House of Habsburg (en), Haus Habsburg (de), Maison de Habsbourg (fr), Casa d'Asburgo (it), Casa de Habsburgo (es)
Definitions
en
The House of Habsburg, also known as the House of Austria, is one of the most prominent and important dynasties in European
history. It takes its name from Habsburg Castle, a fortress built in the 1020s in present-day Switzerland by Radbot of Klettgau,
who named his fortress Habsburg. His grandson Otto II was the first to take the fortress name as his own, adding "Count of
Habsburg" to his title. In 1273, Count Radbot's seventh-generation descendant, Rudolph of Habsburg, was elected King of the
Romans. Taking advantage of the extinction of the Babenbergs and of his victory over Ottokar II of Bohemia at the battle on
the Marchfeld in 1278, he appointed his sons as Dukes of Austria and moved the family's power base to Vienna, where the Habsburg
dynasty gained the name of "House of Austria" and ruled until 1918.