Charles II Francis of Austria (German: Karl II. Franz von Innerösterreich; 3 June 1540 – 10 July 1590) was an Archduke of Austria and ruler of Inner Austria (Styria, Carniola and Carinthia) from 1564. He was a member of the House of Habsburg. A native of Vienna, he was the third son of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anne of Bohemia, daughter of King Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary. Unlike his brother, Emperor Maximilian II, Charles was a religious Catholic and promoted the Counter-Reformation, e.g. by inviting the Jesuits to his territory. However, in 1572, he had to make significant concessions to the Inner Austrian Estates in the Religious Pacifications of Graz, and 1578 and the Libellum of Bruck. In practice, this resulted in tolerance towards Protestantism. As the Inner Austrian line had to bear the major burden of the wars against the Turks, the fortress of Karlstadt in Croatia was founded in 1579 and named after him. Charles is also remembered as a benefactor of the arts and sciences. He died at Graz in 1590.

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