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Charles II of Austria

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Charles II

Charles II of Austria, (Vienna June 3 1540 – Graz July 10 1590) was an Archduke of Austria and ruler of Inner Austria (Styria, Carniola and Carinthia) from the House of Habsburg from 1564.

He was the third son of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary(1503–1547), daughter of King Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary and his wife Anne de Foix.

Unlike his brother Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles was a religious Catholic and promoted the Counterreformation, e.g. by inviting the Jesuits to his realm. However, in 1572, he had to make significant concessions to the Inner Austrian Estates in the Religious Pacifications of Graz, and 1578 and the Libellum of Bruck. In practice, this resulted in tolerance towards Protestantism.

As the Inner Austrian line had to bear the major burden of the wars against the Turks, the fortress of Karlstadt/Karlovec in Croatia was founded and named after him. Charles is also remembered as a benefactor of the arts and sciences. In particular, the composer Orlando di Lasso was one of his proteges, as was the music theorist Lodovico Zacconi.

In 1580, Charles founded a stud for horses of Andalusian origin in Lipica, Slovenia, thereby playing a leading role in the creation of the Lipizzan breed. In 1585, Charles founded the University of Graz, which is named Karl-Franzens-Universität after him.

Charles's mausoleum in Seckau, in which also other members of the Habsburg family are also buried, is one of the most important edifices of the early baroque in the South-Eastern Alps. It was built from 1587 onwards by Alessandro de Verda and completed by Sebastiano Carlone by 1612.

Ancestors

Charles II's ancestors in three generations
Charles II of Austria Father:
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor 		Paternal Grandfather:
Philip I of Castile 		Paternal Great-Grandfather:
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Paternal Great-grandmother:
Mary of Burgundy
Paternal Grandmother:
Joanna of Castile 		Paternal Great-Grandfather:
Ferdinand II of Aragon
Paternal Great-Grandmother:
Isabella I of Castile
Mother:
Anna of Bohemia and Hungary 		Maternal Grandfather:
Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary 		Maternal Great-Grandfather:
Casimir IV Jagiellon
Maternal Great-Grandmother:
Elisabeth of Austria
Maternal Grandmother:
Anne de Foix 		Maternal Great-grandfather:
Gaston de Foix
Maternal Great-Grandmother:
Infanta Catherine of Navarre


Marriage and children

Charles married his niece Maria Anna of Bavaria. They had fifteen children:

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