Name Ferdinand Archduke | ||
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Died December 30, 1662, Kaltern an der Weinstrase, Italy Spouse Anna de' Medici, Archduchess of Austria (m. 1646–1662) Children Claudia Felicitas of Austria Parents Claudia de' Medici, Leopold V, Archduke of Austria Grandparents Christina of Lorraine Similar People Leopold V - Archduke of Austria, Claudia de' Medici, Charles II - Archduke of Austria, Claudia Felicitas of Austria, Ferdinand III - Holy Roman E | ||
Ferdinand Charles (17 May 1628 – 30 December 1662) was the Archduke of Further Austria, including Tyrol, from 1646 to 1662.
As the son of Archduke Leopold V and Claudia de' Medici, he succeeded his father upon the latter's death in 1632, under his mother's regency. He took over his mother's governatorial duties when he came of age in 1646. To finance his extravagant living style, he sold goods and entitlements. For example, he wasted the exorbitant sum which France had to pay to the Tyrolean Habsburgs for the cession of their fiefs west of the Rhine (Alsace, Sundgau and Breisach). He also fixed the border to Graubünden in 1652.
Ferdinand Charles was an absolutist ruler, did not call any diet after 1648 and had his chancellor Wilhelm Biener executed illegally in 1651 after a secret trial. On the other hand, he was a lover of music: Italian opera was performed in his court.
Marriage, children and death
Ferdinand Charles married Anna de' Medici. She was a daughter of Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Maria Magdalena of Austria († 1631). They had three children:
He died in Kaltern.