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.
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
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
^ ab"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.
^ ab"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.
^ ab"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
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.
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.
