Sigismund Francis, Archduke of Austria

Sigismund Francis, Archduke of Further Austria (27 November 1630 – 25 June 1665) was the ruler of Further Austria including Tyrol from 1662 to 1665.

Archduke Sigismund Francis of Austria

Biography

He was born at Innsbruck, the second son of Leopold V, Archduke of Austria and Claudia de' Medici. He was appointed as bishop of Augsburg in 1646. In 1653, he became bishop of Gurk and in 1659 bishop of Trent. He was never ordained as a priest or consecrated as a bishop.

In 1662 he was put forth by his cousin Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor as a candidate for Archbishop of Strasbourg. This included large cash incentives to the cathedral chapter and a promise that Sigismund would be a very hands off ruler. After the 1662 death of his brother Archduke Ferdinand Charles, he became Archduke of Further Austria, and therefore withdrew from the candidacy for the bishopric.[1] He was more able than his brother and could have made him a good ruler, but with his early death in 1665 the younger Tyrolean line of the Habsburg house ended. Leopold I, who as the heir male succeeded Sigismund Francis, took direct control over the government of Further Austria and Tyrol.

He married Hedwig of the Palatinate-Sulzbach on 3 June 1665 and died in Innsbruck twenty-two days later of an illness.

Ancestors

Ancestors of Sigismund Francis, Archduke of Austria

16. Philip I of Castile[2][3] 8. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor[4] (= 22) 17. Joanna of Castile[3] 4. Charles II, Archduke of Austria[5] 18. Vladislas II of Bohemia and Hungary[6] 9. Anna of Bohemia and Hungary[4] (= 23) 19. Anna of Foix-Candale[6] 2. Leopold V, Archduke of Austria 20. William IV, Duke of Bavaria[7] 10. Albert V, Duke of Bavaria[8] 21. Marie of Baden-Sponheim[7] 5. Maria Anna of Bavaria[5] 22. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor[9] (= 8) 11. Anna of Austria[8] 23. Anna of Bohemia and Hungary[9] (= 9) 1. Sigismund Francis, Archduke of Austria 24. Giovanni dalle Bande Nere[10] 12. Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany[10] 25. Maria Salviati[10] 6. Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany[11] 26. Pedro Álvarez de Toledo, Marquis of Villafranca[12] 13. Eleanor de Toledo[10] 27. Maria Osorio, 2nd Marquise of Villafranca[12] 3. Claudia de' Medici 28. Francis I, Duke of Lorraine[13] 14. Charles III, Duke of Lorraine[14] 29. Christina of Denmark[13] 7. Christina of Lorraine[11] 30. Henry II of France[15] 15. Claude of Valois[14] 31. Catherine de' Medici[15]

References

1. O'Connor 1978, p. 19-21.
2. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor at the Encyclopædia Britannica
3. Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor at the Encyclopædia Britannica
4. Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1860). "Habsburg, Karl II. von Steiermark" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). 6. p. 352 – via Wikisource.
5. Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1860). "Habsburg, Leopold V." . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). 6. p. 416 – via Wikisource.
6. Obermayer-Marnach, Eva (1953), "Anna Jagjello", Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB) (in German), 1, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, p. 299; (full text online)
7. Goetz, Walter (1953), "Albrecht V.", Neue Deutsche Biographie (NDB) (in German), 1, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 158–160; (full text online)
8. Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1861). "Habsburg, Maria von Bayern" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). 7. p. 20 – via Wikisource.
9. Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1860). "Habsburg, Anna von Oesterreich (1528–1587)" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). 6. p. 151 – via Wikisource.
10. "The Medici Granducal Archive" (PDF). The Medici Archive Project. pp. 12–13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 April 2005. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
11. Wurzbach, Constantin, von, ed. (1860). "Habsburg, Claudia von Florenz" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). 6. p. 159 – via Wikisource.
12. Cesati, Franco (1999). Medici. Firenze: La Mandragora. p. 75. ISBN 88-85957-36-6.
13. "Christina of Denmark (1521–1590)". Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Gale Research. 2002. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
14. "Christine of Lorraine (c. 1571–1637)". Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Gale Research. 2002. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
15. "Medici, Catherine de (1519–1589)". Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Gale Research. 2002. Retrieved 28 August 2018.

Works cited

• O'Connor, John T. (1978). Negotiator out of Season. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press. ISBN 0-8203-0436-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Regnal titles
Preceded by Ferdinand Charles	Archduke of Further Austria 1662–1665	Succeeded by Leopold VI
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Heinrich von Knöringen	Prince-Bishop of Augsburg 1646–1665	Succeeded by Johann Christoph von Freyberg-Allmendingen
Preceded by Franz von Lodron	Bishop of Gurk 1653–1665	Succeeded by Wenzeslaus von Thun
Preceded by Carlo Emanuele di Madruzzo	Prince-Bishop of Trent 1659–1665	Succeeded by Ernst Adalbert von Harrach