Name Archduchess of | ||
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Born 2 November 1534
Vienna ( 1534-11-02 ) Issue Vincent I, Duke of Mantua
Margherita, Duchess consort of Ferrara
Anna Caterina, Archduchess of Austria House House of Habsburg (by birth)
House of Gonzaga (by marriage) Father Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor Mother Anna of Bohemia and Hungary Died August 5, 1594, Mantua, Italy Spouse Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua (m. 1561) Children Vincenzo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua, Anna Juliana Gonzaga, Margherita Gonzaga, Duchess of Ferrara Parents Anne of Bohemia and Hungary, Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor Siblings Joanna of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany Similar People Ferdinand I - Holy Roman E, Vincenzo Gonzaga - Duke of, Anne of Bohemia and Hung, Catherine of Austria - Queen of, Archduchess Barbara of Austria | ||
Archduchess Eleanor of Austria (2 November 1534 – 5 August 1594) was the daughter of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary.
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Family
Eleanor was the eighth child and sixth daughter out of fifteen children born to Archduke Ferdinand of Austria (before his election as Holy Roman Emperor) and his wife Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. She was a sister of Johanna of Austria, who married Francesco I de' Medici, thus making Eleonora the aunt of Marie de' Medici, Queen of France.
Marriage and children
She married William I, Duke of Mantua on 26 April 1561. Their children were:
At about age 5, Eleanor's daughter Anne Catherine became severely ill and nearly died. She contracted a high fever and her extremities began to swell. For two years she was ill. Finally Eleanor and William appealed to the Virgin Mary with deep prayer, promising to raise Anne as a child of Mary if she lived on. Soon Anne became healthy again. Eleanor and William told their daughter of the Virgin Mary's intervention on her behalf and the promise they had made. From there out Eleanor educated and guided Anne Catherine in the cultivation of devotion to Mary. Throughout childhood Anne Catherine displayed a consistent sense of piety.
Eleonora died on 5 August 1594 at the age of 59, she had been a widow since 1587 when her husband died. She was one of the last children of Ferdinand and Anna alive at the time, the only other sibling alive at the time of her death was her brother Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria who only died one year later.