Ep. 203: Early Habsburgs – From Rudolf I to Albrecht the Wise
History of the Germans
Dirk Hoffmann-Becking
4.9 • 550 Ratings
🗓️ 21 August 2025
⏱️ 25 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Habsburg dynasty, originating from Radobot’s castle in 11th-century Switzerland, rose from obscurity to European prominence. In 1273 Rudolf of Habsburg was elected King of the Romans. Far from the later myth of a poor, humble count, Rudolf was wealthy, shrewd, and ruthless. He expanded his family’s holdings through inheritance, war, and diplomacy, eventually securing Austria and Styria after defeating Ottokar II of Bohemia—an acquisition that became the dynasty’s heartland.
Rudolf’s hopes to found a hereditary imperial dynasty failed, and his son Albrecht I was murdered in 1308. For decades, the Habsburgs teetered on decline. Friedrich “the Handsome” briefly contended for the throne but left little mark. His brother Albrecht II “the Wise” revived the family, gaining Carinthia and Carniola in 1335 and shifting focus to Austria. Near extinction due to lack of heirs, the dynasty was saved when Albrecht’s wife Joan miraculously bore sons, including Rudolf IV, who would secure the Habsburg future.
The music for the show is Flute Sonata in E-flat major, H.545 by Carl Phillip Emmanuel Bach (or some claim it as BWV 1031 Johann Sebastian Bach) performed and arranged by Michel Rondeau under Common Creative Licence 3.0.
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To make it easier for you to share the podcast, I have created separate playlists for some of the seasons that are set up as individual podcasts. they have the exact same episodes as in the History of the Germans, but they may be a helpful device for those who want to concentrate on only one season.
So far I have:
Salian Emperors and Investiture Controversy
Fredrick Barbarossa and Early Hohenstaufen
The Holy Roman Empire 1250-1356
The Reformation before the Reformation
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to the History of the Germans, Episode 203, from Rudolf |
| 0:08.2 | the First to Albrecht the Wise, 1273 to 1358, which is also the opener for season |
| 0:14.6 | 11, the fall and rise of the House of Habsburg. |
| 0:19.6 | In the small town of Muri, about halfway between Zurich and Lucerne, stands a grand Baroque Abbey. |
| 0:25.6 | And when I say grand, I mean seriously grand. |
| 0:28.6 | St. Blasian kind of grand. |
| 0:30.6 | Its central dome is to this day the largest such structure in Switzerland, and its interior, |
| 0:36.6 | created between 1743 and 1750, is a perfect |
| 0:40.1 | example of the Rococo style. If, like me, you always associated Switzerland with Calvinism |
| 0:46.2 | and its abhorrence of decoration, such a structure may come as a surprise. An interior thronging |
| 0:53.1 | with naked puttoes, holding up coats of arms whilst playing |
| 0:56.1 | wind instruments is something you're more likely to associate with Bavaria or Austria. And with |
| 1:02.9 | Austria you may not be far off the mark. To the right of the main altar, facing the chancel |
| 1:09.2 | you see two kneeling figures, a man |
| 1:11.3 | and a woman. Above it it reads, obviously in Latin, quote. In this basilica lies Radebot, |
| 1:18.5 | the first Count of Habsburg and his wife Iter, the Duchess of Lorraine and founder of this |
| 1:23.1 | monastery, as well as their son, Adrad their daughter Rietjezer and several others. |
| 1:29.8 | As always with the Habsburgs, there is a debate whether these people were indeed buried there, |
| 1:34.6 | whether it was Eater or Radibot's brother Werner who had founded the monastery, whether |
| 1:39.0 | Ita was indeed a daughter of the Duke of Lorraine and so forth and so forth. |
| 1:43.7 | What is fact is that Radabot built a castle, known as the castle of the Hawke, above the |
| 1:48.8 | nearby city of Brug, in around 1030. |
... |
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