From 1547, in Innsbruck with her sisters Magdalena, Margareta, Helena and Johanna, she received a deep religious upbringing. Even though Barbara was regarded as ugly, several marriage proposals had been made. In 1565 her marriage to Alfonso II, Duke of Ferrara, was celebrated with much splendour. It was a happy marriage but it remained childless. Torquato Tasso who, in 1565, had been called to the court of Ferrara, dedicated some sonnets to her. 
In 1570 and 1571, after an earthquake using her own income, she supported young girls without parents. She founded the 'Conservatore delle orfane di Santa Barbara' which was very much appreciated by the population of Ferrara. She was in constant touch with the Jesuits but 
also had a very close relationship with her protestant mother-in-law, Renee, daughter of Louis XII, King of France. Having been sickly since 1566, she died, aged only thirty-three, of tuberculosis on 19 September 1572.

Source: Leo van de Pas