Eleonore of Austria, Queen of Poland

Queen of Poland (1670–1673), Duchess of Lorraine (1678–1690)

Eleonore of Austria

Portrait by Charles Brendel, 1684

Queen consort of Poland
Grand Duchess consort of Lithuania
Tenure| 27 February 1670 – 10 November 1673
Coronation| 29 September 1670
St John's church
Duchess consort of Lorraine
Tenure| 6 February 1678 – 18 April 1690

Born| (1653-05-21)21 May 1653
Free Imperial City of Regensburg, Holy Roman Empire
Died| 17 December 1697(1697-12-17) (aged 44)
Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, Holy Roman Empire
Burial|

Imperial Crypt, Vienna

Spouse|

Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki

(m. 1670; died 1673)​

Charles V, Duke of Lorraine

(m. 1678; died 1690)​

Issue
Detail|

* Leopold, Duke of Lorraine
* Charles Joseph, Bishop of Olomouc

| Names

* English: Eleanor Mary Josepha
* Polish: Eleonora Maria Józefa
* French: Éléonore Marie Josèphe
* Lithuanian: Eleonora Marija Habsburgaitė

House| Habsburg
Father| Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor
Mother| Eleanora Gonzaga

Eleonore Maria Josefa of Austria (21 May 1653 – 17 December 1697) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania by marriage to King Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki (Michael I), and subsequently Duchess of Lorraine by her second marriage to Charles V, Duke of Lorraine. She acted as nominal regent of the Duchy of Lorraine during the minority of her son between 1690 and 1697.

## Life

[edit]

Born in Regensburg, Eleonore was the daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III and his wife, Eleonora of Mantua. Not much is known about her childhood. She was given a good education, and could speak both French and Italian.

### Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania

[edit]

Eleonore married King-Grand Duke Michael Korybut Wiśniowiecki, king of Poland and grand duke of Lithuania, on 27 February 1670 in the Jasna Góra Monastery.[1]

The marriage was suggested by the Polish envoy Andrzej Olszowski in November 1669 in order to form an alliance with the Habsburg dynasty through marriage, since the opposition to Michael Korybut Wiśniowiecki was backed by the pro-French faction.

The relationship between Eleonore and Michael was described as a harmonious friendship. They had one stillborn son on 29 November 1670. In 1671, she had a miscarriage. The pro-French opposition to Michael spread rumors that he was homosexual or impotent and that he forced her to fake pregnancies, but this is not considered likely. The pro-French opposition party under the leadership of John III Sobieski and Mikołaj Prażmowski attempted to convince her to divorce, but she refused and instead demonstrated loyalty toward the king.[2][3]

Queen and Grand Duchess Eleonore was regarded as an ideal model of a good, supportive and loyal spouse. She learned Polish, although she preferred Latin, and accompanied Michael on his official journeys around the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. She was guided in her role as queen-grand duchess by her lady-in-waiting Klara Izabella Pacowa, who became her influential favorite.

The conflict between the supporters of King-Grand Duke Michael and the opposition party resulted in such a conflict that there was a fear of civil war in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In February 1672, the queen was asked to act as a mediator between King-Grand Duke Michael and the opposition leader John III Sobieski during the 1672 Sejm.[2][3] She accepted the assignment and entered negotiations assisted by the papal nuncio Franciszek Buonvisim, the bishop of Kraków, Andrzej Trzebicki, and the voivode of Vitebsk Jan Antoni Chrapowicki.[2][3] Eleonore succeeded in convincing the opposition to acknowledge the election victory of King Michael in exchange for amnesty for the opposition.[2][3]

King and Grand Duke Michael died on 10 November 1673.[4] She remained in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth for a couple of years after his death.

### Duchess of Lorraine

[edit]

Eleonore initially stayed in Poland in her dowager seat at Toruń. It was suggested by the Habsburgs that she marry Charles V of Lorraine, who was then to be elected king of Poland and grand duke of Lithuania as the Habsburg candidate, benefitted by the popularity Eleonore enjoyed in Poland. Instead, however, the French opposition party won the 1674 Polish–Lithuanian royal election under the leadership of John III Sobieski. In the spring of 1675, Eleonore departed Poland for Vienna.

Eleonore married Charles V of Lorraine on 4 February 1678 in Wiener Neustadt, Austria.[5] Since the Duchy of Lorraine was under French occupation, the couple resided in Innsbruck, in the County of Tyrol. They were the parents of six children. She passed to her heirs the inheritance of the Gonzagas of Mantua.

When she married Charles, there were fears in the Commonwealth that she was planning to overthrow King and Grand Duke John III Sobieski and install her own spouse as a ruler.[2][3] Eleonora did keep in contact with pro-Habsburg Polish magnates such as Dymitr Jerzy Wiśniowiecki, Kalisz Voivode and Jan Karol Opaliński, but no such plan was ever realised.[2][3]

When she was widowed in 1690, the title Duke of Lorraine and the right to the Duchy of Lorraine was inherited by her eldest son Leopold. Since Leopold was eleven years old, Eleonore became nominal regent during his minority. As his regent, she worked to end the French occupation of Lorraine and restore the duchy's independence. Her goal was reached when the Duchy of Lorraine was restored at the Peace of Ryswick in 1697. She died not long after.

Eleonore died at the age of 44, having outlived both of her husbands and two of her children.

Sarcophagus of Eleonore of Austria: Kapuzinergruft, Vienna, Austria

## Issue

[edit]

* Leopold, Duke of Lorraine (1679–1729)
* Charles Joseph of Lorraine (1680–1715)
* Eleanor of Lorraine (1682)
* Charles Ferdinand of Lorraine (1683–1685)
* Joseph Innocent Emanuel of Lorraine (1685–1705)
* Francis Anton Joseph of Lorraine (1689–1715)

## Ancestry

[edit]

Ancestors of Eleonore of Austria, Queen of Poland

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 8\. Charles II of Austria[8]

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

| 4\. Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor[6]|

|  |  |
| 9\. Maria Anna of Bavaria[8]

| 2\. Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor|

|  |  |  |  |
| 10\. William V, Duke of Bavaria[9]

| 5\. Maria Anna of Bavaria[6]|

|  |  |
| 11\. Renata of Lorraine[9]

| 1\. Eleonore of Austria|
|  |  |  |  |  |  |
| 12\. Charles I, Duke of Mantua[10]

| 6\. Charles II Gonzaga[7]|

|  |  |
| 13\. Catherine of Mayenne[10]

| 3\. Eleanor Gonzaga|

|  |  |  |  |
| 14\. Francesco IV Gonzaga[11]

| 7\. Maria Gonzaga[7]|

|  |  |
| 15\. Margaret of Savoy[11]

|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

## See also

[edit]

* Częstochowa

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Davies 1982, p. 398, 471.
2. ^ a b c d e f Kamecka – Skrajna M., Królowa Eleonora Maria Józefa Wiśniowiecka (1653–1697), Toruń 2007.
3. ^ a b c d e f "Eleonora Maria Wiśniowiecka – "sympatyczna Habsburżanka" | HISTORIA.org.pl - historia, kultura, muzea, matura, rekonstrukcje i recenzje historyczne". 31 May 2016. Archived from the original on 18 December 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
4. ^ Davies 1982, p. 472.
5. ^ Lipp 2011, p. 82.
6. ^ a b Eder, Karl (1961), "Ferdinand III.", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 5, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 85–8685-86&rft.pub=Duncker+&+Humblot&rft.date=1961&rft.au=Eder,+Karl&rft_id=https://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/0001/bsb00016321/images/index.html?seite=101&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Eleonore+of+Austria,+Queen+of+Poland" class="Z3988">; (full text online)
7. ^ a b "Gonzaga, Eleonora II (1628–1686)". Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Gale Research. 2002. Archived from the original on 3 January 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
8. ^ a b Eder, Karl (1961), "Ferdinand II.", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 5, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 83–8583-85&rft.pub=Duncker+&+Humblot&rft.date=1961&rft.au=Eder,+Karl&rft_id=https://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/0001/bsb00016321/images/index.html?seite=99&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Eleonore+of+Austria,+Queen+of+Poland" class="Z3988">; (full text online)
9. ^ a b Wurzbach, Constantin von, ed. (1861). "Habsburg, Maria Anna von Bayern" . Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich [Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire] (in German). Vol. 7\. p. 23 - via Wikisource.
10. ^ a b "GONZAGA: LINEA SOVRANA DI MANTOVA". Enciclopedia genealogica del Mediterraneo (in Italian). Società Genealogica Italiana [Italian Genealogical Society]. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
11. ^ a b "Gonzaga, Maria (1609–1660)". Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Gale Research. 2002. Archived from the original on 8 May 2023. Retrieved 28 August 2018.

## Sources

[edit]

* Davies, Norman (1982). God's Playground:A History of Poland. Vol. I. Columbia University Press.
* Lipp, Charles T. (2011). Noble Strategies in an Early Modern Small State: The Mahuet of Lorraine. University of Rochester Press.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eleonora Maria Josefa of Austria.

Eleonore of Austria, Queen of Poland

House of Habsburg

Born: 31 May 1653 Died: 17 Dec 1697

Royal titles
Vacant

Title last held by

Marie Louise Gonzaga |  Queen consort of Poland
Grand Duchess consort of Lithuania
1670–1673  | Vacant

Title next held by

Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien
Vacant

Title last held by

Marie Louise d'Aspremont |  Duchess consort of Lorraine
1678–1690  | Vacant

Title next held by

Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans

* v
* t
* e

Austrian archduchesses by descent

Generations are numbered by male-line descent from Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor. Later generations are included although Austrian titles of nobility were abolished and outlawed in 1919.

1st generation|

* Kunigunde, Duchess of Bavaria

2nd generation|

* Margaret, Duchess of Savoy

3rd generation|

* Eleanor, Queen of Portugal and France*
* Isabella, Queen of Denmark and Norway*
* Maria, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia*
* Catherine, Queen of Portugal*

4th generation|

* Maria, Holy Roman Empress*
* Joanna, Princess of Portugal*
* Elisabeth, Queen of Poland
* Anna, Duchess of Bavaria
* Maria, Duchess of Jülich-Cleves-Berg
* Magdalena
* Catherine, Queen of Poland
* Eleanor, Duchess of Mantua
* Margaret
* Barbara, Duchess of Ferrara
* Helena
* Joanna, Grand Duchess of Tuscany

5th generation|

* Isabella Clara Eugenia, Co-sovereign of the Habsburg Netherlands**
* Catalina Micaela, Duchess of Savoy**
* Anna, Queen of Spain
* Elisabeth, Queen of France
* Margaret (1567–1633)
* Maria (1584–1649)
* Anna, Holy Roman Empress
* Anna, Queen of Poland
* Maria Christina, Princess of Transylvania
* Catherine Renata
* Gregoria Maximiliana
* Eleanor (1582–1620)
* Margaret, Queen of Spain
* Constance, Queen of Poland
* Maria Maddalena, Grand Duchess of Tuscany

6th generation|

* Anna, Queen of France**
* María**
* Maria Anna, Holy Roman Empress**
* Margarita**
* Maria Anna, Electress of Bavaria
* Cecilia Renata, Queen of Poland
* Isabella Clara, Duchess of Mantua
* Maria Leopoldine, Holy Roman Empress

7th generation|

* Maria Theresa, Queen of France**
* Margarita Teresa, Holy Roman Empress*
* Maria Anna, Queen of Spain
* Eleanor, Queen of Poland, Duchess of Lorraine
* Maria Anna Josepha, Electoral Princess of the Palatinate
* Claudia Felicitas, Holy Roman Empress

8th generation|

* Maria Antonia, Electress of Bavaria
* Maria Elisabeth
* Maria Anna, Queen of Portugal
* Maria Theresa
* Maria Josepha
* Maria Magdalena

9th generation|

* Maria Josepha, Queen of Poland
* Maria Amalia, Holy Roman Empress
* Maria Theresa
* Princess Maria Anna of Lorraine

10th generation|

* Maria Elisabeth^
* Maria Anna^
* Maria Carolina^
* Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen^
* Maria Elisabeth^
* Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma^
* Johanna^
* Maria Josepha^
* Maria Carolina, Queen of Naples^
* Maria Antonia, Queen of France^

11th generation|

* Maria Theresa
* Maria Theresia, Queen of Saxony^
* Maria Anna^
* Maria Clementina, Duchess of Calabria^
* Maria Amalia^
* Maria Theresa, Queen of Sardinia#
* Maria Leopoldine, Electress of Bavaria#
* Maria Ludovika, Empress of Austria#

12th generation|

* Marie Louise, Empress of the French
* Maria Leopoldina, Empress of Brazil
* Clementina, Princess of Salerno
* Marie Caroline, Crown Princess of Saxony
* Maria Anna
* Maria Luisa^
* Maria Theresa, Queen of Sardinia^
* Maria Theresa, Queen of the Two Sicilies
* Maria Caroline
* Hermine
* Elisabeth Franziska
* Marie Henriette, Queen of the Belgians
* Adelaide, Queen of Sardinia
* Maria Theresa, Countess of Chambord#
* Maria Beatrix, Countess of Montizón#

13th generation|

* Maria Anna
* Princess Auguste Ferdinande of Bavaria^
* Maria Isabella, Countess of Trapani^
* Maria Luisa, Princess of Isenburg-Büdingen^
* Mathilda
* Maria Christina, Queen of Spain
* Maria Dorothea, Duchess of Orléans
* Margaretha Klementine, Princess of Thurn and Taxis
* Maria Theresa, Queen of Bavaria#

14th generation|

* Sophie
* Princess Gisela of Bavaria
* Marie Valerie
* Margarete Sophie, Duchess of Württemberg
* Maria Annunciata
* Princess Elisabeth of Liechtenstein
* Maria Antonietta^
* Luise, Crown Princess of Saxony^
* Maria Theresa^
* Princess Karoline Marie of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha^
* Princess Maria Christina of Salm-Salm
* Princess Maria Anna of Bourbon Parma
* Maria Henrietta, Princess of Hohenlohe-Waldenburg-Schillingsfürst
* Princess Isabella of Bavaria
* Eleonora
* Renata, Princess Radziwill
* Mechthildis, Princess Czartoryski

15th generation|

* Elisabeth Marie, Princess of Windisch-Graetz
* Helena, Duchess of Württemberg^
* Rosa, Duchess of Württemberg^
* Dolores^
* Maria Inmaculata^
* Margarita, Marchioness Taliani di Marchio^
* Princess Maria Antonia^
* Assunta^
* Elisabeth, Countess of Waldburg-Zeil^
* Hedwig, Countess of Stolberg-Stolberg^
* Margaret, Princess of Monteleone
* Ilona, Duchess of Mecklenburg

16th generation|

* Adelheid
* Charlotte, Duchess of Mecklenburg
* Princess Elisabeth of Liechtenstein

17th generation|

* Gabriela
* Walburga, Countess Douglas
* Maria-Anna, Princess Piotr Galitzine
* Sophie, Princess of Windisch-Graetz

18th generation|

* Eleonore

* * also an infanta of Spain
* ** also an infanta of Spain and Portugal
* ^ also a princess of Tuscany
* # also a princess of Modena

* v
* t
* e

Royal consorts of Poland

Piast dynasty|

* Doubravka of Bohemia
* Oda of Haldensleben
* Emnilda
* Oda of Meissen
* Richeza of Lotharingia
* Maria Dobroniega of Kiev
* Wyszesława of Kiev
* Judith of Bohemia
* Judith of Swabia
* Zbyslava of Kiev
* Salomea of Berg

Fragmentation
period|

* Agnes of Babenberg
* Viacheslava of Novgorod
* Maria
* Eudoxia of Kiev
* Helena of Znojmo
* Lucia of Rügen
* Grzymisława of Łuck
* Ludmila
* Agafia of Rus
* Hedwig of Silesia
* Anne of Bohemia
* Kinga of Poland
* Gryfina of Halych
* Matilda of Brandenburg
* Richeza of Sweden
* Margaret of Brandenburg

Přemyslid dynasty|

* Judith of Habsburg
* Elizabeth Richeza of Poland
* Viola of Teschen

Restored Piast dynasty|

* Jadwiga of Kalisz
* Aldona of Lithuania
* Adelaide of Hesse
* Hedwig of Sagan

Capet-Anjou dynasty|

* Elizabeth of Bosnia

Jagiellonian dynasty|

* Anna of Cilli
* Elizabeth Granowska
* Sophia of Halshany
* Elizabeth of Austria
* Helena of Moscow
* Barbara Zápolya
* Bona Sforza
* Elizabeth of Austria
* Barbara Radziwiłł
* Catherine of Austria

Elective monarchy|

* Louise of Lorraine
* Anne of Austria
* Constance of Austria
* Cecilia Renata of Austria
* Marie Louise Gonzaga
* Eleonore of Austria
* Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien
* Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
* Catherine Opalińska
* Maria Josepha of Austria

* v
* t
* e

Royal consorts of Lithuania

Kingdom of Lithuania|

| House of Mindaugas (1236–1263)|

* Morta

|

Grand Duchy of Lithuania|

| House of Gediminids (1285–1440)|

* Jaunė
* Maria of Vitebsk
* Uliana of Tver
* Jadwiga of Poland
* Birutė
* Anna
* Uliana Olshanska
* Anna of Tver

|

House of Jagiellon (1440–1569)|

* Elizabeth of Austria
* Helena of Moscow
* Barbara Zápolya
* Bona Sforza
* Elizabeth of Austria
* Barbara Radziwiłł
* Catherine of Austria

Polish–Lithuanian
Commonwealth|

| Elected (1569–1795)|

* Louise of Lorraine
* Anne of Austria
* Constance of Austria
* Cecilia Renata of Austria
* Marie Louise Gonzaga
* Eleonore of Austria
* Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d'Arquien
* Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
* Catherine Opalińska
* Maria Josepha of Austria

|

* v
* t
* e

Princesses of Lorraine by marriage

Generations start with the daughters-in-law of Réné II

1st generation|

* Antoinette of Bourbon

2nd generation|

* Princess Christina of Denmark
* Anna d'Este

3rd generation|

* Princess Claude of France
* Catherine of Cleves

4th generation|

* Princess Catherine of Navarre
* Margherita Gonzaga
* Christina of Salm
* Catherine Henriette de Bourbon, Légitimée de France
* Marguerite-Philippe du Cambout
* Marie de Rohan
* Henriette Catherine de Joyeuse

5th generation|

* Nicole de Lorraine*
* Béatrice de Cusance
* Claude-Françoise of Lorraine*

6th generation|

* Eleonore of Austria, Queen of Poland
* Élisabeth Marguerite d'Orléans

7th generation|

* Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans

8th generation|

* Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria
* Marie Louise de Rohan

*also a princess of Lorraine in her own right

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* FAST
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* Czech Republic
* Poland

People|

* Deutsche Biographie
* DDB

Other|

* RISM

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