Margrave Andrew of Burgau

Andreas von Österreich, Margrave of Burgau, also known as Andrew of Austria (15 June 1558 at Březnice Castle in Březnice, Bohemia – 12 November 1600 in Rome) was a cardinal, Bishop of Constance and of Brixen. He belonged to the Austrian nobility, descending from its ruling dynasty, the House of Habsburg.

His Eminence Andreas von Österreich
Margrave of Burgau Prince-Bishop of Contance Abbot of Murbach Prince-Bishop of Brixen Cardinal-Priest of Santa Maria Nuova
Late 16th century portrait
Church	Roman Catholic Church
Province	Mainz
Metropolis	Mainz
Diocese	Constance
Installed	1589
Term ended	12 November 1600
Other post(s)	Abbot of Murbach, Bishop of Brixen
Orders
Created cardinal	March 1574 by Pope Gregory XIII
Rank	Cardinal-Priest
Personal details
Born	15 June 1558 Březnice Castle Březnice, Kingdom of Bohemia
Died	12 November 1600(1600-11-12) (aged 42) Rome, Papal States
Buried	Santa Maria dell'Anima, Rome

Andrew's coat of arms

His coat of arms when he was Bishop of Constance

Youth

Andrew and his younger brother Charles grew up at Bresnitz Castle in Březnice, Bohemia, and later at Ambras Castle in Innsbruck, Tyrol. The marriage of their parents, Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria and Philippine Welser, was morganatic. This meant that the brothers were not considered members of the Habsburg dynasty and could not use their father's title, Archduke of Austria, bearing instead that of Margrave of Burgau.

His father decided that Andrew should have a career in the clergy. In March 1574, Andrew travelled to Rome, where Pope Gregory XIII made him a cardinal, with Santa Maria Nuova as his titular church. Andrew was only 17 years old, his father having obtained the position for him.^[1]

Later life

Andrew was Abbot of Murbach from 1587 until his death. From 1589, he was also Bishop of Constance and from 1589 Bishop of Brixen. In 1598 and 1599, he briefly served as acting Governor General of the Habsburg Netherlands while Archduke Albert VII travelled to Spain to marry Infanta Isabella Clara Eugenia.

In 1600, he traveled to Rome to celebrate the Jubilee, afterwards visiting Naples. On his return journey, he fell ill and died after receiving the last rites from the Pope himself. He was buried in Santa Maria dell'Anima in Rome. His marble funeral monument in the church was completed by the sculptors Gillis van den Vliete and Nicolas Mostaert around 1600 and includes a portrait of Andrew kneeling in prayer.^[2]

Issue

Andrew had two illegitimate children, Hans-Georg Degli Abizzi (b. 1583) and Susanna Degli Abizzi (1584–1653). They were raised by his brother Charles.

Male-line family tree

v t e House of Habsburg[n 1]
Original line Albert Count of Habsburg c. 1188–1239 Rudolf I of Germany c. 1218–1291 Albert I of Germany 1255–1308 Hartmann 1263–1281 Rudolf II Duke of Austria 1270–1290 Rudolf I of Bohemia 1281–1307 Frederick the Fair c. 1289–1330 Leopold I Duke of Austria 1290–1326 Albert II Duke of Austria 1298–1358 Henry the Friendly 1299–1327 Otto Duke of Austria 1301–1339 John Parricida c. 1290–1312/1313   Albertinian line   Leopoldian line Rudolf IV Duke of Austria 1339–1365 Frederick III 1347–1362 Albert III Duke of Austria 1349–1395 Leopold III Duke of Austria 1351–1386 Frederick II Duke of Austria 1327–1344 Leopold II Duke of Austria 1328–1344 Albert IV Duke of Austria 1377–1404 William Duke of Austria c. 1370–1406 Leopold IV Duke of Austria 1371–1411 Ernest Duke of Austria 1377–1424 Frederick IV Duke of Austria 1382–1439 Albert II of Germany 1397–1439 Frederick III HRE 1415–1493 Albert VI Archduke of Austria 1418–1463 Sigismund Archduke of Austria 1427–1496 Ladislaus the Posthumous 1440–1457 Maximilian I HRE 1459–1519 Philip I of Castile 1478–1506   Spanish / Iberian line   Austrian / HRE line Charles V HRE 1500–1558 Ferdinand I HRE 1503–1564 Philip II of Spain 1527–1598 Maximilian II HRE 1527–1576 Ferdinand II Archduke of Austria 1529–1595 Charles II Archduke of Austria 1540–1590 Carlos Prince of Asturias 1545–1568 Philip III of Spain 1578–1621 Rudolf II HRE 1552–1612 Ernest of Austria 1553–1595 Matthias HRE 1557–1619 Maximilian III Archduke of Austria 1558–1618 Albert VII Archduke of Austria 1559–1621 Wenceslaus Archduke of Austria 1561–1578 Andrew Margrave of Burgau 1558–1600 Charles Margrave of Burgau 1560–1618 Ferdinand II HRE 1578–1637 Maximilian Ernest of Austria 1583–1616 Leopold V Archduke of Austria 1586–1632 Charles of Austria 1590–1624 Philip IV of Spain 1605–1665 Charles of Austria 1607–1632 Ferdinand of Austria 1609–1641 John-Charles of Austria 1605–1619 Ferdinand III HRE 1608–1657 Leopold Wilhelm of Austria 1614–1662 Ferdinand Charles Archduke of Austria 1628–1662 Sigismund Francis Archduke of Austria 1630–1665 Balthasar Charles Prince of Asturias 1629–1646 Charles II of Spain 1661–1700 Ferdinand IV King of the Romans 1633–1654 Leopold I HRE 1640–1705 Charles Joseph of Austria 1649–1664 Joseph I HRE 1678–1711 Charles VI HRE 1685–1740
Notes: "Habsburg family tree". Habsburg family website. 28 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.

Notes

1. Sigrid-Maria Größing, Leidenschaftliches Habsburg, Verlag A&M
2. Tancredi Farina , Gillis van den Vliete e la comunità tedesca della chiesa di Santa Maria dell'Anima in: 'In corso d'opera 2. Ricerche dei dottorandi in Storia dell'Arte della Sapienza', a cura di C. Di Bello, R. Gandolfi, M. Latella (Collana Ricerche dei dottorandi - 2), Campisano Editore, Rome, 2019, pp. 123-130 (in Italian)

References

• Heinrich Benedikt (1957), "Burgau, Andreas", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 3, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 43–44; (full text online)
• Margot Rauch: Karl von Burgau und Kardinal Andreas von Österreich, in: Philippine Welser & Anna Caterina Gonzaga: Die Gemahlinnen Erzherzog Ferdinands II., catalogue for an exhibition, Innsbruck, 1998
• Margot Rauch: Kardinal Andreas von Österreich, in: Ambras — Das Schloss der Philippine Welser, permanent presentation, Innsbruck, 2007
• Eduard Widmoser: Kardinal Andreas von Österreich, Markgraf von Burgau (1558-1600), in: Lebensbilder aus dem Bayerischen Schwaben, vol. 4, Munich, 1955, p. 249-259.
• Constantin von Wurzbach: , in: Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich

External links

• Herbert Frey: Österreich, Andreas von in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
• Short biography Archived 2017-05-26 at the Wayback Machine

Margrave Andrew of Burgau House of Habsburg Born: 15 June 1558 Died: 12 November 1600
Catholic Church titles
Preceded by Mark Sittich von Hohenems Altemps	Bishop of Constance 1589-1600	Succeeded by John George of Hallwyl
Preceded by John Thomas of Spauer	Bishop of Brixen 1591-1600	Succeeded by Christopher Andrew of Spauer