Maria Christina of Austria (10 November 1574 – 6 April 1621), was a Princess of Transylvania by marriage to

Sigismund Báthory Sigismund Báthory ( hu, Báthory Zsigmond; 1573 – 27 March 1613) was Prince of Transylvania several times between 1586 and 1602, and Duke of Racibórz and Opole in Silesia in 1598. His father, Christopher Báthory, ruled Transylvania as vo ...

, and for a period in 1598 elected sovereign Princess regnant of Transylvania.

Life

She was the daughter of Archduke Charles II of Austria, the son of

Emperor Ferdinand I Ferdinand I ( es, Fernando I; 10 March 1503 – 25 July 1564) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1564.Milan Kruhek: Cetin, grad izbornog sabo ...

, and Maria Anna of Bavaria. Her elder brother Archduke Ferdinand, succeeded as Holy Roman Emperor in 1619.

Marriage

On 7 February 1595 was received in Graz the formal petition of marriage between Maria Christina and

, ruling

Prince of Transylvania The Prince of Transylvania ( hu, erdélyi fejedelem, german: Fürst von Siebenbürgen, la, princeps Transsylvaniae, ro, principele TransilvanieiFallenbüchl 1988, p. 77.) was the head of state of the Principality of Transylvania from the last d ...

, by the nobleman Stephen Bocskay. The marriage contract was negotiated almost a month, and finally the bride on 15 June accompanied by her mother, the Prince-Bishop George of Lavant and 6000 German horsemen. In Kaschau Maria Christina fell ill with fever, which delayed the re-ride. The formal marriage took place in Weissenburg on 6 August 1595, and soon after Maria Christina moved to Transylvania.

Princess consort

The marriage was regarded as a major political gain, as Sigismund, formerly a vassal of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, now formed close ties with the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

. Emperor Rudolf II appointed Sigismund Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (''Reichsfürst''), and also secured the possession of Transylvania, if the couple remain without offspring. The agreement was signed on 16 January 1595 by the Hungarian parliament in Bratislava.Johann Sporschil: ''Die Geschichte der Deutschen von den ältesten Zeiten bis auf unsere Tage'', vol. III, G. J. Manz, 1859, p. 209. However, this union proved to be completely unhappy: Sigismund, after a disastrous wedding night, refused to consummate the marriage and sent his wife to a fortress in Kővárgara, where Maria Christina was kept as prisoner.

Reign

In 18 April 1598, at the request of the local nobility, she was elected to occupy the Transylvanian throne after her husband abdicated. However, her rule was only nominal because Emperor Rudolf II sent representatives to rule. On 20 August 1598, Sigismund Báthory regained the throne and reconciled with his wife, but sent her again to Kővár.

Later life

When Sigismund abdicated for a second time in March 1599, Maria Christina finally left him and return to Austria in April. On 17 August 1599

Pope Clement VIII Pope Clement VIII ( la, Clemens VIII; it, Clemente VIII; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 2 February 1592 to his death in March 1605. Born ...

dissolved her marriage, and in 1607 she joined to her younger sister

Eleanor Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. The name was introd ...

in the Haller Convent (''Haller Damenstift'') in Hall in Tirol, where she died in 1621, aged forty-six.

Ancestors

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Christina Of Austria, Archduchess 1574 births 1621 deaths 16th-century House of Habsburg 17th-century House of Habsburg Austrian princesses Sigismund Bathory 16th-century Romanian people 16th-century women rulers 16th-century Romanian women 17th-century Romanian women 17th-century Romanian people