ALBERTO I (ALBRECHT), king of GERMANIA and duke of AUSTRIA. – Born around 1248, eldest son of Rodolfo I d'Asburgo. A strong and warlike man, an excellent administrator, he soon succeeded, both as duke in Austria (from 1282) and as king in Germany (from 1298), in asserting the rights of the crown against the many feudal lords, great and small, lay and ecclesiastical. His figure, portrayed with vested interests by the chroniclers according to their respective parties, is still disputed in certain respects today.
His personal life is above suspicion; he lived in a happy marriage and had twenty-one children. In Austria, where he inaugurated the centuries-long rule of the house of Austria, he had to overcome considerable difficulties after a long interregnum and the previous disputes among the claimants; he reformed the administration, restored the rights of the duke, and suppressed the nobles’ aspirations. In Germany, opposed by five electors (1298) to King Adolfo di Nassau, he defeated him at Göllheim and was unanimously re-elected. Bonifacio VIII recognized him only in 1303. A. fought, in favor of the free cities along the Rhine, the electors who dominated these regions. He also reaffirmed in Germany the sovereign rights against the manifold claims of the lords. He died, assassinated by his nephew Giovanni, known as the Parricide, in 1308.