Germany: Icon of Matthias (1557-1619), 34th Holy Roman emperor, from the book Icones imperatorvm romanorvm (Icons of Roman Emperors), Antwerp, c. 1645

Matthias (1557-1619) was the son of Emperor Maximilian II and younger brother of Emperor Rudolf II. He married his cousin, Archduchess Anna of Austria, becoming successor to his uncle, Archduke Ferdinand II. He was invited to the Netherlands by the rebellious provinces and offered the position of Governor-General in 1578, which he accepted despite the protestations of his uncle, King Philip II of Spain.

Matthias helped to set down the rules for religious peace and freedom of religion, and only returned home in 1581 after the Netherlands deposed Philip II to become fully independent. He became governor of Austria in 1593 by his brother Rudolf's appointment. He forced his brother to allow him to negotiate with the Hungarian revolts of 1605, resulting in the Peace of Vienna in 1606. He then forced his brother to yield to him the crowns of Hungary, Austria and Moravia in 1608, and then making him cede the Bohemian throne in 1611. By then Matthias had imprisoned his brother, where he remained till his death in 1612.

After Rudolf's death, Matthias ascended to Holy Roman emperor, and had to juggle between appeasing both the Catholic and Protestant states within the Holy Roman Empire, hoping to reach a compromise and strengthen the empire. The Bohemian Protestant revolt of 1618 provoked his strongly Catholic brother Maximilian III to imprison Matthias' advisors and take control of the empire, Matthias being too old and ailing to stop him. Matthias died a year later in 1619.

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