The Monarchs of Austria ~ (976-1918)

From The Romanian Monarchist

Austria was ruled by the House of Babenberg until 1246 and by the House of Habsburg from 1282 to 1918. -Babenberg was a noble dynasty of Austrian margraves and dukes. Originally from Bamberg in the Duchy of Franconia (present-day Bavaria), the Babenbergs ruled the Imperial Margraviate of Austria from its creation in 976 AD until its elevation to a duchy in 1156, and from then until the extinction of the line in 1246, whereafter they were succeeded by the House of Habsburg.

-The House of Habsburg (/ˈhæpsbɜːrɡ/; German: [ˈhaːpsbʊʁk]; alternatively spelled Hapsburg in English; German: Haus Habsburg), also officially called the House of Austria (German: Haus Österreich; Spanish: Casa de Austria),was one of the most influential and distinguished royal houses of Europe. The throne of the Holy Roman Empire was continuously occupied by the Habsburgs from 1440 until their extinction in the male line in 1740 and after the death of Francis I from 1765 until its dissolution in 1806. The house also produced kings of Bohemia, Hungary, Croatia, Galicia, Portugal and Spain with their respective colonies, as well as rulers of several principalities in the Netherlands and Italy and emperors of Austria, Austria-Hungary and Mexico. From the 16th century, following the reign of Charles V, the dynasty was split between its Austrian and Spanish branches. Although they ruled distinct territories, they nevertheless maintained close relations and frequently intermarried including the House of Braganza of Pedro I, the first Emperor of Brazil and House of Habsburg of his wife, Empress Maria Leopoldina. The house takes its name from Habsburg Castle, a fortress built in the 1020s in present-day Switzerland, in the canton of Aargau, by Count Radbot of Klettgau, who named his fortress Habsburg. His grandson Otto II was the first to take the fortress name as his own, adding "Count of Habsburg" to his title. The House of Habsburg gathered dynastic momentum through the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries. In 1273, Count Radbot's seventh generation descendant Rudolph of Habsburg became Roman-German King. He moved the family's power base to the Duchy of Austria, which the Habsburgs ruled until 1918. A series of dynastic marriages enabled the family to vastly expand its domains to include Burgundy, Spain and its colonial empire, Bohemia, Hungary, and other territories. In the 16th century, the family separated into the senior Spanish and the junior Austrian branches, who settled their mutual claims in the Oñate treaty. The House of Habsburg became extinct in the male line in the 18th century. The senior Spanish branch ended upon the death of Charles II of Spain in 1700 and was replaced by the House of Bourbon. The remaining Austrian branch became extinct in the male line in 1740 with the death of Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI. It was succeeded by the descendants of his eldest daughter Maria Theresa's marriage to Francis III, Duke of Lorraine. The successor house styled itself formally as the House of Habsburg-Lorraine (German: Haus Habsburg-Lothringen). Since the House of Habsburg-Lorraine is referred to today as the House of Habsburg, historians use the appellation of the "Habsburg Monarchy" for the countries and provinces that were ruled by the family until 1918.