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Albert VII, Archduke of Austria

1559–1621

Born
25 Nov 1559, Wiener Neustadt
Country of birth
Archduchy of Austria, today Austria
Died
13 Jul 1621, Brussels
facts
17
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

  • Birth25 Nov 1559, Wiener NeustadtProbableDisputed1 competing claim1 source
  • Titlecardinal-deacon, 1577–1598Confirmed7 competing claims1 source
  • Titleviceroy of Portugal, 1583–1593Confirmed7 competing claims1 source
  • TitleInquisidor-mor de Portugal, 1586–1593Confirmed7 competing claims1 source
  • Titlecoadjutor archbishop, 1594Confirmed7 competing claims1 source
  • Titletitular archbishop, 1594Confirmed7 competing claims1 source
  • Titlearchbishop of Toledo, 1594–1598Confirmed7 competing claims1 source
  • TitleGovernor of the Spanish Netherlands, 1598–1621Confirmed7 competing claims1 source
  • Death13 Jul 1621, BrusselsProbableDisputed1 competing claim1 source
  • ParentMaria of Austria, Holy Roman EmpressConfirmed1 source
  • ParentMaximilian II, Holy Roman EmperorConfirmed1 source
  • TitlePrior of CratoConfirmed7 competing claims1 source

A life in time

  1. Born · Wiener Neustadt

    Birth, Wiener Neustadt

  2. Event · cardinal-deacon

    Event

  3. Event · viceroy of Portugal

    Event

  4. Event · Inquisidor-mor de Portugal

    Event

  5. Event · coadjutor archbishop

    Event

  6. Event · titular archbishop

    Event

  7. Event · archbishop of Toledo

    Event

  8. Event · Governor of the Spanish Netherlands

    Event

  9. Died · Brussels

    Death, Brussels

What was it like?

The world around Wiener Neustadt, 1559: who ruled, who else was alive, how people lived. This is general history, not a record about the family, and every item shows where it comes from.

Albert was Governor of the Spanish Netherlands from 1598 to 1621.

Known for

Titles held

  • cardinal-deacon1577–1598
  • viceroy of Portugal1583–1593
  • Inquisidor-mor de Portugal1586–1593
  • titular archbishop1594
  • coadjutor archbishop1594
  • archbishop of Toledo1594–1598
Fashion
Around 1525–1549

Cloth functioned as valuable currency

In the 16th century, cloth was so valuable that it was often used as a form of currency to pay workers. Because clothing was expensive, it was rarely discarded and instead circulated through society via pawning, second-hand markets, and inheritance.

Around 1525–1549

Daily versus festive peasant wear

Peasant women wore a fine linen blouse called a harbene Pfoad on feast days, but used a coarse linen blouse known as a rupferne Pfoad for everyday work. Many peasant dresses were notably shorter than town styles, frequently stopping at mid-calf to allow for easier movement.

Music
Around 1525–1549

Instruments for Civic Parties

Instruments depicted at a 1522 civic garden party included shawms, bombards, slide trumpets, lutes, flutes, bagpipes, and large drums. These ensembles were common for dance music in urban settings.

Around 1525–1549

Paying Musicians for Weddings

City wedding regulations in 1489 set specific fees for musicians, such as two guilders for brass and wind players or half a guilder for bagpipers, fiddlers, and drummers. Status often dictated which musicians could be hired for celebrations.

Getting around
Around 1525–1549

Fast travel via river boats

Travelers used rivers for faster journeys, covering up to 150 kilometers in 24 hours when moving downstream by boat.

Around 1525–1549

Most people traveled on foot daily

Most people traveled on foot, covering between 20 and 40 kilometers per day.

Daily life
Around 1525–1549

Dark and smoky homes

Homes were dark, cold, and smoky, often featuring very small windows that provided little daylight and lacking chimneys for the open fires used for cooking.

Around 1525–1549

Fetching water daily

Water was scarce and had to be fetched from distant public fountains or wells, as only few houses had their own water supply.

Food
Around 1525–1549

Common beverages of the period

Beer was the common daily drink, having completely replaced mead in many areas by 1500, while apple and pear cider (Most) was also traditional. Wine was typically reserved for the upper classes and official gatherings.

Around 1525–1549

Staple diet of ordinary people

Ordinary families relied on staples like soup, porridge (made from oats, barley, or legumes), cabbage, turnips, and bread. Meat was a luxury for commoners, reserved primarily for festive occasions like the slaughtering of pigs or geese.

Prices and wages
Around 1549–1549

Vienna wages and food prices in 1549

By 1549, the daily wage for a worker in Vienna was 6 Kreuzer, with bread costing 0.67 Kreuzer per kilogram and beef costing 2.68 Kreuzer per kilogram.

Around 1525–1549

Vienna day laborer wages, 1525–1549

In 1525, a daily laborer in Vienna earned 6.83 Kreuzer per day. By 1549, this wage had decreased to 6.00 Kreuzer per day.

Work
Around 1525–1549

Daily Distances Covered by Messengers

Foot messengers typically traveled 25 to 40 kilometres a day, while elite runners could cover over 60 kilometres in the same time.

Around 1525–1549

Difficult Working Conditions for Miners

Miners in the community of Schwaz, Tyrol, faced hazardous working conditions, irregular wage payments, and were forced to buy everyday goods at high prices.

News and letters
Around 1525–1549

Communication via Traveling Pedlars

Most ordinary people relied on oral communication carried by pedlars, students, and journeymen, who were known as the legs of the community.

Around 1525–1549

Rapid Mail Delivery Times

Using relay stations where horses and riders were changed, messages could travel from Innsbruck to Brussels in five and a half days, and from Tyrol to Rome in four days.

During their lifetime

  1. 1563

    Textile trade embargo disrupts industry

    A government embargo on English cloth and wool imports in November 1563 severely disrupted the textile industry in Flanders and Holland.

  2. 1564

    Extreme winter freezes local rivers

    An exceptionally harsh winter caused the Scheldt river at Antwerp to freeze solid by December 25, 1564.

  3. 1565

    Danube River permanently changes course near Vienna

    Between 1565 and 1571, severe ice jams and floods caused the Danube to permanently relocate its main current to the northern Wolf arm, radically altering the landscape near Vienna.

  4. 1565

    Grain export ban causes panic

    Following a poor harvest, the government banned grain exports in September 1565, causing panic buying and soaring food prices.

  5. 1571

    Deadly plague epidemic strikes Antwerp

    A severe plague outbreak in 1571 killed approximately 1,700 people in Antwerp in September alone, hitting children particularly hard.

  6. 1573

    Ban on Croatian settlers in Lower Austria

    In 1573, a general mandate was issued that prohibited any further settlement of Croatian colonists in Lower Austria.

Family

Parents

Spouses

Ancestors and children

Open the full tree

Four generations back to the right, the children to the left. The number beside a child counts the generations of descendants known after them.