Hapsburg, or HABSBURG, * HOUSE OF, of which the imperial family of Austria are the representatives, derived its name from the castle of Habsburg, or Habichtsburg (Hawk's Castle), on the Aar, in the Swiss canton of Aargau. The castle was built by Werner, Bishop of Strasburg
(1001-29). The real founder of the family was, however, Albert, who is mentioned in the annals as Count of Hapsburg in 1153. He was appointed landgrave of Upper Alsace, lord of the Zurich hundred, and suzerain of various abbeys by the Emperor Frederick I. Under him and his son, Rudolf I., the family became one of the most powerful in Swabia, including under their rule the territories of the bishops of Constance, Strasburg, Basel, Coire, Lausanne, and those of the abbot of St Gall, with some temporal fiefs. After Rudolf's death in 1232, his sons, Albert IV. and Rudolf II., divided their father's possessions—Rudolf becoming the founder of the Hapsburg-Lauffenburg line. This line again divided into two branches, which became extinct in 1408 and 1415 respectively. Albert IV. laid the foundation of the future greatness of the House of Hapsburg. His eldest son, Rudolf III. (Rudolf I. of Austria), who succeeded him, and who was subsequently (1273) elected emperor, by appropriating the provinces which he had wrested from Ottocar of Bohemia—viz. Upper and Lower Austria, Styria, and Carniola—greatly increased the power of his family. To the family's territories were added in 1336 Carinthia, and in 1364 the Tyrol. On the death of Rudolf IV. (1365) the house divided into the Austrian and Styrian branches; but the former became extinct in 1457, whilst the latter have worn the imperial crown almost uninterruptedly down to the present time (see AUSTRIA, GERMANY, and SPAIN). Meanwhile the original family possessions were gradually absorbed by the Swiss confederated cantons (1386-1474). In 1881 the Austrians proposed to purchase the castle of Hapsburg and give it as a wedding gift to the Crown-prince of Austria; but the people of Aargau refused to hear of the sale.—Compare Prince Lichnowski, Geschichte des Hauses Hapsburg (1837); also Coxe's House of Austria (1807).