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He was born in Vienna on 18 July 1552, and died in Prague on 20 January 1612. His father was Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor, king of Bohemia, king of Hungary; his mother was Maria, a daughter of Charles V.
Rudolf was the first son and successor of Maximillian. Acceding to the Habsburg lands, he reversed his father's tolerant policy toward Protestantism and gave assistance to the Counter-Reformation. Although Rudolf was a learned man, he was incapable of ruling because he was plagued by melancholy and later became subject to occasional fits of insanity. Other members of his family began to intervene in imperial affairs.
Following a revolt in Hungary ( 1604- 6Events January 27 The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators begins ending in their execution on January 31 May 17 Supporters of Vasili Shusky invade the Kremlin and kill pretender Dmitri December 26 Shakespeare's King Lear performed in court Storm bu) by Stephen Bocskay and his Ottoman allies, most of the actual ruling power passed to Rudolf's brother Matthias; the revolt was provoked by Rudolf's attempt to impose Roman Catholicism in Hungary. In 1608Events October 2 Dutch lensmaker Hans Lippershey demonstrates the first telescope in the Dutch parliament July 3 Quebec City founded by Samuel de Champlain. August 24 The first official English representative to India lands at Surat. Swedish troops enter, Matthias forced Rudolf to cede Hungary, AustriaAustria is a landlocked country in Central Europe, a federation of nine states. Austria is bordered by Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the, and MoraviaMoravia ( Czech: Morava is the eastern part of the Czech Republic. Its historical capital is Brno. For history see Great Moravia. It is named for the Morava (or March) river around which a group of Slavs settled sometime after 500 AD. The Moravians speak to him. Seeking to gain the support of the Bohemian estates, Rudolf issued a royal charter in 1609Events April 4 King of Spain signs an edit of expulsion of all moriscos from Spain April 9 Spain recognizes Dutch independence May 23 Official ratification of the Second Charter of Virginia. July 6 Bohemia is granted freedom of religion. August 25 Galileo that guaranteed religious freedom to the nobles and cities. This effort was in vain, and Rudolf was forced to give up Bohemia to Matthias in 1611Events November 1 At Whitehall Palace in London, William Shakespeare's romantic comedy The Tempest is presented for the first time. mo Gustavus Adolphus becomes king of Sweden Denmark attacks Sweden King James Version of the Bible first published in Engla. Rudolf's turbulent reign was a prelude to the Thirty Years' War.
Rudolf II was one of the most eccentric European monarchs of that or any other period. Rudolf collected dwarfs and had a regiment of giants in his army. He was surrounded by astrologers, and he was fascinated by games and codes and music. He was typical of the occult-oriented noblemen of this period and epitomized the liberated northern European prince. He was a patron of alchemy and supported the printing of alchemical literature.
portrait of Rudolf II by Giuseppe Arcimboldo
| Preceded by: | King of Germany Archduke of Austria King of Bohemia King of Hungary | Succeeded by: |
| Preceded by: | Regent of Tyrol and Further Austria |
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