Tyrol

TYROL
Princely County of Tyrol

"The heart and shield of my Empire." 

-- Emperor Maximilian I

"The Texas of Austria"

 

 Territorial Development & Dynastic History 

1140: County
1248: Albrecht III received the Tyrolean possessions of the Counts of Andechs-Meran & Counts of Eppan
1363: To Habsburgs
1493: Princely County
1512: Austrian Circle
1582: HRE Council of Princes
1802: Bishopric of Trent secularized and annexed to Tyrol
1805: Trent, Tyrol and Vorarlberg ceded to Bavaria

 

Rulers of Tyrol

Albert
mid 11th Century (?)

 Albert I

1028-1140

 Albert II
Count of Tyrol, 1141
1140-1165

Berthold
Count of Tyrol, 1141
1165-1180

 Heinrich I
1180-1190

 Albrecht III 
(1180-1253)
1202-1253
 

 Meinhard I 
(1201-1258)
1253-1258

 Meinhard II 
(1238-1295)
1257-1295
"...From the vantage point of the Vogtei, the counts gradually extended their own authority, territorial holdings, and influence until Meinhard II (1258-95) welded the pieces into a single political entity, the (Princely) County or Land of Tyrol, soon recognized as an independent state of the Holy Roman Empire...."  (Levy, p. 14)

 Otto
1295-1310

 Heinrich II 
(c1265-1335)
1310-1335

 Margarethe of Tyrol 
(1318-1369)
1335-1363 
Maultasch

"...During the reign of Margarethe Maultasch (Pocket Mouth), the last of Meinhards' line, and her husband Ludwig of Bavaria, Tyrol received its Magna Charta liberatum, a 1342 document generally viewed as the first step in establishing the rights of Tyrol's peasantry.  The charter guaranteed the Estates their freedoms, promised neither to change the laws nor levy new taxes without their consent, and pledged that Margarethe would not be taken from Tyrol nor foreign officials brought in...  In September 1363 Margarethe, by then bereft of two husbands and a son, transferred the princely county to Rudolf IV of Habsburg, beginning the three hundred years of Habsburg cadet-line rule, interrupted only briefly under Emperors Maximilian I and Ferdinand I."  (Levy, p. 14) 

Johann Heinrich of Luxemburg 

(1322-1375) 

1335-1341

  Ludwig V of Bavaria 
(1315-1361) 
1341-1361

  Meinhard III 
(1344-1363)
1361-1363 

Habsburg

  Rudolf IV 
(1339-1365)
1363-1365
the Founder

 
Albrecht III 
(1349-1395) 
1365-1379 

Leopold III 
(1351-1386)
1365-1386

Wilhelm 
(c1370-1406) 
the Ambitious
the Courteous 
1386-1406 

Leopold IV 
(1371-1411)
1386-1411 (or 1395-1411?)
the Splendid
(Ger. Prachtige) 

"...Duke Leopold the Splendid (Prachtige; 1395-1411) issued a law code, or Landesordnung, that inter alia confirmed both the peasants' legal independence from the local nobles and their right to appeal directly to their prince...."  (Levy, p. 14)

Friedrich IV 
(1382-1439) 
With the Empty Bag 
1386-1439

"...With the help of his two lower Estates, Duke Friedrich with the Empty Purse (1406-39) broke the nobility's power and ended their aspirations for independence; from then on any influence the nobles had was derived primarily from whatever high offices they held...."  (Levy, p. 14)

  Sigismund 
(1427-1496)
der Munreiche
1439-1490


  Maximilian I 
(1459-1519)
1490-1519


  Karl I 
(1500-1558)
1519-1522


  Ferdinand I 
(1503-1564)
1519-1564


1564-1594 Ferdinand II (1529-1595)

1594-1602 Rudolf

1602-1618 Maximilian II (Habsburg), governor

  Matthias  
(1557-1619)
1618-1619

Ferdinand III (II)
1619-1620

  Albrecht IV
1620-1621

  Ferdinand III (II)
1621-1625, restored


  Leopold V 
(1586-1632)
1625-1632
 

Ferdinand Karl 
(1628-1662)
1632-1662
 

  Sigismund Franz 
(1630-1665)
1662-1665

United with Austria


Emperor Leopold I

 "...When Tyrol's last cadet ruler died in 1665, Emperor Leopold I brought the county under the permanent and direct rule of Vienna ...."  (Levy, p. 14)

1665-1705

Emperor Joseph I 
1705-1711