Archduchess Anna of Austria

Anna of Austria
Duchess consort of Bavaria
Archduchess Anna of Austria (1528–1590) (Portrait by Jakob Seisenegger)
Born	(1528-02-29)February 29, 1528 Prague
Died	October 16, 1590(1590-10-16) Munich
Spouse	Albert V, Duke of Bavaria
Issue more...	William V, Duke of Bavaria Ferdinand of Bavaria Maria Anna Ernest of Bavaria
House	House of Habsburg (by birth) House of Wittelsbach (by marriage)
Father	Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
Mother	Anna of Bohemia and Hungary

Anna of Austria (Prague, July 7, 1528 – Munich, October 16, 1590) was the daughter of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and his wife Anna of Bohemia and Hungary (1503–1547).

Family

Anna was the third of fifteen children. Her siblings included: Elizabeth, Queen of Poland, Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria, Catherine, Queen of Poland, Eleanor, Duchess of Mantua, Barbara, Duchess of Ferrara, Charles II, Archduke of Austria and Johanna, Duchess of Tuscany.

Anna's paternal grandparents were Philip I of Castile and his wife Joanna of Castile. Her maternal grandparents were Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary and his third wife Anne de Foix.

Life

Anna and her husband Albert playing chess, 1552.

She was engaged several times as a child, first to Prince Theodor of Bavaria (1526–1534), then to Charles d'Orléans (1522–1545), but both died young.

Anna finally married on July 4, 1546 in Regensburg at the age of 17, Duke Albert V, Duke of Bavaria, the brother of her first fiancé. This marriage was part of a web of alliances in which her uncle Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor hoped to secure Albert's support before embarking on the Schmalkaldic Wars. The wedding gift was 50,000 Guilder. The couple lived at the Trausnitz Castle in Landshut, until Albert became Duke.

Anna and Albert had great influence on the spiritual life in the Duchy, and enhanced the reputation of Munchen as a city of art, by founding several museums and the Bavarian State Library.

Anna and Albert were also patrons to the painter Hans Müelich and composer Orlando di Lasso. In 1552, Albert commissioned an inventory of the jewelry in the couple's possession. The resulting manuscript, still held by the Bavarian State Library, was the Jewel Book of the Duchess Anna of Bavaria ("Kleinodienbuch der Herzogin Anna von Bayern"), and contains 110 drawings by Hans Muelich.

Children

• Karl (7 September 1547 – 7 December 1547)
• William V (29 September 1548– 7 February 1626)
• Ferdinand (20 January 1550 – 30 January 1608)
• Maria Anna (21 March 1551–29 April 1608) married Archduke Charles II of Austria
• Maximiliana Maria (4 July 1552 – 11 July 1614)
• Friedrich (26 July 1553 – 18 April 1554)
• Ernst (17 December 1554 – 17 February 1612), Archbishop of Cologne

Ancestors

Family of Archduchess Anna of Austria

16. Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor               8. Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor                       17. Eleanor of Portugal               4. Philip I of Castile                             18. Charles, Duke of Burgundy               9. Mary of Burgundy                       19. Isabella of Bourbon               2. Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor                                   20. John II of Aragon               10. Ferdinand II of Aragon                       21. Juana Enríquez               5. Joanna of Castile                             22. John II of Castile               11. Isabella I of Castile                       23. Isabella of Portugal               1. Archduchess Anna of Austria                                         24. Władysław II Jagiełło               12. Casimir IV Jagiellon                       25. Sophia of Halshany               6. Vladislas II of Bohemia and Hungary                             26. Albert II of Germany               13. Elisabeth of Austria                       27. Elisabeth of Bohemia               3. Anna of Bohemia and Hungary                                   28. John de Foix, 1st Earl of Kendal               14. Gaston de Foix, Count of Candale                       29. Margaret Kerdeston               7. Anna of Foix-Candale                             30. Gaston IV, Count of Foix               15. Catherine of Foix                       31. Eleanor of Navarre

References

Preceded by Marie of Baden-Sponheim

Duchess consort of Bavaria 1550–1579

Succeeded by Renata of Lorraine