What is the significance of the Hapsburg family?
“Habsburg (commonly anglicised to “Hapsburg”) and the successor family, Habsburg-Lorraine, were important ruling houses of Europe and are best known as the ruling House of Spain, when it was the only European great power, but perhaps even more so as the ruling Houses of Austria (and the Austrian Empire and its successors) where the dynasty reigned for over six centuries.
Source: http://www.hapsburg.com/about.htm The Hapsburg (also spelled Hapsburg) family dynasty dominated central Europe for close to 700 years from the 13th to the 20th century. To put this in perspective consider that the total history of the United States of America is less than half that. As one soon finds out, comprehending all this history in one unified unit becomes a daunting task. (end source) ——– In what context springs to mind, but the general answer is above. Lest we forget that they also were the poster children for Just Say No to Papal Dispensations! Those based on consanguinity at least. Then there was the Hapsburg jaw. Charles V (if I recall correctly) once exclaimed that he did not bite after a visitor to his court was shocked by his bared teeth (result of the jaw). Mental instability was another issue.
