German Kings and Holy Roman Emperors

This list begins with Karl/Charles the Great, also known as Charlemagne. He was the ruler of the Frankish Kingdom the 9th century, which was at the time comprised of France, western Germany, and northern Italy (see Kings of the Franks). In the year 800 the Pope Leo III decided that Charlemagne should be declared the Roman Emperor (Latin Romanorum Gubernans Imperium "governing the Empire of the Romans"). His son Ludwig/Louis also became Emperor, but following Ludwig's death the Frankish Kingdom was split between his sons, the forerunners of the kings of Germany, France, Italy and Burgundy, and the title was granted to various people. However, starting with Otto the Great in 962, the Emperor (if there was one) was always the person who was the king of Germany. Crowned by the pope, the Holy Roman Emperor was thought of as the ruler of all of Christendom.

Beginning in the 10th century, the German king was elected by the dukes, the leaders of the duchies that made up the realm. These duchies were semi-sovereign and often acted independently, though theoretically they were under the command of the king/Emperor.

After Friedrich III all of the kings of Germany and the Holy Roman Emperors were from the Habsburg family, with the exception of one. The Habsburgs personally possessed extensive territories in Austria, and later in Bohemia, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands. By this time the Emperors were no longer crowned by the popes. The last Holy Roman Emperor was removed by Napoleon in 1806.

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NameYearsOther Names
Karl I the Great800-814(Charlemagne)
Ludwig I the Pious813-840(Louis)
Lothar I817-855(Lothair)
Ludwig II the Younger844-875
Karl II the Bald875-877(Charles)
Karl III the Fat876-887(Charles)
Arnulf of Carinthia887-899
Ludwig III the Child900-911(Louis)
Konrad I of Franconia911-918(Conrad)
Heinrich I the Fowler919-936(Henry)
Otto I the Great936-973
Otto II the Red961-983
Otto III983-1002
Heinrich II1002-1024(Henry)
Konrad II1024-1039(Conrad)
Heinrich III1028-1056(Henry)
Heinrich IV1054-1105(Henry)
Heinrich V1099-1125(Henry)
Lothar III of Saxony1125-1137(Lothair)
Konrad III1138-1152(Conrad)
Friedrich I Barbarossa1152-1190(Frederick)
Heinrich VI1169-1197(Henry)
Philipp of Swabia1198-1208(Philip)
Otto IV1198-1215
Friedrich II1212-1250(Frederick)
Konrad IV1237-1254(Conrad)
William of Holland1247-1256
Richard of Cornwall1257-1272
Alfonso of Castile1257-1273
Rudolf I1273-1291(Rudolph)
Adolf of Nassau1292-1298(Adolph)
Albrecht I1298-1308(Albert)
Heinrich VII1308-1313(Henry)
Ludwig IV1314-1347(Louis)
Karl IV1346-1378(Charles, Wenceslaus)
Wenzel1376-1400(Wenceslas, Wenceslaus)
Ruprecht1400-1410(Rupert)
Sigismund1410-1437
Albrecht II the Magnanimous1438-1439(Albert)
Friedrich III1440-1493(Frederick)
Maximilian I1486-1519
Karl V1519-1556(Charles)
Ferdinand I1531-1564
Maximilian II1562-1576
Rudolf II1575-1612(Rudolph)
Matthias1612-1619
Ferdinand II1619-1637
Ferdinand III1636-1657
Leopold I1658-1705(Ignaz, Joseph, Balthasar, Franz, Felician)
Joseph I1690-1711(Jacob, Ignaz, Johann, Anton, Eustachius)
Karl VI1711-1740(Charles, Franz, Joseph, Wenzel, Balthasar, Johann, Anton, Ignaz)
Karl VII Albrecht1742-1745(Charles, Albert)
Franz I1745-1765(Francis)
Joseph II1764-1790(Josef, Benedikt, Anton, Michael, Adam)
Leopold II1790-1792
Franz II1792-1806(Francis, Josef, Karl)