!!!Ferdinand II., geb. 1578

Ferdinand II, b. Graz (Styria), July 9, 1578, 
d. Vienna, Feb. 15, 1637 Vienna, emperor, son of Archduke  
Karl II of Styria, grandson of Emperor  Ferdinand I; 
educated in Graz and Ingolstadt. was still a minor at his father's 
death in 1590; from 1595 regent of Inner Austria (Styria, Carinthia 
and Krain), where he rigorously enforced the  Counter-Reformation; 
1617 King of Bohemia, 1618 King of Hungary, 1619 Emperor after the 
death of his cousin  Matthias, who was childless. Came into conflict 
with the estates of Lower Austria and of Upper Austria 
("Sturmpetition", June 5, 1619: petition presented by members of 
the nobility, produced no results). After his victory in the Battle of 
the White Mountain (1620) he enforced absolutism in Bohemia 
("Vernewerte Landesordnung" 1627) and in Austria. In 1629, at the 
zenith of his power, he enacted the  Restitutionsedikt (Edict of 
Restitution), but soon suffered setbacks in the ( Thirty Years' War). 
In 1630 he dismissed  Wallenstein and ordered his assassination in 
1634. He was deeply religious and led an exemplary family life. His 
mausoleum in Graz is a magnificent work of art.

!Literature
H. Sturmberger, F. und das Problem des Absolutismus, 1957; 
J. F. Franzl, F., Kaiser im Zwiespalt der Zeit, %%sup 2/%1988; M. 
Frisch, Das Restitutionsedikt Ks. F. vom 6. 3. 1629, 1993.



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