Rudolf I

Habsburg Dynasty

The name is derived from the Swiss Habichtsburg (Hawk Castle), the family seat in the 12th and 13th centuries at Habsburg, Switzerland. From South-East-Germany the family extended its influence and holdings to the eastern reaches of the Holy Roman Empire, roughly today's Austria (1278 - 1382). Within only two or three generations, the Habsburgs had managed to secure an initially intermittent grasp on the imperial throne that would last for centuries.

Rudolf I, German king (1273-91), was the first king of the Hapsburg dynasty. Rudolf's election as king ended the interregnum (1250-73), during which time there was no accepted German king or Holy Roman emperor. The election was prompted by Pope Gregory X, who needed the support of a strong German ruler to counter the power of Charles I of Anjou in Italy. Rudolf's election was contested by the powerful King Ottocar II of Bohemia. Rudolf finally defeated Ottocar at Marchfeld and invested his own sons Albert (later King Albert I) and Rudolf with Austria, Styria, and Carniola, which he had won from Ottocar; these lands became the core of the Hapsburg possessions. .... more

Habsburg coat of arms

• A1 = Guntram 'der Reiche', Graf im Breisgau, d:973, m. Itha de Montfort;
  • B1 = Lanzelin, Graf von Altenburg, d:991, m. Lütgard von Nellenburg;
    • C1 = Radbot, Graf im Klettgau, d:1043, m. Ida of Upper-Lorraine;
      • D1 = Graf Wernher I von Klettgau, d:1096, m. Regulinde von Nellenburg;
        • E1 = Graf Otto II von Habsburg, d:1111, m. Hilla von Prift;
          • F1 = Graf Wernher II von Habsburg, d:1167, m. Ida von Homberg;
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  • G1 = Graf Albrecht III 'der Reiche', d:1199, m. Ita von Pfullendorf;
    • H1 = Graf Rudolf II 'der Alte' von Habsburg, d:1232, m. Agnes von Staufen;
      • I1 = Graf Albrecht IV 'der Weise', d:1239, m. Heilwig von Kiburg;
        • J1 = King Rudolf I of Germany, lvd:1218/1291, m. Gertrud von Hohenberg;
          • K1 = Agnes von Habsburg, m. Duke Albrecht II;  <==  Saxe-Wittenberg
          • K2 -- Jutta von Habsburg, lvd:1271/1297, m. King Václav II of Bohemia;  <==  Premyslids
          • K3 = Mechtild von Habsburg, lvd:1229/1294, m. Duke Ludwig II of Bavaria;  <==  Wittelsbach
          • K4 -- Duke Albrecht I of Austria, lvd:1255/1308, m. Elizabeth von Görz;  ==>  Görz
            • L1 -- Anna von Habsburg, d:1327, m1. Duke Henryk VI of Breslau,  <==  Piast
                                           m2. Hermann von Brandenburg;  <==  Brandenburg