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| Things To Know The Land The Habsburg Legacy Crossroads of Europe Proud Traditions Environmental Issues Sauerkraut and Strudel Summer and Winter The Last of the Knights |
The Last of the Knights
Maximilian I ruled from 1493 until 1519; these years saw the establishment of his family, the Habsburgs, as hereditary emperors
of the Holy Roman Empire and rulers of Austria and far beyond, a dynasty that continued until 1918. Maximilian, through two
strategic marriages, gained control over Burgundy (a region in northern France) and the Low Countries. He married his son
into the Spanish royal family, giving the Habsburgs rights over Spain, Naples and Spanish America and thus laying the foundations
for the vast empire that was to come. Maximilian reformed the governmental administration, patronized the arts, loved hunting
and jousting, and was known as “the last of the knights” who led Austria from the Middle Ages to the bright light of the Renaissance
and the empire.
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