House of Habsburg (Principia Moderni III Map Game)

The House of Habsburg, also spelled Hapsburg, is one of the most important royal houses of Europe. The throne of the Holy Roman Empire is currently ruled by the House of Habsburg, beginning in 1410 with the election of Albert II of Germany. The house also produced kings of Bohemia, as well as rulers of other German and Italian countries.

The House takes its name from Habsburg Castle, a fortress built in the 1020's by Count Radbot of Klettgau, who chose to name 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. The House of Habsburg gathered dynastic momentum through the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries.

By 1276, Count Radbot's seventh generation descendant, Rudolph of Habsburg, had moved the family's power base from Habsburg Castle to the Duchy of Austria. Rudolph had become King of Germany in 1273, and the dynasty of the House of Habsburg was truly entrenched in 1276 when Rudolph became ruler of Austria, which the Habsburgs rule to the present.

A series of dynastic marriages enabled the family to vastly expand its domains, to include several kingdoms and other territories into the inheritance.