The surprising death of the Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus in April 1490 allowed Maximilian I to re-conquer Austrian territories in the eastern part of Holy Roman Empire previously occupied by the Hungarians. Although engaged at the time in a still unresolved conflict with the French king in Brittany, Maximilian hurried east with a small army.

The inhabitants of the Lower Austrian cities of Wiener Neustadt, Tulln, Baden, St. Pölten, and Vienna rose up against the Hungarian garrisons. On August 19 Maximilian entered Vienna. By early October he had successfully expelled all Hungarian troops from the Habsburg domains. At the end of October, accompanied by 60,000 men, he marched into Hungary, and on November 17, 1490 he took the Hungarian coronation city Székesfehérvár/Stuhlweißenburg. Cold weather and financial difficulties prevented any further advances towards the Hungarian capital Buda. Unhappy with their pay, the lansquenets refused to continue the winter siege of the capital. Maximilian’s only remaining option was to negotiate.

The surprising death of the Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus in April 1490 allowed Maximilian I to re-conquer Austrian territories in the eastern part of Holy Roman Empire previously occupied by the Hungarians. Although engaged at the time in a still unresolved conflict with the French king in Brittany, Maximilian hurried east with a small army.

The inhabitants of the Lower Austrian cities of Wiener Neustadt, Tulln, Baden, St. Pölten, and Vienna rose up against the Hungarian garrisons. On August 19 Maximilian entered Vienna. By early October he had successfully expelled all Hungarian troops from the Habsburg domains. At the end of October, accompanied by 60,000 men, he marched into Hungary, and on November 17, 1490 he took the Hungarian coronation city Székesfehérvár/Stuhlweißenburg. Cold weather and financial difficulties prevented any further advances towards the Hungarian capital Buda. Unhappy with their pay, the lansquenets refused to continue the winter siege of the capital. Maximilian’s only remaining option was to negotiate.

The months-long negotiations were concluded on November 7, 1491 with the Peace of Pressburg7Bratislava, in which Maximilian recognized the Bohemian King Wladislav/Vladislav as King of Hungary. In return, Wladislav/Vladislav acknowledged the right of the Habsburgs to the Hungarian crown. In 1505 growing tensions between the nationalistically minded Hungarian Estates and King Wladislav/Vladislav II Jagiello led to a short war between Maximilian and Hungary. A swift Austrian advance to Eisenburg and Ödenburg forced the Hungarians to make peace as quickly as possible

In the Peace of Vienna (July 19, 1506), Maximilian not only gained 200,000 guilders but also the confirmation of the Habsburgs’ right to the Hungarian succession. Although Maximilian’s political plans in Italy had ended in failure (he had lost a drawn-out war against the Republic of Venice), he was able to secure future dynastic successes in Eastern Europe through his negotiations with the Jagiellonians.

Because of the silver mines in Tyrol, Maximilian was in close contact with Jakob Fugger, one of his most important financial supporters. Interested in controlling the copper mines of upper Hungary, Fugger funded Maximilian’s Hungarian plans.

Matthias Pfaffenbichler

At the Diet held at Augsburg in 1518, Maximilian tried to ensure the election of his grandson Charles. Maximilian successfully convinced five electors to sign a secret election decree on August 27. In exchange for financial rewards, the electors from Mainz, Cologne, the Palatine, Brandenburg, and Bohemia agreed to support Charles. Maximilian’s debt continued to grow until 1518 when it reached the enormous sum of five million guilders, the equivalent of twenty years’ income from his hereditary lands. This heavy debt crippled Maximilian’s political power at the end of his life.

Already ill, Maximilian travelled from Augsburg to Wels, where he spent the last days of his life and died on January 12, 1519.

Because Charles had already made plans for his own marriage, it was left to Ferdinand to fulfill Maximilian’s plan of marrying one of his grandsons to Anna of Bohemia and Hungary. This union decisively influenced Ferdinand’s political career. The Hungarians demanded a secure political position for Princess Anna’s future husband and pressured Ferdinand’s brother to invest him with hereditary lands.

In May 1521 Ferdinand travelled to Austria for the first time and, on May 26,he married Anna of Hungary at Linz. The final agreement regarding the Austrian territories that Ferdinand would rule was negotiated in Brussels in 1522. After the conclusion of the Brussels treaties, Ferdinand returned to Austria where he summoned the leaders of the opposition to his reign (led by Dr. Martin Siebenbürger, the mayor of Vienna) to Wiener Neustadt and had them tried, convicted, and executed for treason. The enormous debt Ferdinand had inherited from Maximilian necessitated the enactment of unpopular policies, which were carried out by his councilor Gabriel Salamanca.

Following the death of King Ludwig II of Hungary in 1526, Ferdinand was elected King of Bohemia. Although only elected by Habsburg followers, by 1528 Ferdinand had successfully occupied large parts of Hungary. Sultan Suleiman’s reaction was to start a military campaign against Hungary in 1529. Eventually he would lead the Ottoman army to the gates of Vienna. In 1529 the first Turkish Siege of Vienna ended when bad weather forced the enemy to retreat.

In 1530 Charles V was crowned Emperor by the Pope in Bologna, which allowed for Ferdinand to be elected Roman (German) King during Charles’ lifetime.

Matthias Pfaffenbichler