Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand III (Ferdinand Ernest; 13 July 1608 – 2 April 1657) was Archduke of Austria from 1621, King of Hungary from 1625, King of Croatia and of Bohemia from 1627 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1637 to his death.
| Ferdinand III | |||||
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Portrait by Jan van den Hoecke, 1643 | |||||
| Holy Roman Emperor | |||||
| Reign | 15 February 1637 – 2 April 1657 | ||||
| Proclamation | 18 November 1637 Frankfurt Cathedral | ||||
| Predecessor | Ferdinand II | ||||
| Successor | Leopold I | ||||
| Born | 13 July 1608 Graz, Duchy of Styria, Holy Roman Empire | ||||
| Died | 2 April 1657 (aged 48) Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, Holy Roman Empire | ||||
| Burial | |||||
| Spouses | Maria Anna of Austria
(m. 1631; died 1646)Maria Leopoldine of Austria
(m. 1648; died 1649) | ||||
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| House | Habsburg | ||||
| Father | Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor | ||||
| Mother | Maria Anna of Bavaria | ||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||
| Signature | |||||
Ferdinand ascended the throne at the beginning of the last decade of the Thirty Years' War and introduced lenient policies to depart from the old ideas of divine rights under his father, as he had wished to end the war quickly. As the numerous battles had not resulted in sufficient military containment of the empire's Protestant enemies, and he was confronted with a decay of Imperial power, Ferdinand was compelled to abandon the political stances of his Habsburg predecessors in many respects to open the long road towards the much-delayed peace treaty. Although his authority among the princes was weakened after the war in Bohemia, Hungary and Austria, Ferdinand's position as sovereign was uncontested.
Ferdinand was the first Habsburg monarch to be recognised as a musical composer.