Set of silver medals Age of Rudolf II. 2009 Proof

RAZITKO_POSTOVNE_ZDARMA_NENI

The obverses of the medals are dedicated to the following personalities of the Rudolphine period:
Thaddeus of Hajek, Tycho de Brahe, Yehuda Löw Ben Bezalel and Johannes Kepler.
The reverse of the medals is the same for all four, depicting a portrait of Rudolf II.

Rudolf II. Habsburg

Rudolf II. Habsburg (18 July 1552, Vienna - 20 January 1612, Prague) was a Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, Hungary and Croatia. He was the son of Emperor Maximilian II and Maria of Spain. His parents were cousins, Rudolf's grandfathers were brothers.

He was born in Vienna as the third offspring of the Infanta Maria, daughter of Charles V and Emperor Maximilian, son of King Ferdinand I. Together with his brother Matthias, he was brought up by his uncle Philip II of Spain. This environment laid the foundations for his interest in art, but also for his psychological difficulties, as the strictly Catholic Spain and the family relations were a great burden for the future emperor.

In 1572 Rudolf became King of Hungary and in 1575 King of Bohemia and Rome. Thus irrevocably ended the time of his youth. He soon moved from Vienna to Prague and pursued his artistic activities to the full. Thanks to Rudolf, Prague became a cultural centre of European importance, and artists, scientists, and impostors from all corners of the world flocked to the imperial court. The Emperor was also interested in science, especially astronomy, mathematics, physics and chemistry. Black magic and witchcraft were also of interest to him.

By moving his court from Vienna to Prague, Emperor Rudolf II restored the splendour and importance of Prague for a time. Bohemia became the centre of his empire. Rudolf II became known primarily as a patron, collector, a fan of astronomy, alchemy and astrology, but also as a strange man, whose fits of rage alternated with deep apathy. The Hungarian magnates took advantage of this situation and formed an alliance with them against the Habsburgs. After one of their defeats, the Hungarians won religious and political freedom with the Treaty of Vienna.Although Rudolf was defeated, he refused to sign the treaty and recognize its validity.