Everything about Rudolf Iv Duke Of Austria totally explained
Rudolf IV der Stifter (the Founder) (
November 1 1339 –
July 27 1365) was a member of the
House of Habsburg and
Duke (self-proclaimed
Archduke) of
Austria from
1358 to
1365.
Biography
Born in
Vienna, Rudolf was the eldest son of
Albert II and
Johanna von Pfirt. One of the third generation of Habsburg dukes in Austria, he was the first to be born in Austria. Therefore, he considered Austria his home, a sentiment that no doubt communicated itself to his subjects and contributed to his popularity. He was one of the most energetic and active rulers of Austria in the late
Middle Ages, and it was said of him that as a young man he already had the air of a king.
He was married to
Katharine of Bohemia the daughter of Emperor
Charles IV. Eager to compete with his father-in-law, who had made
Prague a radiant center of culture, Rudolf desired to raise the importance of
Vienna to a comparable or greater height.
For more than a century, the Habsburg dukes had chafed at the Popes' failure to make Vienna the seat of its own
diocese, a status that they considered appropriate for the seat of a duchy. The Bishops of
Passau, the diocese that included Vienna, had excellent connections to the
Pope, apparently dooming Vienna's prospects in this regard. Rudolf, however, resorted to something which could be considered imposture: He initiated the creation in the Cathedral of Saint Stephan (
Stephansdom) of a
Metropolitan Chapter (which, according to the name, should be assigned to a bishop), whose members wore red garments as
cardinals do. The
provost of the chapter received the title of
Arch-Chancellor of Austria.
Rodolf extended
Stephansdom, with the construction of its
gothic nave being started under Rudolf's rule. Rudolf had himself be depicted on the cathedral's entrance. The construction efforts can be seen as an attempt to compete with
St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague.
Similarly, by founding the
University of Vienna in
1365, Rudolf sought to match Charles IV's founding of the
Charles University of Prague in
1348. Still known as
Alma Mater Rudolphina today, the University of Vienna is the oldest continuously operating
university in the German-speaking world. However, a faculty of
theology, which was considered crucial for a university at that time, wasn't established until
1385, twenty years after Rudolf's death.
To improve the economy of Vienna Rudolf introduced many other measures, including the supervision by the
mayor of sales of real property, instituted to prevent sales to the
dead hand,
for example, to prevent economically unproductive ownership by the Church. Rudolf also managed to establish a relatively stable
currency, the so-called
Wiener Pfennig (Vienna Penny).
Rudolf is best known for another bluff, the
forgery of the
Privilegium Maius, which
de facto put him on par with the
Electors of the
Holy Roman Empire, compensating for Austria's failure to receive an electoral vote in the
Golden Bull. The title of
Archduke, invented by Rudolf, became an honorific title of all males of the House of Habsburg in the
16th century.
In
1363, Rudolf entered into a
contract of inheritance with Countess
Margarete Maultasch of the
Tyrol, which brought the Tyrol under Austrian rule only after her death in 1369 since her brother-in-law
Stephen II, Duke of Bavaria had invaded the country.
The next year, he concluded another Contract of Inheritance with his father-in-law Emperor Charles, providing for mutual inheritance between the
Habsburgs and
Luxemburg.
In spite of the high-flying (and maybe sometimes megalomaniac) character of his plans, he managed to modernize his territories and his city, the prominence of which considerably increased. His untimely death halted further progress, however. His brothers
Albert III and
Leopold III, who were to rule jointly under the
Rudolfinische Hausordnung (Rudolfinian House Rules), began to quarrel ceaselessly and ultimately agreed to divide the Habsburg territories between them in
1379.
Rudolf is also remembered for founding
Novo Mesto in
Slovenia whose German name,
Rudolfswert, was given in his honor.
Rudolf died in
Milan in 1365. He and his wife are buried in the
Ducal Crypt in the
Stephansdom in Vienna.
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