Ferdinand I
Ferdinand I was archduke of Austria; king of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia; and Holy Roman Emperor.
He should not be confused with Ferdinand I of Austria.
Contents
History
Ferdinand was a younger son of Philip, duke of Burgundy, and Joanna, daughter and heir of Ferdinand II and Isabella I.
His elder brother Charles V became Holy Roman Emperor following the death of their grandfather, Maximilian I. Ferdinand supported his brother by managing Austria in his name.
The Ottomans began an invasion of Hungary in 1521, and by 1526 had captured Budapest. Following the death of his brother-in-law, Louis II, Ferdinand was named king by the Hungarian and Croatia nobility. Note that this crown carried Bohemia with it. The half of Hungary that remained under his control became known as Royal Hungary, though he asserted his claim to all of it.
In 1531, Charles saw to Ferdinand's election as king of Germany, declaring him as heir apparent. However, when he decided to retire in 1556, he split the empire between Ferdinand and his son Philip II. This created the split between the Austrian and Spanish Habsburgs.
The Italian Wars delayed papal recognition of the imperial title until 1559.
Ferdinand significantly reformed the imperial ministries, especially in the crownlands where he had been the effective ruler since the 1520s. The ultimate effects were centralization of power in Vienna, a fusion of imperial and Austrian offices, the legal establishment of Bohemia as constituent of the Austrian crownlands (with all associated rights), and the effective (though not yet official) transformation of the empire into a hereditary Austrian Habsburg realm. He also made the decision to relocate Hungarian administration to Pressburg when Budapest and Székesfehérvár fell to the Ottomans.
In 1562, Ferdinand saw to the election of his son, Maximilian II, as king of Germany. He died in 1564 and was succeeded by Maximilian as intended.