It is assumed that the ancestors of the Habsburgs descended from the Etichonid dynasty, whose history can be traced back to the 7th century. The family is named after the Frankish duke Eticho, who wielded considerable influence in Alsace and, among other things, founded the monastery of Hohenburg - still in existence today - on Mount Odilienberg (French: Mont Sainte-Odile ) for his daughter Odilia. From this Frankish lineage emerged the Eberhards, from whom Guntram the Rich descended in direct line. Under Guntram, the Habsburg family acquired extensive possessions along the Upper Rhine and rose to become important territorial princes in the region.

At the latest with the marriage of the future Emperor Maximilian I and Mary of Burgundy in 1477 who inherited the duchy as sole heiress after the sudden death of her father a conflict developed between the Habsburgs and France. Both Maximilian I and the French king Louis XI (1423–1483) laid claim to the inheritance of Charles the Bold. From this dispute, and from Maximilian I’s skillfully pursued marriage policy with Spain, emerged a long-standing Habsburg–French rivalry (1516–1756) over European hegemony.

The political decision by Frederick II of Prussia (1712–1786) to enter into a military alliance with England led to the so-called Reversal of Alliances ( Renversement des Alliances ), in which Austria formed a defensive alliance with its former rival France. During the Seven Years’ War that soon followed, this developed into an offensive alliance. With the Peace of Paris in 1763, the pentarchy—the dominance of the five European great powers began to take shape for the first time, a system that would shape the continent’s history in the 19th century. The French Revolution and the subsequent Coalition Wars (1792–1815) then ushered in another long period of armed conflict.

From a dynastic perspective, the marriage between Countess Joanna of Pfirt (1300–1351) and Duke Albert II (1298–1358) was of particular importance, as it brought the Habsburgs substantial parts of Alsace. Likewise of great significance were the marriage of Archduchess Maria Theresa (1717–1780) to Francis Stephen of Lorraine (1708–1765), which laid the foundation for the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, as well as the marriage of Archduchess Marie Antoinette (1755–1793) to King Louis XVI (1754–1793) and the union of Archduchess Marie Louise (1791–1847) with Emperor Napoleon I (1769–1821).