The House of Habsburg

Habsburg Castle was built sometime in the 10th Century, and remained a rather unimportant entity for the next 200 years. This changed in the 12th Century when the Habsburgs began to rapidly gain lands in the Alps, making them one of the most powerful families there by 1218. During the rest of the 13th Century, they spread farther still, culminating in the inheritance of Austria and Styria in 1278. This collection of territories would expand farther still during the 14 Century, making the Habsburg one of the most influential families in the whole Holy Roman Empire. After a brief period of division, their influence would expand beyond the Imperial frontier into the Netherlands in 1477, Iberia in 1516, and Hungary-Bohemia in 1526. By now, the Habsburgs were an unparalleled European power, although the realm was split in 1556 into a Spanish and Austrian circle, after which a period of decline ensued. A revival for the Austrian branch began in 1683 when the Ottomans began to fall back away from Hungary during the Great Turkish War, but Spain continued to decline and fell out of Habsburg control entirely in the early 18th Century, with many former possessions passing to the Austrian branch. The borders would continue to shift in the 18th Century, as Austria lost Silesia in 1742 at the hands of Prussia, but gained Galicia and Little Poland during the Polish Partitions. After more brief losses during the Napoleonic Wars, the Habsburgs emerged in a strong position in 1815 with various branches penetrating deep into Italy. The 19th Century was mostly peaceful, with the exception of the loss of their Italian territories and the gain of Bosnia-Herzegovina. During the First World War, their dominions began to unravel, and the state collapsed in 1919, ending all Habsburg territorial sovereignty.

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This video is the Fan Suggestion for December 2015, suggested by justin Bridges

Previous winners:
November 2015: Rise and Fall of the Russian Empire, suggested by GalacticPenguinTV
October 2015: The Great Turkish War, suggested by Kaiser Franz Josef I

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Music: Antti Martikainen - Treacherous Waters