The history of the Habsburgs is also the story of how Europe’s map kept changing.
From Rudolf I’s election in 1273 to the empire’s fall in 1918, the Habsburg name sat close to the center of power.This page presents a carefully curated timeline based on reliable primary sources and established scholarship.
Chapter 1 | Toward a Hereditary Imperial Crown (–1493)
| Year | Event | Visual |
|---|---|---|
| 1020 | Construction of Habsburg/Habichtsburg Castle |
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| 1250 | Start of the Interregnum |
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| 1273 | Rudolf I elected King of the Romans |
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| 1278 | Battle on the Marchfeld (Ottokar II defeated) |
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| 1282 | Start of Habsburg rule in Austria |
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| 1291 | Death of Rudolf I; Swiss Confederation begins to emerge |
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| 1298 | Albert I elected King of the Romans |
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| 1308 | Assassination of Albert I |
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| 1356 | Emperor Charles IV issues the Golden Bull |
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| 1438 | Albert II elected King of the Romans |
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| 1440 | Frederick III becomes Holy Roman Emperor (the office effectively becomes hereditary thereafter) |
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| 1477 | Maximilian I marries Mary of Burgundy |
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| 1493 | Death of Frederick III; Maximilian succeeds |
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Chapter 2 | The Making of a “World Empire” (1493–1556)
| Year | Event | Visual |
| 1494 | Italian Wars begin |
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| 1495 |
Imperial Reform (Imperial Circles) |
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| 1497 | “Double marriage” policy with the Spanish royal house |
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| 1508 | Maximilian I adopts the imperial title (without papal coronation) |
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| 1516 | Charles (I of Spain / V of HRE) becomes King of Spain |
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| 1517 | Luther’s 95 Theses (start of the Reformation) |
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| 1519 | Death of Maximilian I; Charles V elected emperor |
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| 1521 | Cortés conquers the Aztec Empire |
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| 1526 | Battle of Mohács; Habsburg succession to Bohemia & Hungary |
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| 1529 | First Siege of Vienna by the Ottomans |
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| 1530 | Charles V crowned emperor at Bologna (last papal coronation) |
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| 1538 | Battle of Preveza; Spanish fleet defeated |
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| 1545 | Council of Trent opens (to 1563) |
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| 1555 | Peace of Augsburg |
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第3章｜二つのハプスブルク（1556〜1700年）
| 年代 | 出来事 | 図解 |
| 1556 | Abdication of Charles V; division into Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs |
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| 1568 | Dutch Revolt (Eighty Years’ War) begins |
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| 1571 | Battle of Lepanto; Holy League defeats the Ottomans |
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| 1580 | Philip II also becomes King of Portugal |
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| 1588 | Spanish Armada defeated |
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| 1618 | Defenestration of Prague |
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| 1618 | Thirty Years’ War begins |
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| 1620 | Battle of White Mountain (Bohemian rebels defeated) |
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| 1648 | Peace of Westphalia (end of the Thirty Years’ War) |
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| 1658 | Leopold I elected Holy Roman Emperor |
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| 1683 | Second Siege of Vienna; Ottoman army repelled |
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| 1687 | Habsburg hereditary rule in Hungary acknowledged |
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| 1699 | Treaty of Karlowitz; Habsburgs gain S. Hungary & Transylvania |
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| 1700 | Extinction of the Spanish Habsburg line; eve of the War of the Spanish Succession |
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Chapter 4 | Division and Re-alignment (1700–1804)
| Year | Event | Visual |
| 1701 | War of the Spanish Succession begins |
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| 1713 | Treaty of Utrecht; Austria inherits Naples and the Spanish Netherlands |
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| 1740 | Death of Charles VI; Maria Theresa succeeds War of the Austrian Succession |
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| 1748 | Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen); war ends (map note: Silesia lost to Prussia) |
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| 1756 | Seven Years’ War begins |
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| 1763 | Treaty of Hubertusburg (end of the Seven Years’ War in Central Europe) |
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| 1765 | Joseph II becomes co-ruler |
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| 1772 | First Partition of Poland (Galicia to the Habsburgs) |
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| 1780 | Death of Maria Theresa; Joseph II rules alone |
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| 1789 | French Revolution |
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| 1792 | French Revolutionary Wars begin; Francis II succeeds |
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Chapter 5 | The Austrian Empire and the Dual Monarchy (1804–1918)
| Year | Event | Visual |
| 1804 | Francis II assumes the title Emperor of Austria (as Francis I) |
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| 1806 | Formal dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire |
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| 1815 | Congress of Vienna; Austria returns as a Central European pivot |
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| 1848 | Revolutions of 1848; Metternich falls; Franz Joseph I accedes |
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| 1866 | Austro-Prussian War; Austria defeated |
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| 1867 | Exit from the German Confederation; Ausgleich Austria-Hungary established |
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| 1873 | Three Emperors’ League (Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary) |
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| 1908 | Annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina |
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| 1914 | Sarajevo Assassination; World War I begins |
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| 1916 | Death of Franz Joseph I; Charles I accedes |
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| 1918 | Collapse of Austria-Hungary; monarchy abolished |
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Chapter 6 | After the Empire (1918– )
| Year | Event | Visual |
| 1919 | Treaty of Saint-Germain; Republic of Austria established |
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| 1921 | Charles I attempts restoration; fails |
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| 1922 | Charles I dies in exile on Madeira |
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| 1938 | Anschluss; Nazi Germany annexes Austria |
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| 1945 | End of World War II; Second Austrian Republic founded |
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| 1961 | Otto von Habsburg formally renounces claims to the throne |
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| 2007 | Otto supports a European “Charter” initiative in the EU context |
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| 2011 | Death of Otto von Habsburg |
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Final Note
Read as dates and deeds, this timeline sharpens a larger question: what was “empire” in Europe?
The Habsburgs grew more by marriage than by the sword. They stood where politics and faith collided, held the imperial center for centuries, and then receded—yet their echoes remain.
If even one corner of your inner map was redrawn today, then this page has done its job.
・Elliott, J. H. The Count-Duke of Olivares: The Statesman in an Age of Decline. Yale University Press, 1986.
・Parker, Geoffrey. The Grand Strategy of Philip IV: The Failure of Spain, 1621-1665. Yale University Press, 2000.
・Brown, Jonathan & Elliott, John H. A Palace for a King: The Buen Retiro and the Court of Philip IV. Yale University Press, 2003.
・Stradling, R. A. Philip IV and the Government of Spain, 1621-1665. Cambridge University Press, 1988.
References
- Shūichi Iwasaki, The Habsburg Empire: A Thousand Years of History (Kōdansha Gendai Shinsho).
- Yoshio Kikuchi, An Illustrated Guide to the Habsburgs (Natsume-sha).
- German History in Documents and Images.
- Die Welt der Habsburger (Austrian state historical portal).
- Euratlas Historical Maps.
- Josephinian Land Survey (1763–1787), Austrian State Archives.
- Philips’ New Historical Atlas for Students (1911, UK).
- Image credits: © Velum Press / AI-assisted composites reconstructed from historical sources.
※ Image Notice: Some visuals on this page are AI-generated composites created for illustrative purposes. They are not historical artworks. Composition and details are based on historical sources, but stylistic elements may differ from originals.
