Rudolf I of Germany
1218 – 1291 · Generation I · King of the Romans (r. 1273–1291) · Counts & Dukes of Austria
Rudolf (1218 – 1291). King of the Romans (r. 1273–1291). Married Gertrude in 1253. First Habsburg king of Germany; founder of the dynasty's fortunes; Duke of Austria and Styria from 1278. A count of middling rank when he inherited Habsburg in 1240, he accumulated power step by step — through feuds and alliances, new castles such as Neuhabsburg on Lake Lucerne, even a stint on the Prussian Crusade in 1254. The lawless years of the Great Interregnum made his name: he curbed plundering lords and quarrelling nobles, weathered an excommunication born of disputes with the Church before making his peace with it, and came to be seen as even-handed and practical. The electors' choice of him in 1273 gave the Empire a king again after a generation without one, and he put weight back behind the crown in Germany — above all by breaking King Ottokar II of Bohemia.
One of 19 people of Counts & Dukes of Austria (1218–1496) in this archive. The counts who became dukes of Austria, before a Habsburg wore an imperial crown.
Partners
- Married Gertrude of Hohenberg (1225 – 1281) in 1253 — 2 children together
Children
- Albert I of Germany (1255 – 1308)
- Rudolf II, Duke of Austria (1270 – 1290)
Life
- 1218 — Born
- 1253 — Married Gertrude
- 1291 — Died