Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor

Lore & Background

Maximilian was born in Vienna, Austria, the second child and eldest son of King Ferdinand I and Anne of Bohemia and Hungary. He was named after his great-grandfather, Emperor Maximilian I. He spent his childhood at his father's court in Innsbruck, Tyrol, and was educated principally in Italy by humanist scholars like Kaspar Ursinus Velius and Georg Tannstetter. He came in contact with Lutheran teaching and corresponded with the Protestant prince Augustus of Saxony. From age 17, he gained warfare experience during the Italian War campaign of his uncle Charles V against King Francis I of France in 1544, and also during the Schmalkaldic War. After Charles' victory at the 1547 Battle of Mühlberg, Maximilian put in a good word for the Schmalkaldic leaders, Elector John Frederick I and Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse.

Reader's Guide

On 13 September 1548, Maximilian married his uncle Charles's daughter, Maria of Spain in Valladolid. His uncle intended to strengthen ties with the Spanish Habsburgs and consolidate his nephew's Catholic faith. Maximilian temporarily acted as the emperor's representative in Spain. His relations with Charles worsened when Charles wished his son Philip II to succeed as emperor, but Ferdinand and Maximilian objected. A compromise was reached: Philip was to succeed Ferdinand, with Maximilian as King of the Romans governing Germany, but this was not carried out. In 1551, Maximilian attended the Council of Trent. In 1552, he took up residence at the Hofburg palace in Vienna, celebrated by a triumphal return with an entourage including the elephant Suleiman. In the 1550s, Vienna had over 50,000 inhabitants, the largest city in Central Europe. In November 1562, Maximilian was chosen King of the Romans at Frankfurt, the first not to be crowned in Aachen. He gathered a large army to fight the Ottomans, who besieged and conquered Szigetvár in 1566; Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent died of old age during the siege. In 1568, the Treaty of Adrianople required Maximilian to recognise Ottoman suzerainty over Transylvania, Wallachia, and Moldavia. In 1570, the emperor's daughter Anna of Austria became the fourth wife of Philip II.

Did You Know?

• Maximilian II was the first King of the Romans not to be crowned in Aachen.
• He returned to Vienna in 1552 with a large entourage that included an elephant named Suleiman.
• In the 1550s, Vienna had more than 50,000 inhabitants, making it the largest city in Central Europe.
• The 1568 Treaty of Adrianople required Maximilian to recognise Ottoman suzerainty over Transylvania, Wallachia, and Moldavia.
• His daughter Anna of Austria became the fourth wife of Philip II of Spain in 1570.