HAP'SBURG, or HABSBURG, HOUSE OF, of which the imperial family of Austria are the representatives, derived its name from the castle of Habsburg, or Habichtshurg (Hawk's castle), on the right bank of the Aar, in the Swiss canton of Aargau. The castle was built in the 11th c. by Werner, bishop of Strasburg, grandson of Gunthrnn the rich, count'of Alsace and Breisgan, who, according to the Austrian chroniclers, was descended from Ethico I., dulte.of Aleraannia and Alsace in the. 7th century. Werner delivered the castle to his brother Kanzeline, whose nephew, Werner II., was the first who assumed the title of count of Hapsburg. Albrecht or Albert III., the great-grand son of Werner II., assumed the title of Landgraf of upper Alsace, or Sundgau. This prince possessed a great part of Swabia, Alsace, and the Aargau, to which his son, Rudolf I., added Laufferiburg. On his death in 1282, his sons, Albert IV. and Rudolf II., divided their father's possessions—Rudolf becoming the founder of the Hapsburg •Lauffenburg line. This branch became extinct in 1408 in Germany, but is still repre sented in England by the Fielding family. The 'whole possession's of Rudolf's lineage reverted to the Austrian line in 1415. Albert IV. laid the foundation of the future great
ness of the house of Hapsburg. He left three sons, the eldest of whom, Rudolf III. (Rudolf I. of Austria), succeeded him, and by appropriating the provinces which, as emperor, he had wrested from Ottocar of Bohemia—viz., upper and lower Austria, Styria, Carinthia, and Candola—greatly increased the power of his family. His son, Albrecht or Albert I. (q.v.), succeeded in 1291 to the family possessions. The further history of the house of Hapsburg may be traced in that of Austria (q.v.). It may be noted here that Ernest,,suraamed the iron, one of the sons of Leopold II., and founder of the Styrian line, married Cymburga, daughter of Ziemovitz, duke of Masovia (now province of Warsaw), and niece of Uladishis Jagellon, king of Poland, celebrated in Austrian history not only for her beauty and accomplishments, but also for her great strength of body, of which latter quality some historians give remarkable instances. From her are said to be derived the thick lips which are a characteristic feature of the Austrian family.
Compare prince Lieknowski, Geschiehte des Haws Habsburg (2 vols. Wien, 183647), also Cole's lb use of Austria.