Ferdinand of Tyrol

14 June 1529, Linz, Archduchy of Austria (modern-day Austria) – 24 January 1595, Innsbruck, County of Tyrol (modern-day Austria)

Ferdinand of Tyrol was the second-born son of Ferdinand I, King of Bohemia, and Anna Jagellonica. Like his elder brother Maximilian, he gained excellent humanist education and had a wide cultural outlook. In 1547, Ferdinand I was appointed Imperial Governor in Bohemia in order to consolidate the power of the Habsburg dynasty after the suppression of the resistance of the Bohemian estates. The king gave him such a large authority that he could rule almost as a sovereign ruler. He set up a small, but representative court, through which Renaissance architecture, art, philosophy and lifestyle were introduced to Bohemia. He personally participated in modifications to the royal garden of Prague Castle and the summer palace Hvězda, a unique building shaped as a six-pointed star, was built outside Prague between 1555 and 1558 based on his design. He was also famous as a passionate collector of art and curiosities. Unlike his brother Maximilian, however, he was an uncompromising Catholic who did not hesitate to persecute members of other confessions.

Ferdinand spent twenty years in the Kingdom of Bohemia. During that time, the Archduke became rather popular and significantly contributed to the consolidation of local conditions. At this time, he also married Philippine Welser, daughter of a banker from Augsburg, but he had to keep the marriage a secret for many years due to unequal social status of the newlyweds. In 1564, the already ill Ferdinand I entrusted his second-born son with ruling over Tyrol, where the Archduke moved three years later. Ambras Castle near Innsbruck became his home; he rebuilt it into a Renaissance chateau and brought over all his valuable art collections, which are still there. However, even after moving to Tyrol, he kept strong ties with Bohemia. He visited Prague on several occasions and many Bohemian noblemen remained at his court. Although Ferdinand’s descendants from his marriage with Philippine were excluded from the Habsburg succession, his daughter Anna from his marriage to Anna Caterina Gonzaga, who married Matthias Habsburg in 1611, ascended the Bohemian and imperial thrones.