Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Austria

Ferdinand Charles (17 May 1628 – 30 December 1662) was the Archduke of Further Austria, including Tyrol, from 1632 to 1662. He was the firstborn son of Archduke Leopold V of Further Austria and Claudia de' Medici. Until 1646, his mother Claudia served as regent and de facto ruler. Ferdinand Charles was a patron of the arts with Italian opera performed at his court. Despite this, he was a poor ruler and lived an extravagant lifestyle, drained the treasury, and held illegal executions.

Ferdinand Charles
Portrait from the workshop of Sustermans
Archduke of Further Austria
Reign	13 September 1632 – 30 December 1662
Predecessor	Leopold V
Successor	Sigismund Francis
Regent	Claudia de' Medici (1632-1646)
Born	(1628-05-17)May 17, 1628 Archduchy of Austria, Holy Roman Empire
Died	December 30, 1662(1662-12-30) (aged 34) Kaltern, County of Tyrol, Holy Roman Empire
Spouse	Anna de' Medici ​ (m. 1646)​
Issue	Claudia Felicitas, Holy Roman Empress
House	Habsburg
Father	Leopold V, Archduke of Austria
Mother	Claudia de' Medici
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Aged eighteen, Ferdinand Charles married his cousin, the thirty year old Anna de' Medici. They had no sons, and the male line of his father died out soon after Ferdinand Charles' own death, aged thirty-four, of smallpox. His daughter Claudia Felicitas of Austria-Tyrol went on to marry Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I.

Rule

As the son of Archduke Leopold V and Claudia de' Medici, he succeeded his father upon the latter's death in 1632, under his mother's regency. He took over his mother's gubernatorial duties when he came of age in 1646. To finance his extravagant living style, he sold goods and entitlements. For example, he wasted the exorbitant sum which France had to pay to the Tyrolean Habsburgs for the cession of their fiefs west of the Rhine (Alsace, Sundgau and Breisach).^{[citation needed]} He also fixed the border to Graubünden in 1652.

Ferdinand Charles was an absolutist ruler, did not call any diet after 1648 and had his chancellor Wilhelm Biener executed illegally in 1651 after a secret trial. On the other hand, he was a lover of music and patron of arts: Italian opera was performed in his court.

He died in Kaltern of smallpox, at the age of thirty-four, and was succeeded by his younger brother, Sigismund Francis.

Marriage and children

Ferdinand Charles married Anna de' Medici. She was a daughter of Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Maria Magdalena of Austria. They had three children:

• Claudia Felicitas of Austria (30 May 1653 – 8 April 1676). Married Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor.
• Daughter (born and died 19 July 1654), died at birth.
• Maria Magdalena of Austria (17 August 1656 – 21 January 1669).

• Bust portrait of Ferdinand Charles, after a painting by Anselm van Hulle. Collection Peace Palace Library.
• Anna de' Medici, his wife, by a follower of Justus Sustermans.

Ancestors

Ancestors of Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Austria

8. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor (= 22) 4. Charles II, Archduke of Austria 9. Anna of Bohemia and Hungary (= 23) 2. Leopold V, Archduke of Austria 10. Albert V, Duke of Bavaria 5. Maria Anna of Bavaria 11. Anna of Austria 1. Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Austria 12. Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany 6. Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany 13. Eleanor de Toledo 3. Claudia de' Medici 14. Charles III, Duke of Lorraine 7. Christina of Lorraine 15. Claude of Valois

Male-line family tree

v t e House of Habsburg
Original line Albert Count of Habsburg c. 1188–1239 Rudolf I of Germany c. 1218–1291 Albert I of Germany 1255–1308 Hartmann 1263–1281 Rudolf II Duke of Austria 1270–1290 Rudolf I of Bohemia 1281–1307 Frederick the Fair c. 1289–1330 Leopold I Duke of Austria 1290–1326 Albert II Duke of Austria 1298–1358 Henry the Friendly 1299–1327 Otto Duke of Austria 1301–1339 John Parricida c. 1290–1312/1313   Albertinian line   Leopoldian line Rudolf IV Duke of Austria 1339–1365 Frederick III 1347–1362 Albert III Duke of Austria 1349–1395 Leopold III Duke of Austria 1351–1386 Frederick II Duke of Austria 1327–1344 Leopold II Duke of Austria 1328–1344 Albert IV Duke of Austria 1377–1404 William Duke of Austria c. 1370–1406 Leopold IV Duke of Austria 1371–1411 Ernest Duke of Austria 1377–1424 Frederick IV Duke of Austria 1382–1439 Albert II of Germany 1397–1439 Frederick III HRE 1415–1493 Albert VI Archduke of Austria 1418–1463 Sigismund Archduke of Austria 1427–1496 Ladislaus the Posthumous 1440–1457 Maximilian I HRE 1459–1519 Philip I of Castile 1478–1506   Spanish / Iberian line   Austrian / HRE line Charles V HRE 1500–1558 Ferdinand I HRE 1503–1564 Philip II of Spain 1527–1598 Maximilian II HRE 1527–1576 Ferdinand II Archduke of Austria 1529–1595 Charles II Archduke of Austria 1540–1590 Carlos Prince of Asturias 1545–1568 Philip III of Spain 1578–1621 Rudolf II HRE 1552–1612 Ernest of Austria 1553–1595 Matthias HRE 1557–1619 Maximilian III Archduke of Austria 1558–1618 Albert VII Archduke of Austria 1559–1621 Wenceslaus Archduke of Austria 1561–1578 Andrew Margrave of Burgau 1558–1600 Charles Margrave of Burgau 1560–1618 Ferdinand II HRE 1578–1637 Maximilian Ernest of Austria 1583–1616 Leopold V Archduke of Austria 1586–1632 Charles of Austria 1590–1624 Philip IV of Spain 1605–1665 Charles of Austria 1607–1632 Ferdinand of Austria 1609–1641 John-Charles of Austria 1605–1619 Ferdinand III HRE 1608–1657 Leopold Wilhelm of Austria 1614–1662 Ferdinand Charles Archduke of Austria 1628–1662 Sigismund Francis Archduke of Austria 1630–1665 Balthasar Charles Prince of Asturias 1629–1646 Charles II of Spain 1661–1700 Ferdinand IV King of the Romans 1633–1654 Leopold I HRE 1640–1705 Charles Joseph of Austria 1649–1664 Joseph I HRE 1678–1711 Charles VI HRE 1685–1740   Lorraine Maria Theresa HRE 1740–1780 Francis I HRE 1745–1765   Habsburg-Lorraine Joseph II HRE 1765–1790 Leopold II HRE 1790–1792 Francis II HRE 1792–1806
Notes: "Habsburg family tree". Habsburg family website. 28 October 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2001.