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Anna of Austria (7 July 1528 – 16 October 1590), a member of the Imperial
House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
, was Duchess of Bavaria from 1550 until 1579, by her marriage with Duke
Albert V Albert V may refer to: * Albert V, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (ca. mid-1330s–1370) * Albert V, Duke of Mecklenburg (1397–1423) *Albert II of Germany (1397–1439), Albert V as Duke of Austria * Albert V, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (died c. 1469) *Albe ...
.


Family

Born at the Bohemian court in
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a tempera ...
, Anna was the third of fifteen children of King Ferdinand I (1503–1564) from his marriage with the
Jagiellonian The Jagiellonian dynasty (, pl, dynastia jagiellońska), otherwise the Jagiellon dynasty ( pl, dynastia Jagiellonów), the House of Jagiellon ( pl, Dom Jagiellonów), or simply the Jagiellons ( pl, Jagiellonowie), was the name assumed by a cad ...
princess
Anna of Bohemia and Hungary Anna of Bohemia and Hungary (23 July 1503 – 27 January 1547), sometimes known as Anna Jagellonica, was Queen of Germany, Bohemia, and Hungary and Archduchess of Austria as the wife of King Ferdinand I (later Holy Roman Emperor). Earl ...
(1503–1547). Her siblings included: Elizabeth, Queen of Poland,
Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II (31 July 1527 – 12 October 1576) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1564 until his death in 1576. A member of the Austrian House of Habsburg, he was crowned King of Bohemia in Prague on 14 May 1562 and elected King of Germany (K ...
,
Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria Ferdinand II, Archduke of Further Austria (Linz, 14 June 1529 – 24 January 1595, Innsbruck) was ruler of Further Austria and since 1564 Imperial count of Tirol. The son of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, he was married to Philippine Welser ...
, Catherine, Queen of Poland, Eleanor, Duchess of Mantua, Barbara, Duchess of Ferrara, Charles II, Archduke of Austria and Johanna, Duchess of Tuscany. Anna's paternal grandparents were King
Philip I of Castile Philip the Handsome, es, Felipe, french: Philippe, nl, Filips (22 July 1478 – 25 September 1506), also called the Fair, was ruler of the Burgundian Netherlands and titular Duke of Burgundy from 1482 to 1506, as well as the first Habsburg K ...
and his wife Queen Joanna I. Her maternal grandparents were King
Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary Vladislaus II, also known as Vladislav, Władysław or Wladislas ( hu, II. Ulászló; 1 March 1456 – 13 March 1516), was King of Bohemia from 1471 to 1516, and King of Hungary and Croatia from 1490 to 1516. As the eldest son of Casimir IV Jagi ...
and his third wife
Anne of Foix-Candale Anna of Foix-Candale (1484 – 26 July 1506) was Queen of Hungary and Bohemia as the third wife of King Vladislaus II. Biography Anne was the daughter of Gaston of Foix, Count of Candale and Infanta Catherine of Navarre. Her mother was the yo ...
.


Life

Young Anna was engaged several times as a child, first to Prince Theodor of Bavaria (1526–1534), the eldest son of Duke
William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded ...
, then to Charles d'Orléans (1522–1545). However, both died at a young age. Anna finally married on 4 July 1546 in
Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the ...
at the age of 17, Prince Albert V, the younger brother of her first fiancé. The wedding gift was 50,000 Guilder. This marriage was part of a web of alliances in which her uncle Emperor
Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...
hoped to secure Duke William's support before embarking on the
Schmalkaldic War The Schmalkaldic War (german: link=no, Schmalkaldischer Krieg) was the short period of violence from 1546 until 1547 between the forces of Emperor Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire (simultaneously King Charles I of Spain), commanded by the Duk ...
s. Indeed, Duke William, though he remained formally neutral, granted the passage of Imperial troops to march against the forces of the
Schmalkaldic League The Schmalkaldic League (; ; or ) was a military alliance of Lutheran princes within the Holy Roman Empire during the mid-16th century. Although created for religious motives soon after the start of the Reformation, its members later came to ...
which besieged the
Ingolstadt Ingolstadt (, Austro-Bavarian: ) is an independent city on the Danube in Upper Bavaria with 139,553 inhabitants (as of June 30, 2022). Around half a million people live in the metropolitan area. Ingolstadt is the second largest city in Upper Bav ...
fortress. After their marriage, the young couple lived at the
Trausnitz Castle Trausnitz Castle is a medieval castle situated in Landshut, Bavaria in Germany. It was the home of the Wittelsbach dynasty, and it served as their ducal residence for Lower Bavaria from 1255–1503, and later as the seat of the hereditar ...
in
Landshut Landshut (; bar, Landshuad) is a town in Bavaria in the south-east of Germany. Situated on the banks of the River Isar, Landshut is the capital of Lower Bavaria, one of the seven administrative regions of the Free State of Bavaria. It is also ...
, until Albert became duke upon his father's death on 7 March 1550. At the Munich Residenz, Anna and Albert had great influence on the spiritual life in the
Duchy of Bavaria The Duchy of Bavaria ( German: ''Herzogtum Bayern'') was a frontier region in the southeastern part of the Merovingian kingdom from the sixth through the eighth century. It was settled by Bavarian tribes and ruled by dukes (''duces'') under F ...
, and enhanced the reputation of
Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
as a city of art, by founding several museums and laying the foundations for the
Bavarian State Library The Bavarian State Library (german: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, abbreviated BSB, called ''Bibliotheca Regia Monacensis'' before 1919) in Munich is the central " Landesbibliothek", i. e. the state library of the Free State of Bavaria, the big ...
. Anna and Albert were also patrons to the painter
Hans Muelich Hans Muelich or Mielich (1516 – 1573), was a German painter and woodcutter. Biography He was born in Munich as the son of the city painter Wolfgang Muelich and studied with Barthel Beham. He is known as a portrait painter and for histor ...
and the
Franco-Flemish The designation Franco-Flemish School, also called Netherlandish School, Burgundian School, Low Countries School, Flemish School, Dutch School, or Northern School, refers, somewhat imprecisely, to the style of polyphonic vocal music composition or ...
composer
Orlande de Lassus Orlande de Lassus ( various other names; probably – 14 June 1594) was a composer of the late Renaissance. The chief representative of the mature polyphonic style in the Franco-Flemish school, Lassus stands with Giovanni Pierluigi da Palest ...
. In 1552, the duke commissioned an inventory of the jewelry in the couple's possession. The resulting manuscript, still held by the Bavarian State Library, was the ''Jewel Book of the Duchess Anna of Bavaria'' ("Kleinodienbuch der Herzogin Anna von Bayern"), and contains 110 drawings by Hans Muelich. A religious woman, Anna made extensive donations to the
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
abbey of
Vadstena Vadstena () is a locality and the seat of Vadstena Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden, with 5,613 inhabitants in 2010. From 1974 to 1979 Vadstena was administered as part of Motala Municipality. Despite its small population, Vadstena ...
in
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
and generously supported the
Franciscan Order , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...
. She also provided a strict education of her grandson, the later Elector Maximilian I of Bavaria. When her husband died on 24 October 1579 and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son,
William V William V may refer to: *William V, Duke of Aquitaine (969–1030) * William V of Montpellier (1075–1121) *William V, Marquess of Montferrat (1191) * William V, Count of Nevers (before 11751181) *William V, Duke of Jülich (1299–1361) *William ...
, Anna as duchess dowager maintained her own court at the Munich Residenz. 150 years after her death in 1590, her descendant Elector Charles I of Bavaria used her marriage treaty with Albert as a pretext to claim the
Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
and Bohemian crown lands of the
Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
.


Children

The marriage of Anna and Albert produced the following children: * Karl (7 September 1547 – 7 December 1547) *
William V William V may refer to: *William V, Duke of Aquitaine (969–1030) * William V of Montpellier (1075–1121) *William V, Marquess of Montferrat (1191) * William V, Count of Nevers (before 11751181) *William V, Duke of Jülich (1299–1361) *William ...
(29 September 1548 – 7 February 1626) *
Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...
(20 January 1550 – 30 January 1608) *
Maria Anna Maria Anna may refer to: * Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (1738–1789), the second but eldest surviving daughter of Maria Theresa, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, and Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor. * Maria Anna Adamberger (1752–1804), Vie ...
(21 March 1551 – 29 April 1608) married Archduke
Charles II of Austria Charles II Francis of Austria (german: Karl II. Franz von Innerösterreich) (3 June 1540 – 10 July 1590) was an Archduke of Austria and ruler of Inner Austria (Styria, Carniola, Carinthia and Gorizia) from 1564. He was a member of the House ...
* Maximiliana Maria (4 July 1552 – 11 July 1614), died unmarried. * Friedrich (26 July 1553 – 18 April 1554) *
Ernst Ernst is both a surname and a given name, the German, Dutch, and Scandinavian form of Ernest. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Adolf Ernst (1832–1899) German botanist known by the author abbreviation "Ernst" * Anton Ernst (1975- ...
(17 December 1554 – 17 February 1612), Archbishop of CologneAnna von Habsburg
/ref>


Ancestors


References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Anna Of Austria, Archduchess 16th-century House of Habsburg 16th-century Austrian women House of Wittelsbach Duchesses of Bavaria Nobility from Prague 1528 births 1590 deaths Austrian princesses Daughters of emperors Burials at Munich Frauenkirche Children of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor Daughters of kings