Albert I (Holy Roman Empire)

Home > People > History > German History: Biographies

Austrian empire (1806–67) Those territories and peoples from whom the Habsburg emperors in Vienna demanded allegiance. Following the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire (1806), Emperor Francis II continued to rule as FRANCIS I (1804–35), Emperor of Austria and of the hereditary Habsburg lands of Bohemia, Hungary, Croatia and Transylvania, Galicia (once a province of Poland), and much of northern Italy (Venetia and Lombardy). He ruled by means of a large bureaucracy, a loyal army, the Roman Catholic Church, and an elaborate police force. His chief minister was Chancellor METTERNICH. Nationalist feelings were emerging, and during the reign of his successor Ferdinand I (1835–48), liberal agitation for reform developed. Vienna was becoming rapidly industrialized and in March 1848, at a time of economic depression, riots in the capital led to Metternich's resignation. The emperor abolished censorship and promised a constitution. This, published in April, was not democratic enough for radical leaders, who organized a popular protest on 15 May 1848. The emperor fled to Innsbruck and later abdicated. His 18-year-old nephew FRANCIS JOSEPH succeeded. There were movements for independence among all the peoples of the empire, including the Hungarians led by KOSSUTH, the Czechs, Slovaks, Serbs, Croats, Romanians, and Italians. A Pan-Slav conference met (1848) in Prague. But the opposition to the government in Vienna was divided and the Prime Minister, Felix Schwarzenberg and Francis Joseph were able to regain control. The army crushed the reform movements in Prague and Vienna and with the help of Russia, subjugated Budapest. Alexander Bach, the new Minister of the Interior, greatly strengthened the centralized bureaucracy, and the empire regained some stability, until its defeat by France and Piedmont at MAGENTA and Solferino, which ended Austrian rule in Italy. In an effort to appease nationalist feeling the emperor proposed a new federal constitution, but it came too late and after a further defeat at Sadowa he agreed to the AUSGLEICH (Compromise) of 1867 and the creation of AUSTRIA-HUNGARY.

Albert I c.1250–1308, Holy Roman Emperor (1298–1308), son of Rudolf I . Albert was invested with Austria and Styria in 1282 by his father, who also hoped to secure the succession as king of the Germans for Albert. However, on Rudolf's death (1291) the electors rejected Albert's candidacy in order to check the growing power of the Hapsburgs and to prevent the crown from becoming hereditary within the Hapsburg dynasty. They chose Adolf of Nassau as king. Albert later engineered Adolf's deposition and replaced him. As king, Albert attempted to strengthen Hapsburg claims for a hereditary dynasty by allying (1299) with Philip IV of France, by supporting the Rhine towns against the Rhenish imperial electors, and by unsuccessfully attempting (1300) to add Holland and Zeeland to the Hapsburg domains. These actions provoked a revolt (1300–1302) by the Rhenish electors, backed by Pope Boniface VIII , which Albert suppressed. He later reached an agreement with Boniface, who recognized his title in 1303. Albert attempted to expand his dominion to the east by preventing Wenceslaus II of Bohemia from acquiring Hungary, but his campaign was unsuccessful until Wenceslaus's death (1305). Albert's son Rudolf succeeded Wenceslaus III (1306). Albert was assassinated by a band of conspirators that included his nephew. Henry of Luxemburg ( Henry VII ) was elected to succeed him.