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Anna TyrolskayaWife of Matthew, Holy Roman Emperor.
Date of Birth: 04.10.1585
Country:  Austria |
Content:
Biography of Anna Tyrolian
Early LifeAnna Tyrolian, born on October 4, 1585, in Innsbruck, was the daughter of Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria and Count of Tyrol, and Anna Catherine Gonzaga. She was the third and youngest child of the couple. Anna's paternal grandparents were Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary, the last representative of the Jagiellon dynasty. On her mother's side, she was the granddaughter of William I, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat, and Eleanor of Austria, an Archduchess of Austria.
Anna grew up in Innsbruck, where her parents' court was a center of Renaissance culture. She lived in palaces and castles such as Ambras, Hofburg, and Ruelust. At the age of ten, Anna's father passed away, and her mother made every effort to provide her with a good education. When Anna showed a talent for music, her mother bought her a harpsichord, a rare and expensive instrument at the time, and hired a tutor. Anna's love for music stayed with her throughout her life.
Marriage and Coronation
As Anna reached adulthood, she began receiving marriage proposals. The first proposal came from Sigismund III, the King of Poland, in 1603, but the Emperor did not approve of the match. Emperor Rudolf II himself expressed his intention to marry the princess and sent a court painter to Innsbruck to paint her portrait. Anna's mother stopped considering other marriage proposals for her daughter, but the Emperor never made a final decision. Eventually, Rudolf II allowed his younger brother, Matthias, to propose to Anna. Several years later, on December 4, 1611, in Vienna, Anna married Matthias, the King of Hungary and Bohemia. The couple were first cousins, as Matthias' father, Maximilian II, was the older brother of Anna's father, Ferdinand II. Despite the significant age difference, with Matthias being over fifty and Anna only twenty-five, he hoped that they would have children together. However, their marriage remained childless.
On May 21, 1612, Matthias was elected as the King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor. Anna became Empress and was crowned in Frankfurt on June 15, 1612, just two days after her husband's coronation. She was the first crowned Empress since Eleanor of Portugal. Additionally, on March 25, 1613, in Pressburg, Anna was crowned as the Queen of Hungary, and on January 10, 1616, in Prague, she was crowned as the Queen of Bohemia. As Empress, Anna had a strong influence on her husband, similar to his previous mistress, Susanna Wachter. They were referred to as the "Working Couple" (Arbeitspaar) by their contemporaries. Together, they transformed Vienna into a center of European culture. Anna also supported the Counter-Reformation movement and distanced herself from Protestant subjects after becoming Empress. She collected relics and patronized the Capuchin monks, whose order played a significant role in the Austrian Counter-Reformation. In recognition of her loyalty to the Catholic Church, Pope Paul V awarded her the Golden Rose.
Death
During his reign as Archduke, Matthias invited Capuchin monks to Vienna in 1600 and provided them with the church of St. Ulrich. Seventeen years later, as Emperor, he fulfilled Anna's request to build a church for the Capuchins near the imperial residence. On November 10, 1618, construction began on a mausoleum for himself and Anna. Anna closely monitored the construction, using her personal funds to finance it with her husband's consent. Sadly, she passed away just a month after the construction began, on December 14, 1618. Her husband, Matthias, followed her in death on March 20, 1619. They were temporarily buried in the royal monastery of the Clarissan nuns in Vienna. Only after the completion of the mausoleum, which was continued by their cousin and Matthias' successor, Emperor Ferdinand II, were their remains transferred to the Imperial Crypt in 1633. The crypt, known as the Imperial Vault, became the final resting place for members of the imperial family under Emperor Ferdinand III.
