On 24 October 1526 the Bohemian Diet, acting under the influence of chancellor Adam of Hradce, elected Ferdinand King of Bohemia under conditions of confirming traditional privileges of the estates and also moving the Habsburg court to Prague. Therefore, after the death of his brother-in-law Louis II, King of Bohemia and of Hungary, at the battle of Mohács on 29 August 1526, Ferdinand immediately applied to the parliaments of Hungary and Bohemia to participate as a candidate in the king elections. Both Hungary and Bohemia were elective monarchies, where the parliaments had the sovereign right to decide about the person of the king. Charles abdicated in 1556 and Ferdinand adopted the title 'Emperor elect', with the ratification of the Imperial diet taking place in 1558, while Spain, the Spanish Empire, Naples, Sicily, Milan, the Netherlands, and Franche-Comté went to Philip, son of Charles.Īccording to the terms set at the First Congress of Vienna in 1515, Ferdinand married Anne Jagiellonica, daughter of King Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary on 22 July 1515. Ferdinand also served as his brother's deputy in the Holy Roman Empire during his brother's many absences, and in 1531 was elected King of the Romans, making him Charles's designated heir in the empire. By adopting the German language and culture later in his life, he also grew close to the German territorial princes.Īfter the death of his brother-in-law Louis II, Ferdinand ruled as King of Bohemia and Hungary (1526–1564). Though he supported his brother, Ferdinand also managed to strengthen his own realm. He was Archduke of Austria from 1521 to 1564. With the death of his grandfather Maximilian I and the accession of his now 19-year-old brother, Charles V, to title of Holy Roman Emperor in 1519, Ferdinand was entrusted with the government of the Austrian hereditary lands, roughly modern-day Austria and Slovenia. Ferdinand returned in command of his brother's fleet but en route was blown off-course and spent four days in Kinsale in Ireland before reaching his destination. In the summer of 1518 Ferdinand was sent to Flanders following his brother Charles's arrival in Spain as newly appointed King Charles I the previous autumn. He was born, raised, and educated in Spain, and did not learn German until he was a young adult. He shared same name, birthday and customs with martenal-grandfather Ferdinand II of Aragon. 4.1 Problems with the Augsburg settlementįerdinand was born in Alcalá de Henares, Spain, the second son of Philip I of Castile and Joanna of Castile.4 Ferdinand and the Augsburg Peace of 1555.Ferdinand's motto was Fiat iustitia, et pereat mundus: 'Let justice be done, though the world perish'. His approach to Imperial problems, including governance, human relations and religious matters was generally flexible, moderate and tolerant. While he was able to introduce uniform models of administration, the governments of Austria, Bohemia and Hungary remained distinct though. He reintroduced major innovations of his grandfather Maximilian I such as the Hofrat (court council) with a chancellery and a treasury attached to it (this time, the structure would last until the reform of Maria Theresa) and added innovations of his own such as the Raitkammer (collections office) and the War Council, conceived to counter the threat from the Ottoman Empire, while also successfully subduing the most radical of his rebellious Austrian subjects and turning the political class in Bohemia and Hungary into Habsburg partners. Although not a military leader, Ferdinand was a capable organizer with institutional imagination who focused on building a centralized government for Austria, Hungary, and Czechia instead of striving for universal monarchy. The key events during his reign were the conflict with the Ottoman Empire, which in the 1520s began a great advance into Central Europe, and the Protestant Reformation, which resulted in several wars of religion. In addition, Ferdinand also developed valuable relationships with the German banking house of Jakob Fugger and the Catalan bank, Banca Palenzuela Levi Kahana.

Also, he often served as Charles' representative in the Holy Roman Empire and developed encouraging relationships with German princes. Before his accession as Emperor, he ruled the Austrian hereditary lands of the Habsburgs in the name of his elder brother, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Ferdinand II, Archduke of Further Austriaįerdinand I ( Spanish: Fernando I 10 March 1503 – 25 July 1564) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1564.

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