Ferdinand Karl von Tirol, Erzherzog, geb. 1628#

Ferdinand Karl of the Tyrol, b. May 17, 1628, d. Kaltern/Caldaro(South Tyrol), Dec. 30, 1662, Archduke, son of Leopold V. und Claudia von Medici. After the Habsburgs had lost their possessions situated to the left of the Rhine (Sundgau, Alsace) and Breisach, he reigned over the Tyrol and the western domains, known as the Vorlande, from 1646-1662. He sold or pledged further goods or titles in order to finance his expensive life-style. As a prince he was a convinced proponent of absolutism, no longer convened the diet after 1648, had an entourage of intriguers, and ordered the execution of his chancellor, W. Biener after a secret trial in 1651. During his reign the Swedish Queen Christina converted to Catholicism in the Innsbruck Hofkirche in 1655. In 1673 his daughter Claudia Felicitas became the second wife of Emperor Leopold I.

Literature#