Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor

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Karl VI

Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia and Hungary

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Reign

22 December 1711-20 October 1740

Coronation

22 December 1711

Born

October 1 1685

Vienna

Died

October 20 1740 (aged 55)

Vienna

Buried

Kapuzinergruft, Vienna

Predecessor

Successor

Royal House

Father

Mother

Eleonore-Magdalena of Neuburg

Charles VI (German Karl VI) (October 1, 1685 – October 20, 1740) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia (as Karel II.) and Hungary (as Károly III.) from 1711 to 1740. From 1703 to 1711 he was an active claimant to the throne of Spain as Charles III.

1 Biography
2 Ancestors
3 Notes
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Biography

Charles was born in Vienna, the second son of the Emperor Leopold I and of his third wife, Princess Eleonore-Magdalena of Pfalz-Neuburg. He was given the baptismal names Karl Josef Franz. His tutor was Prince Anton Florian of Liechtenstein.

Charles was the contracted heir of the Spanish Habsburgs. When Charles II of Spain made Philip V his heir, Louis XIV violated the contract. The dispute for the crown of Spain led to the War of the Spanish Succession.

After his older brother the Emperor Joseph I died suddenly in 1711, Charles returned to Austria. He succeeded immediately as King of Hungary and King of Bohemia. Later that year he was elected Holy Roman Emperor in Frankfurt.

Image:Elisabeth Christine of Braunschweig Wolfenbuettel.jpg

Elisabeth Christine, Holy Roman Empress.

Although Charles seems to have been clumsy in political affairs, the Austrian monarchy reached its widest expansion during his reign. His superior army was defeated by Bosnians in year 1737 in Battle under Banja Luka.

He married Elisabeth, eldest daughter of Louis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. At the time of his death, his only surviving children were Maria Theresa and Maria Anna, so he had no living male heirs - a situation he had guarded against in the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713, which stated that his realm could not be divided and allowed that daughters also could inherit the throne from their fathers. When he died, the War of the Austrian Succession took place, but in the end the Pragmatic Sanction held up and his daughter succeeded him as Queen of Hungary and Bohemia and Archduchess of Austria. However, being a female, she was not elected Holy Roman Empress. Instead, Charles VII was elected. However, after Charles VII's reign, Maria Theresa's husband Francis I was elected, ensuring that the Empire would continue in the Habsburg line.

Probably as a consequence of his years in Spain, he introduced the Spanish court ceremonial (Spanisches Hofzeremoniell) in Vienna and built the Spanish Riding School. Furthermore, the Reichskanzlei ("chancellory of the state") and the National Library were constructed during his reign and the Michaeler tract added to the Hofburg. Much was designed in baroque style in Vienna during Charles' reign.

He also had musical ambitions. Taught as a boy by Johann Joseph Fux, he composed, played the harpsichord, and now and then conducted the court's band.

There is some evidence that Charles' death was caused by consuming a meal of death cap mushrooms.^[1]

[edit] Ancestors

**Charles's ancestors in three generations**
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor	Father: Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor	Father's father: Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor	Father's father's father: Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor
			Father's father's mother: Maria Anna of Bavaria
		Father's mother: Maria Anna of Spain	Father's mother's father: Philip III of Spain
			Father's mother's mother: Margaret of Austria
	Mother: Eleonore-Magdalena of Neuburg	Mother's father: Philipp Wilhelm, Elector Palatine	Mother's father's father: Wolfgang Wilhelm, Pfalzgraf von Neuburg
			Mother's father's mother: Magdalene of Bavaria
		Mother's mother: Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt	Mother's mother's father: George II, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt
			Mother's mother's mother: Sofie Eleonore of Saxony

Names in other languages: German: Karl VI., Czech: Karel II., Hungarian: III. Károly, Slovak: Karol III., Croatian: Karlo III., Catalan: Carles III., Latin: Carolus VI.Polish Karol VI, Dutch: Karel VI.

[edit] Notes

^ Wasson RG. (1972). The death of Claudius, or mushrooms for murderers. Botanical Museum Leaflets, Harvard University 23(3):101–128.

[edit] References

León Sanz, Virginia. Carlos VI: el emperador que no pudo ser rey de España. Madrid: Aguilar, 2003. ISBN 8403094094.
Rill, Bernd. Karl VI.: Habsburg als barocke Grossmacht. Graz: Verlag Styria, 1992. ISBN 3222121486.

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Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor

[edit] External links

Regnal titles
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor House of Habsburg Born: 1 October 1685 Died: 20 October 1740
Preceded by Victor Amadeus II	King of Sicily 1720–34	Succeeded by Charles III of Spain (as Charles VII)
Preceded by Philip V of Spain (as Philip IV)	King of Naples 1713–35	Succeeded by Charles III of Spain (as Charles VII)
Preceded by Philip V of Spain (as Philip IV)	King of Sardinia 1713–20	Succeeded by Victor Amadeus II
Preceded by Joseph I	Holy Roman Emperor (elect) King in Germany (formally King of the Romans) 1711–40	Succeeded by Charles VII
	King of Bohemia (as Charles II) 1711–40	Succeeded by Charles VII
	King of Hungary, Croatia and Slavonia (as Charles III) 1711–40	Succeeded by Maria Theresa
	Archduke of Austria (as Charles III) 1711–40
Preceded by Charles III of Spain (as Charles I)	Duke of Parma and Piacenza 1735–40
Preceded by Charles III of Spain (as Charles I)	Duke of Guastalla 1735–40
Preceded by Philip V of Spain (as Philip IV)	Count of Barcelona 1705–14	Title merged with Spanish monarchy
Preceded by Joseph I	Duke of Teschen 1711–1722	Succeeded by Leopold

Persondata
NAME	Habsburg, Charles Francis Joseph
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Habsburg, Karl Franz Josef
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Holy Roman Emperor
DATE OF BIRTH	1 October 1685
PLACE OF BIRTH	Vienna, Austria
DATE OF DEATH	20 October 1740
PLACE OF DEATH