Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor

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Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor (March 10, 1503 – July 25, 1564) was one of the Habsburg emperors that at various periods during his life ruled over Austria, Germany, Bohemia and Hungary.

Ferdinand was born in Madrid, the son of Philip von Habsburg (1478–1506) and his wife Juana of Castile (1479–1555).

Ferdinand was the younger brother of Charles, who became the Emperor, and Ferdinand was given control of the Habsburg Hereditary Lands (roughly modern-day Austria and Slovenia). On May 25, 1521 in Linz, Austria, he married Anne of Bohemia (1503–1547), daughter of King Ladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary and his wife Anne de Foix. He generally ruled the Empire during his brother's absence, and in 1531 was elected King of the Romans, making him his brother's designated heir.

After Suleiman the Magnificent defeated Louis II the king of Bohemia and Hungary and Ferdinand's brother-in-law on August 29 1526, Ferdinand was elected king of Bohemia on October 24, while the Kingdom of Hungary became subject to a dynastic dispute between the Habsburgs and the Zapolyas, who were headed by John Zápolya, prince of Transylvania. Each was supported by a certain amount of the nobility from the Hungarian kingdom, while Ferdinand also had the support of his brother Charles. In 1527 Ferdinand won the Battle of Tokaj but it was not enough to gain control over all Hungary.

In 1529, his forces successfully repelled Suleiman's assault on his capital at Vienna (First Battle of Vienna), although Ferdinand had notably already fled for Bohemia. Finally, in 1533 Ferdinand signed a peace treaty with the Ottoman Empire, splitting the Kingdom of Hungary between the Habsburg part in the west and John Zápolya's domain in the east.

Starting with Ferdinand in 1527, Habsburgs would eventually convert the elected crowns of both Bohemia and Hungary into their hereditary possession. In 1538, by the Treaty of Nagyvárad, Ferdinand became Zápolya's successor, but was unable to enforce this agreement during his lifetime.

In 1540 John II Sigismund Zápolya, son of John and Isabella Jagiełło, was elected new king of Hungary. He was initially supported by king Sigismund II Augustus of Poland and Lithuania, brother of Isabella, but soon in 1549 a treaty was signed between the Habsburgs and the polish ruler. Poland became neutral in the conflict and Sigismund Augustus married Elisabeth von Habsburg, daughter of Ferdinand.

As the ruler of Austria, Bohemia and Hungary, Ferdinand tended to centralization and building a modern absolute monarchy. In 1527 he issued a constitution for his hereditary domains (Hofstaatsordnung) and established Austrian-styled institutions in Pressburg for Hungary, in Prague for Bohemia and in Wrocław (Breslau) for Silesia. Strong noble opposition forced him to declare these institutions independent from the supervision of the Austrian government in Vienna in 1559.

In 1547 the Bohemian Estates rebelled against Ferdinand when he ordered the Bohemian army against the German Protestants. Ferdinand took Prague with the help of his brother's Spanish forces. Then he limited the privileges of Bohemian cities and established a new kind of royal officials to control urban authorities. In 1551 Ferdinand invited the Jesuits to Vienna and in 1556 to Prague. He supported the Counterreformation. In 1561 Ferdinand reactivated the archibishopric of Prague.

After the abdication of his brother, Charles V, Ferdinand assumed the title of Holy Roman Emperor. Charles also agreed to exclude his son Philip from the German succession, which instead passed to Ferdinand's eldest son Maximilian (1527–1576).

Other children of Ferdinand and Anne included:

Ferdinand died in Vienna and is buried in St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague.

Names in other languages: German, Czech, Slovak, Croatian: Ferdinand I.; Hungarian: I. Ferdinánd

Template:Start box | width="30%" align="center" | Preceded by:
Louis II | width="40%" align="center" | King of Hungary
King of Bohemia | width="30%" align="center" rowspan="2"| Succeeded by:
Maximilian II |- | width="30%" align="center" rowspan="3" | Preceded by:
Charles V | width="40%" align="center" | King of Germany
Also Holy Roman Emperor-Elect
Archduke of Austria |- | width="40%" align="center" | Regent of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola | width="30%" align="center" | Succeeded by:
Archduke Charles II |- | width="40%" align="center" | Regent of Tyrol and Further Austria | width="30%" align="center" | Succeeded by:
Archduke Ferdinand II Template:End boxbe:Фердынанд I Габсбург cs:Ferdinand I. da:Ferdinand 1. (Tysk-romerske rige) de:Ferdinand I. (HRR) eo:Ferdinando la 1-a es:Fernando I de Habsburgo et:Ferdinand I (Saksa-Rooma keiser) fr:Ferdinand Ier du Saint-Empire he:פרדיננד הראשון, קיסר האימפריה הרומית הקדושה hr:Ferdinand I., car Svetog Rimskog Carstva hu:I. Ferdinánd it:Ferdinando I del Sacro Romano Impero ja:フェルディナント1世 (神聖ローマ皇帝) nl:Ferdinand I van het Heilige Roomse Rijk pl:Ferdynand I Habsburg sv:Ferdinand I (tysk-romersk kejsare) zh:斐迪南一世 (神圣罗马帝国)

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