Ferdinand I (1503-1564) was Holy Roman emperor from 1558 until his death on July 25, 1564. The Holy Roman Empire was a German-based empire in western and central Europe. Ferdinand helped end religious conflict in the empire by legally permitting the practice of the Lutheran religion.
Ferdinand I was born on March 10, 1503, in Alcalá de Henares, Spain. He was a member of the royal Habsburg family (also spelled Hapsburg). His brother was Holy Roman emperor Charles V and King Charles I of Spain. In treaties of 1521 and 1522, Charles turned over rule of the German and Austrian possessions of the Habsburg family to Ferdinand. Ferdinand also acted as his brother’s representative in the Holy Roman Empire when Charles was occupied with governing his other territories. Those territories included Spain, the Low Countries (now most of Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands), and land in Italy and America.
In 1526, Ferdinand claimed Bohemia and Hungary after the death of their ruler, his brother-in-law. But in Hungary, some nobles supported the claims to the throne of local nobleman John Zápolya. The Ottoman Empire also tried to seize the country. By 1541, Hungary was divided into three sections, with Ferdinand in control in the northwest. Fighting between Ferdinand and the Ottomans over Hungary continued off and on until 1562.
To win Protestant support against the Ottomans, Ferdinand had begun to allow some religious freedoms in the empire. In 1555, Ferdinand negotiated the Peace of Augsburg, which gave the Lutheran religion equality with Catholicism. The agreement allowed each German prince to determine the religion of his territory.
In 1555 and 1556, Charles abdicated (gave up the throne) in all his territories. He gave up Spain, the Low Countries, and the lands in Italy and America to his son, Philip II, and the Holy Roman Empire to Ferdinand. In 1558, Ferdinand was officially crowned Holy Roman emperor.
