent - Tyrol

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Archduke Ferdinand of Austria was the second son of Emperor Ferdinand I and brother of Emperor Maximilian II. At the behest of his father, he was put into charge of the administration of Bohemia in 1547. Also, he led the campaign against the Turks in Hungary in 1556.

Related Topics:
Ferdinand I - Maximilian II - Bohemia - 1547 - Turks - Hungary - 1556

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Since 1557, he was secretly married with Philippine Welser, daughter of a patrician from Augsburg, with whom he had several children. The marriage was only permitted by Emperor Ferdinand I in 1559 under the condition of secrecy. The children were to receive the name "of Austria" but would only be entitled to inherit if the House of Habsburg would become totally extinct in the male line (Also see: morganatic marriage.)

Related Topics:
1557 - Welser - Augsburg - 1559 - Habsburg - Morganatic marriage

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After his father's death in 1564, Ferdinand received the regency over Tyrol and Further Austria under his father's will. However, he remained as governor of Bohemia in Prague until 1567 following the wishes of his brother Maximilian II.

Related Topics:
1564 - Tyrol - Further Austria - Prague - 1567

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In his own lands, Ferdinand made sure that the catholic counterreformation would prevail. Since he was an avid collector of art, the collection of the famous Castle Ambras was started in his time. He had begun to work on it even during his time in Bohemia and subsequently moved it to Tyrol. In particular, the gallery of portraits and the collection of armors were highly expensive, which is why the archduke had incurred a high amount of debt. Today, those collections are in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.

Related Topics:
Counterreformation - Castle Ambras - Archduke - Kunsthistorisches Museum - Vienna

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After the death of Philippine in 1580, he married Anna Katharina, a daughther of William, Duke of Mantua, in 1582.

Related Topics:
1580 - William, Duke of Mantua - 1582

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Archduke Ferdinand died on January 24, 1595. Since his children were not entitled to the inheritance, Tirol was reunified with the other Habsburg lines.

Related Topics:
January 24 - 1595

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