LifeAlbert II of
Austria (December 12, 1298 – August 16, 1358, known as the Wise or the
Lame) was Duke of Austria. He was born at Habsburg, the son of Albert I
of Germany, Rex Romanorum, and Elisabeth of Tirol. He became the joint
ruler of all Habsburg lands with his younger brother, Otto the Merry in
1330, while increasing his possessions by the inheritance of his wife
Joan, which was made up of the County of Pfirt and several cities.
Furthermore, Albert succeeded in establishing his
claims on Carinthia and Carniola against John of Bohemia. Reflecting his
high reputation among the secular and Church leaders of Europe, in 1335
Pope Benedict XII asked him to mediate in the church's conflict with
Emperor Louis the Bavarian. Two years later, King Philip VI of France
1337 asked him for help against Emperor Louis and King Edward III of
England. Nevertheless, Albert remained faithful to the Emperor until
Louis' death.
He established the "Albertinian House Rule" (Albertinische
Hausordnung) to predetermine the rules of succession in the Austrian
lands, although the rule was disregarded after his death until renewed
by Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor. Adopted as part of the Pragmatic
Sanction, the Albertinian House Rule effectively remained one of the
basic laws of Austria until 1918. Styria owes him its (former)
constitution, the so-called "Mountain Book" (Bergbüchel); the same is
true for Carinthia.
Under Albert's rule began the construction of the
Gothic Choir in St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, known as the
Albertinian Choir. It has been speculated that he had temporal paralysis
(explaining his nickname "Albert the Lame") caused by polyarthritis. If
so, however, it did not prevent him from fathering four children:
Rudolf, who succeeded him as duke, Frederick (2nd Duke), Albert III (3rd
Duke), and Leopold (3rd co-Duke).
Albert died at Vienna in 1358.
Family and children
He married 15 February 1324 to Countesse Johanna
of Pfirt, daughter of Count Ulrich III of Pfirt and had the following
children:
1. Rudolf IV of Austria November 1,
1339,Vienna–July 27, 1365, Milan). Married but line extincted.
2. Frederick III of Austria (1347, Vienna–1362,
Vienna). Died unmarried.
3. Albert III of Austria (September 9,
1349,Vienna–August 29, 1395, Castle Laxenburg).
4. Leopold III(November 1, 1351,Vienna–July 9,
1386, Sempach).
5. Katharina (1342, Vienna–10 January 1381,
Vienna), Abbess of St.Klara in Vienna.
6. Margarete (1346, Vienna–14 January 1366, Brno),
married to:
1. in Passau 4 September 1359 to Count Meinhard
III of Gorizia-Tyrol;
2. in Vienna 1364 to Margrave Johann Heinrich of
Moravia.
Text source: Wikipedia
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