Maximilian III, Archduke of Austria

Maximilian III of Austria (12 October 1558 – 2 November 1618), was a member of the House of Habsburg and the Archduke of Further Austria from 1612 until his death. He was also briefly known as Maximilian of Poland during his claim for the Polish throne. After trying and failing to be elected as King of Poland, he launched the War of the Polish Succession and was defeated by the winner, Sigismund III Vasa. He was also Grand Master of the Teutonic Order.

Maximilian III
Grand Master of the Teutonic Order
Portrait by Hans Henseiller, 1590s, National Museum in Warsaw
Archduke of Further Austria
Reign	26 June 1612 – 2 November 1618
Predecessor	Matthias
Successor	Matthias
King of Poland Grand Duke of Lithuania (contested)
Reign	27 September 1587 – 9 March 1589
Predecessor	Stephen Báthory
Successor	Sigismund III Vasa
Born	(1558-10-12)12 October 1558 Wiener Neustadt, Archduchy of Austria
Died	2 November 1618(1618-11-02) (aged 60) Vienna, Archduchy of Austria
Burial	Innsbruck Cathedral
House	Habsburg
Father	Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor
Mother	Maria of Spain
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Signature

Biography

Portrait of Archduke Maximilian by Martino Rota, c. 1580

Anonymous Netherlands, Portrait of Maximilian, Archduke of Austria, 17th century, engraving

Born in Wiener Neustadt, Maximilian was the fourth son of the Emperor Maximilian II and Maria of Spain. He was a grandson of Anna of Bohemia and Hungary, daughter and heiress of Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary, who himself was the eldest son of Casimir IV of Poland from the Jagiellonian dynasty.

In 1585, Maximilian became the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order; thanks to this he was known by the epithet der Deutschmeister ("the German Master") for much of his later life.^[1]

In the 1587 Polish–Lithuanian royal election Maximilian stood as a candidate for the throne of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, following the death of the previous king, Stephen Báthory. A portion of the Polish nobility supported Maximilian, but the larger faction elected Prince Sigismund of Sweden, grandson of Sigismund I the Old, as Sigismund III Vasa. Maximilian then invaded Poland, starting the War of the Polish Succession (1587–1588). He had considerable support in Poland, but fewer Poles flocked to his army than to that of his rival. In late 1587, he tried and failed to storm Kraków. At Pitschen in Silesia, he met Sigismund's army, commanded by Polish hetman Jan Zamojski. In the Battle of Byczyna (24 January 1588), Maximilian was defeated and captured. He was released a year and half later after the intervention of Pope Sixtus V in the aftermath of the Treaty of Bytom and Będzin. In 1598, he formally renounced his claim to the Polish crown.^[2] The inactivity of his brother, Emperor Rudolf II, in this matter contributed to Rudolf's poor reputation.^{[citation needed]}

From 1593 to 1595, Maximilian served as regent for his young cousin, the future Emperor Ferdinand II as Archduke of Inner Austria. In 1595, Maximilian succeeded to the territories of their uncle Ferdinand II, Archduke of Further Austria, including Tyrol, where he proved to be a solid proponent of the Counter-Reformation. He also worked to depose Melchior Khlesl, and to ensure that Ferdinand succeeded as Holy Roman Emperor.

Today, Maximilian is perhaps best remembered for his baroque archducal hat, exhibited in the treasury of the monastery of Klosterneuburg and used for ceremonial purposes as late as 1835.

He died at Vienna in 1618, and is buried in the canopied tomb in Innsbruck Cathedral.

Ancestors

Ancestors of Maximilian III, Archduke of Austria

8. Philip I of Castile[3] 4. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor[4] 9. Joanna I of Castile[5] 2. Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor 10. Vladislas II of Bohemia and Hungary[6] 5. Anne of Bohemia and Hungary[4] 11. Anne of Foix-Candale[6] 1. Maximilian III, Archduke of Austria 12. Philip I of Castile[7] (= 8) 6. Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor[8] 13. Joanna I of Castile[7] (= 9) 3. Maria of Austria 14. Manuel I of Portugal[9] 7. Isabella of Portugal[8] 15. Maria of Aragon[9]

Male-line family tree

v t e House of Habsburg[n 1]
Original line Albert Count of Habsburg c. 1188–1239 Rudolf I of Germany c. 1218–1291 Albert I of Germany 1255–1308 Hartmann 1263–1281 Rudolf II Duke of Austria 1270–1290 Rudolf I of Bohemia 1281–1307 Frederick the Fair c. 1289–1330 Leopold I Duke of Austria 1290–1326 Albert II Duke of Austria 1298–1358 Henry the Friendly 1299–1327 Otto Duke of Austria 1301–1339 John Parricida c. 1290–1312/1313   Albertinian line   Leopoldian line Rudolf IV Duke of Austria 1339–1365 Frederick III 1347–1362 Albert III Duke of Austria 1349–1395 Leopold III Duke of Austria 1351–1386 Frederick II Duke of Austria 1327–1344 Leopold II Duke of Austria 1328–1344 Albert IV Duke of Austria 1377–1404 William Duke of Austria c. 1370–1406 Leopold IV Duke of Austria 1371–1411 Ernest Duke of Austria 1377–1424 Frederick IV Duke of Austria 1382–1439 Albert II of Germany 1397–1439 Frederick III HRE 1415–1493 Albert VI Archduke of Austria 1418–1463 Sigismund Archduke of Austria 1427–1496 Ladislaus the Posthumous 1440–1457 Maximilian I HRE 1459–1519 Philip I of Castile 1478–1506   Spanish / Iberian line   Austrian / HRE line Charles V HRE 1500–1558 Ferdinand I HRE 1503–1564 Philip II of Spain 1527–1598 Maximilian II HRE 1527–1576 Ferdinand II Archduke of Austria 1529–1595 Charles II Archduke of Austria 1540–1590 Carlos Prince of Asturias 1545–1568 Philip III of Spain 1578–1621 Rudolf II HRE 1552–1612 Ernest of Austria 1553–1595 Matthias HRE 1557–1619 Maximilian III Archduke of Austria 1558–1618 Albert VII Archduke of Austria 1559–1621 Wenceslaus Archduke of Austria 1561–1578 Andrew Margrave of Burgau 1558–1600 Charles Margrave of Burgau 1560–1618 Ferdinand II HRE 1578–1637 Maximilian Ernest of Austria 1583–1616 Leopold V Archduke of Austria 1586–1632 Charles of Austria 1590–1624 Philip IV of Spain 1605–1665 Charles of Austria 1607–1632 Ferdinand of Austria 1609–1641 John-Charles of Austria 1605–1619 Ferdinand III HRE 1608–1657 Leopold Wilhelm of Austria 1614–1662 Ferdinand Charles Archduke of Austria 1628–1662 Sigismund Francis Archduke of Austria 1630–1665 Balthasar Charles Prince of Asturias 1629–1646 Charles II of Spain 1661–1700 Ferdinand IV King of the Romans 1633–1654 Leopold I HRE 1640–1705 Charles Joseph of Austria 1649–1664 Joseph I HRE 1678–1711 Charles VI HRE 1685–1740   Lorraine Maria Theresa HRE 1740–1780 Francis I HRE 1745–1765   Habsburg-Lorraine Joseph II HRE 1765–1790 Leopold II HRE 1790–1792 Francis II HRE 1792–1806
Notes: "Habsburg family tree". Habsburg family website. 28 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.