Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor
Joseph II was Holy Roman Emperor from 18 August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 29 November 1780 until his death. He was the eldest son of Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor Francis I, and the brother of Marie Antoinette, Leopold II, Maria Carolina of Austria and Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma. He was thus the first ruler in the Austrian dominions of the union of the Houses of Habsburg and Lorraine, styled Habsburg-Lorraine.
The arrival of Isabella of Parma on the occasion of her wedding to Joseph II, 1760 (painting by Martin van Meytens)
Fête organized to celebrate the marriage of Emperor Joseph II to Princess Maria Josepha of Bavaria. The central figures are the three youngest siblings of Joseph, from left to right Archduke Ferdinand as the groom, Archduke Maximilian Franz as Cupid and Archduchess Marie Antoinette as the bride
Coronation of the Archduke Joseph as King of the Romans in the Imperial Cathedral of Saint Bartholomew in Frankfurt, 3 April, 1764 (painting by Martin van Meytens)
Joseph II (right) with his brother Peter Leopold (by Pompeo Batoni, 1769, Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum)
The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm, was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is also referred to as the Danubian monarchy or the Austrian monarchy.
Silver medallion depicting King Rudolf I with his sons Albert and Rudolf II at the Diet of Augsburg, which laid the foundation of the House of Habsburg. Work by Anton Scharff for the 600th anniversary of the constitution of the Erblande, 1882.
Growth of the Habsburg monarchy in central Europe
Coronation of Maria Theresa in Pressburg, Kingdom of Hungary, 1741
Europa regina, symbolizing a Habsburg-dominated Europe
