Mary of Hungary (governor of the Netherlands)

Mary of Hungary ( born September 17, 1505 Brussels, † October 17, 1558 in Cigales ) was by birth Princess of Castile, Austria and Burgundy, and was by marriage Queen of Bohemia and Hungary. After the death of her husband she was in January 1531 Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, their home.

Dynastic correctly but clearly it is also called Maria of Habsburg, on the basis of formal titles also called Maria of Castile or misleading as Mary of Austria.

Life

Origin and Youth

She was born the fifth child of Philip the Handsome and Joanna the Mad. Together with her siblings Charles, later Emperor Charles V ( Charles I as King of Spain ), Eleanor, Isabella, later wife of Christian II of Denmark, it was after the death of her father Philip in Mechelen by her aunt Margaret of Austria educated, while she was brought up by two years older brother, the future Emperor Ferdinand I., in Spain.

Her grandfather, the Roman - German king and later emperor Maximilian I of Habsburg, joined with King Vladislav II of Bohemia and Hungary because marriage plans in conjunction. On March 20, 1506 it was decided that Mary's brother, the future Emperor Ferdinand I, Vladislav daughter Anna was going to marry, but Mary would already born for want of a son born with the unborn child of the pregnant mother Anna, in the event that a son, was engaged. In fact, Mary's future husband Louis Jagiello was born on 1 July 1506.

On July 22, 1515 memorable marriage ( or engagement ) took place in St. Stephen's Cathedral, known as double wedding in Vienna. Maria and Anna remained first in Vienna.

Queen of Hungary

1516 Mary died father Vladislav II; her then ten- year-old husband was Ludwig when Ludwig II, King of Bohemia and Hungary. 1517 attracted the young princesses Mary and Anna to Innsbruck, where they jointly received more education. Maria discovered there her passion for hunting and music. 1521 moved the sixteen year-old Maria to Pressburg to her only fifteen year-old husband, for whom she soon felt violent affection.

Mary is described as a not very attractive personality, she had inherited from the Habsburgs whose chin and lower lip and entered as " a virago " on. She has been rumored, however, an excellent eloquence, political talent, prudence and diligence. On December 11, 1521 she was crowned the queen of Louis of Hungary and on June 1, 1522 to the Queen of Bohemia.

Under the given conditions, a political reaching out of the still very young king was not conceivable. The affairs of the Kingdom of Hungary led by a regency council headed by the Regent Johann Zápolya. Politically dominated the Hungarian magnates the kingdom. These were split into a nationalist and a pro- Habsburg party. It was only during the reign of Louis distinguished himself somewhat. He relied in its decisions largely on Mary, while it supported him, but certainly also made him familiar with political ideas, but not with the political plans of the Habsburgs. 1526, the situation came to a head. Domestically, threatened a coup. Although Louis had been part of his two brother Charles V. and Ferdinand I. assured help against the Turks, they had left the twenty -year-old king down. When it came to the Magnificent battle against the invading Turks under Suleiman at Mohács in southern Hungary, it went catastrophically lost. The sake of completeness at this point also mentioned that with the death of the King of Hungary and Bohemia, the Kingdom of Bohemia, which had been a elective monarchy of its constitution ago, came to Habsburg.

On August 29, 1526 had come to a devastating battle in which almost the entire political and religious leadership of Hungary was killed while Ludwig was able to escape. Four weeks later, however, he was found drowned in a nearly dry creek bed just a few kilometers away from the battlefield, from which we may conclude, that was aided actively in his drowning. After the country had become leaderless, asked Johann Zápolya, the Regent and leader of the revolution, to Maria's hand and to Louis succeeded as king, as their marriage was childless, what Mary refused, however. Süleyman the Magnificent was also like Stephan crown to the hands, with which of Süleyman I. graces Johann Zápolya on 11 November had been crowned, what not, however, meant that he was king of total Hungary, because were regarded as legitimate heirs to the Habsburgs, which ultimately only upper Hungary, ie today's Slovakia with its capital Bratislava, were able to maintain while Johann Zápolya Transylvania managed on behalf of the Sultan. Once it was the Turks in 1541 succeeded in oven, ie to behändigen the Buda against the city of Pest, this controlled the most fertile part of Hungary, the Great Plain, itself.

Meanwhile there had been occasion of the death of King Ludwig II to two assemblies of estates, who chose two different kings. For those in Tokaj on 14 October Zápolya was elected king of Hungary; the choice has been confirmed by a further meeting in Székesfehérvár, the coronation city of Hungarian kings, on 10 November, and he was crowned the following day with the holy crown.

It was immediately followed by a fight with a rival throne, later Emperor Ferdinand I, brother of Ludwig II, who was also elected from another assembly of the estates to the king of Hungary. Only with the help of the Turks was King John force his opponents to negotiate. Finally, Ferdinand recognized in the Peace of Oradea (Hungarian Nagyvarad, Romanian Oradea ) John as King of Hungary, but secured the right to succession in the event of John's death. However, Johann broke the agreement by bequeathed the kingdom to his son, John Sigismund. For John's heirs remained at the end only the Principality of Transylvania, under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire had stock.

Governor of the Netherlands

More plans to marry her brother Ferdinand I. to James V of Scotland and Count Palatine Frederick refused and Maria took over due to the entreaties of her brother Charles V. at January 3, 1531 the office of governor in the Netherlands.

She managed to combine the 17 former provinces of the Netherlands to a centrally governed independent body politic, without violating the interests of the House of Habsburg. They successfully organized an effective defense, especially against French troops. She built the forts Mariembourg, Charlemont and Philippe Ville.

1542 she beat her brother Francis I at the Battle of Luxembourg, because this did not count with the action of a woman. Multiple they switched and Charles Familiar between her brothers, among others in line to the throne of the Emperor.

Economically and culturally experienced the Netherlands under your government a heyday. In Antwerp, 50 % of world trade were transshipped to Europe, where there was also the Europe's largest stock exchange. Maria promoted crafts and art, among other things let them grow at their Palace of Brussels an art gallery and took the Italian painter Titian to their court.

When Charles abdicated in 1556, they did it after him, and she retired with him and her favorite sister Eleanor back to Spain. On October 17, 1558, she died shortly after her siblings. She was buried in the Escorial.

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