The relations between the House of Habsburg and Belgium are quite old and very deep, ranging from the Habsburg sovereignty over this land to royal marriages in recent history. A short thread below 👇 #twitterstorians
The Habsburgs arrived in the history of these land in 1477 when Mary of Burgundy married Maximilian of Habsburg, this would lead to so called Habsburg Netherlands after Mary's death in 1482, who was succeeded by her son Philip.
In the late 16th c. the Northern part went its own way as the Dutch Republic, whilst the South remained a partially autonomous part of the 'Habsburg composite monarchy' and would remain so - with the odd hickup - till 1794.
These lands were governed by both the Spanish branch and the Austrian branch (since 1713) until the French invaded and annexed the Habsburg Netherlands in 1794, thus ending the Habsburg rule.
In 1830 the Kingdom of Belgium was born and Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha installed as King of the Belgians. Obviously new links with established monarchies were sought for marriage unions and the presitigious House of Habsburg was a principal target.
In 1857, Leopold I's daughter Charlotte married Maximilian, Emperor Franz Joseph's brother. The couple settled in Milan where Max governed as Viceroy of Lombardy-Venice. In 1864 they moved Mexico where Max became Emperor, but all ended in tragedy when Max was executed in 1867
After this event, Charlotte suffered from lifelong mental issues and settled in the Castle of Bouchout, not far from Brussels. During WWI, German troops were ordered not to enter the domain as Charlotte was the Austrian Emperor's sister-in-law.
In 1853, Leopold (II) married Maria-Henriette of Austria, d. of Joseph, Palatine of Hungary and granddaughter of Emperor Leopold II. This was an unhappy marriage and completely fell apart after the death of their only son, Leopold, Count of Hainaut.
In 1881, Leopold II's daughter, Stephanie married Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria-Hungary. Although this marriage was initially quite happy it soon unraveled - conflicting personalities - and Rudolf got a string of mistresses. In 1889 Rudolf and his mistress committed suicide.
The couple had one child, Archduchess Elisabeth Marie of Austria, would be known as the "The Red Archduchess" as she had sympathy for the socialist cause and even joined the Austrian Social Democratic Party.
Another link can be established between Queen Elisabeth of the Belgians (wife of King Albert I) and the famous Sissi as Queen Elisabeth's father Carl Theodor was Sissi's brother.
In 1984, Princess Astrid - d. of King Albert II - married Archduke Lorenz of Austria-Este, grandson of Austria's last Emperor Karl I - through Karl's second son Robert -. Lorenz is the head of the Austria-Este branch and claimant to the Duchy of Modena and Reggio.
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Today we will look at the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, a state within the Holy Roman Empire that existed till 1795 and has a fascinating history. A #thread#twitterstorians
The Bishopric of Liège already existed for quite some time when in 985 and 987 Bishop Notger acquired the counties of Huy and Bruningerode, thus allowing him to claim secular power as well and morphing his bishopric into a principality.
In the course of centuries the Prince-Bishops acquired more land as they got their hands on the Lordship of Bouillon in 1096, the County of Loon in 1366 (after the Wars of the Loon Succession) and the County of Horne in 1568.
Today in the Belgian aristocratic families series: the House of Lalaing. They originate from Lallaing (now in France, then part of the County of Hainaut) and became a prominent part of the establislish o/t Burgundian Netherlands in the 15th c. Some interesting members below.👇
Jacques van Lalaing (1421-1453), travelled around Europe to joust. Participated in the Siege of Poeke Castle (Ghent Rebellion) and was killed after being hit by a canon ball, one of Europe's first noblemen who has been killed by canon fire.
Joost de Lalaing (1437-1483), participated in the Battle of Nancy (1477) which killed Charles the Bold, became Lord Chamberlain of Charles' daughter Mary. Served as Stadtholder of Holland and Zeeland and Admiral of Flanders. Was killed during the Siege of Utrecht in 1483.
In 1546, Maria, Regent of the Habsburg Netherlands, commissioned a hunting lodge in the woods of Morlanwelz. The place would be littered with frescos, murals and sculptures by Jacques Dubrœucq.
In 1554, Henri II of France invaded the land and torched the castle - an act of revenge after Habsburg troops destroyed his favourite residence Folembray -. Efforts were made to rebuild the place, but the castle was left as a sort of ruin.
Today we will look at the Castle of Tervuren (near Brussels) which existed from ca. 1190 till 1781 and was considered a favourite residence of many local rulers. A thread 👇 #twitterstorians#palaces
Around 1190 Duke Henry I of Brabant commissioned the construction of a residence and a church nearby - St John the Baptist's Church -. It was clear he had plans to spend some time here. His successors added an addition donjon and further modifications.
Duke John II (1275-1312) added an additional hall which would be used for meeting of the States of Brabant - the assembly of reps from the cities/clergy and nobility -
THREAD: the Low Countries played an important role in the 'constitutional' history of Europe, but that has often been overlooked by historians who often just look at e.g. de Magna Carta. In this thread I'll give a short overview of similar docs/ideas born in the Low Countries.(1)
In 1127, a conflict emerged between the cities and Count Willem of Flanders. In 1128, Iwein van Aalst claimed the Count should appear before a court as he breached the contract with his people. Thus, an early expression of the Rule of Law. (2)
In 1196, Prince-Bishop Albert of Liège issued his charter - part of many charters - which confirmed some basic liberties for his people, including the clause that officers of law could not just enter someone's house without good reason.(3)