Sigismund Francis, Archduke of Austria

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

Sigismund Francis
Portrait by Giovanni Maria Morandi, c. 1665
Archduke of Further Austria
Reign30 December 1662 – 25 June 1665
PredecessorFerdinand Charles
SuccessorLeopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
Born(1630-11-27)November 27, 1630
Innsbruck, County of Tyrol
DiedJuly 25, 1665(1665-07-25) (aged 34)
Innsbruck, County of Tyrol
Spouse
(m. 1665)
HouseHabsburg
FatherLeopold V, Archduke of Austria
MotherClaudia de' Medici
ReligionRoman Catholicism

Biography

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He was born at Innsbruck, the second son of Leopold V, Archduke of Austria and Claudia de' Medici. He was appointed as Prince-bishop of Augsburg in 1646. In 1653, he became bishop of Gurk and in 1659 Prince-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 bishop 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 House of Habsburg 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

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Male-line family tree

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References

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  1. ^ O'Connor 1978, p. 19-21.
  2. ^ a b Wurzbach, Constantin von, ed. (1860). "Habsburg, Leopold V." . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). Vol. 6. p. 416 – via Wikisource.
  3. ^ a b Wurzbach, Constantin von, ed. (1860). "Habsburg, Claudia von Florenz" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). Vol. 6. p. 159 – via Wikisource.
  4. ^ a b Wurzbach, Constantin von, ed. (1860). "Habsburg, Karl II. von Steiermark" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). Vol. 6. p. 352 – via Wikisource.
  5. ^ a b Wurzbach, Constantin von, ed. (1861). "Habsburg, Maria von Bayern" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). Vol. 7. p. 20 – via Wikisource.
  6. ^ a b "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.
  7. ^ a b "Christine of Lorraine (c. 1571–1637)". Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Gale Research. 2002. Retrieved 28 August 2018.

Works cited

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  • O'Connor, John T. (1978). Negotiator out of Season. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press. ISBN 0-8203-0436-0.
Regnal titles
Preceded by Archduke of Further Austria
1662–1665
Succeeded by
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Prince-Bishop of Augsburg
1646–1665
Succeeded by
Preceded by Bishop of Gurk
1653–1665
Succeeded by
Preceded by Prince-Bishop of Trent
1659–1665
Succeeded by