HAPSBURG, HOUSE OF

One of the major ruling houses of Europe whose history dates back to the 11th century. Their name derives from the Habichtsburg Castle in the former Duchy of Swabia, now Switzerland, where the family originated. In 1273, the Hapsburgs attained imperial power when Rudolf I was elected king of Germany. By the 15th century, marriage alliances expanded the Hapsburg's monarchic rule to Austria, Spain, Portugal, the Low Countries, and Southern Italy. In 1521, EmperorCharles Vsplit the Hapsburg empire into two, giving his brother Ferdinand I his Austrian dominion. The rest went to his son and successor, KingPhilip IIof Spain.Titian, Pieter Coecke, Bernard van Orley, El Greco, Juan Fernández de Navarrete, Alonso Sánchez Coello, Diego Velázquez, andPeter Paul Rubensare among the artists who benefited from Hapsburg patronage.