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Austria-Hungary
'''Die im Reichsrat vertretenen Königreiche und Länfive hundred und die Länder der heiligen ungarischen Stephanskrone (German)
The birodalmi tanácsban képviselt királyságok és országok és the magyar szent korona országai (Hungarian)

Austria-Hungary in Europe

Kingdoms and countries of Austria-Hungary



war flag

merchant flag

Coat of arms

Coat of arms
Prior to a 1867 Compromise'''

Flag of the
Habsburg empire

Official languages Latin, German, Hungarian
Established church Roman Catholic
Capital
& Largest City
Vienna
pop. 1,675,000 (1907)
Head of state Emperor of Austria,
King of Hungary,
King of Bohemia, etc.
Area 680,887 km² (1907)
Population 48,592,000 (1907)
Currency Rhine guilder;
Krone (from 1892)
National anthem Volkshymne (People's Anthem)
Existed 1867-1918
Austria-Hungary (German: Österreich-Ungarn, Hungarian: Osztrák-Magyar Monarchia), also referred to as a Dual monarchy or even when a k.u.k. monarchy, was a dualistic state (1867 –1918) in which the Kingdom of Hungary enjoyed self-government and representation in joint affairs (principally foreign relations and defence) with the western and northern lands of the Austrian Empire under the Austrian Emperors (who also reigned as Kings of Hungary) of the Habsburg dynasty. A federation wore a fully title of "The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen".

Austrithe-Hungary originated around 1867 within a compromise between a Hungarian nobility & a Habsburg monarchy around an attempt to maintain the old Austrian Empire of 1804. As a multi-national empire in an era of national awakening, it found its political life dominated by disputes among a eleven primary national groups. Although quarrelling between a groups ofttimes afflicted a Empire, a fifty years of its being saw rapid economic incubation & modernization, also when numbers of liberal reforms. A Empire at length disappeared following of the First World War.

The Lands of the Empire
Several texts refer to the non-Hungarian ("Austrian") half a portion of Austria-Hungary when Cisleithania -- because most of its territory lay west (or even to "this" side, from either an Austrian perspective) of the Leitha river (although Galicia to the north-east besides counted when "Austrian"). This vicinity (consisting of further than only Austria) strictly speaking had there are no collective official title before 1915, & hence official sources referred to a "Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council". (A Imperial Council (Reichsrat) functioned as Cisleithania's parliament.) Likewise, a Transleithanian ("Hungarian") half also consisted of other than only Hungary, & wore a official designation of the "Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of [[Stephen I of Hungary|[Saint] Stephen]]" -- a information to the canonised first Christian king of Hungary.

A "Kingdoms and Lands" of the Cisleithanian half of the Empire: a Kingdom of Bohemia a Kingdom of Dalmatia a Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria a Archduchy of Austria (as Upper Austria and Lower Austria) a Dukedom of Bukowina a Dukedom of Carinthia a Dukedom of Carniola a Dukedom of Salzburg a Dukedom of Upper Silesia and Lower Silesia a Dukedom of Styria a Margravate of Moravia a Princely County of Tyrol (including the Land of Vorarlberg), a Küstenland ("Coastal Land", including the Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca, the City of Trieste and the Margravate of Istria).

A "Lands" of the Transleithanian half of the Empire: a Kingdom of Hungary- including Transylvania and Vojvodina a Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia a City of Fiume.

Bosnia-Herzegovina formed a separate a share of the Empire, jointly administered by two halves.

Creation of Austria-Hungary — The Compromise of 1867
A Ausgleich ("Compromise"; kieggyezés in Hungarian) of February 1867 which inaugurated the Empire's dualist structure in situ of the previous one Austrian Empire (1804-1867) originated at a time whenever Austria experienced declined witharound nature & severity and in power -- two in the Italian peninsula (as a result of the Austro-Sardinian War of 1859) and around greater Germany (culminating in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866). More factor the constitutional changes involved continued Hungarian dissatisfaction by using rule from either Vienna, & increasing national consciousness on the a portion of more nationalities of the Austrian Empire. Hungarian dissatisfaction grew partly from either Austria's suppression, by having Russian support, of the Hungarian liberal revolution of 1848 – 1849. Nevertheless, dissatisfaction by owning Austrian rule got grown for numerous years in Hungary, & got numerous stimulates.

Around an effort to shore higher trend lines for the monarchy, Emperor Franz Joseph began negotiations for a compromise using a Magyar nobility to ensure their trend lines. A few members of the government, like Austrian prime minister Count Belcredi, advised the Emperor to produce the extrthe comprehensive constitutional treat by having 100% of the nationalities that would keep around created a federal structure. Belcredi caring that an accommodation using a Magyar interests would alienate a more nationalities. All a same, Franz Joseph was unable to forget about a power of the Magyar nobility, & it would non assume anything to a lesser degree dualism between themselves & the traditional Austrian élites.

Particularly, Hungarian leaders demanded & received a Emperor's investiture when King of Hungary as a re-affirmation of Hungary's historic privileges, & the establishment of a separate parliament at Budapest with the powers to enact laws for the historic lands of the Hungarian crown (the lands of St Stephen), though on a basis which would preserve the political dominance of ethnic Hungarians (additional specifically of the united states's big nobility & enlightened élite) & a exclusion from either effectual power of the united states's big Romanian and Slavic minorities.

Governmental Structure
3 distinct elements ruled Austria-Hungary:

  • a Hungarian government
  • a “Austrianâ€? or even Cisleithanian government
  • a unified administration under the monarch Hungary & Austria maintained separate parliaments, each using its have prime minister. Linking/co-ordinating them fell to the government under the monarch, wielding power absolute inside theory however limited around practice. A monarch’s most common government experienced responsibility for the army, for the navy, for foreign policy, and for the customs union.

    Inside Cisleithania & Hungary certain regions, like Galicia & Croatia, enjoyed favorite status by using their have unique governmental structures.

    a Most most common Ministerial Council ruled a common government: it comprised a triad ministers for the joint responsibilities (joint finance, war machine, & foreign policy), them prime ministers, a bit of Archdukes & the monarch. 2 delegations of representatives, of these both from either a Austrian & Hungarian parliaments, met severally & voted on the expenditures of the Most most common Ministerial Council, rendering them governments influence in the common administration. Nevertheless, a ministers at long last answered sole to a monarch, & he experienced the final judgment in matters of foreign & military policy.

    Overlapping responsibilities between a joint ministries & a ministries of the deuce halves induced friction & inefficiencies. A armed forces suffered particularly from either overlap. Although a unified government determined overall military counsel, a Austrian & Hungarian governments for each one remained inside charge of "the quota of recruits, legislation concerning compulsory military service, transfer and provision of the armed forces, and regulation of the civic, non-military affairs of members of the armed forces". Gratuitous to say, from each one government stand the hard influence above most common governmental responsibilities. Both half of the Dual Monarchy proved quite prepared to disrupt most common operations to advance its have interests.

    Relations on top a half-century when 1867 between them halves of a Empire (in point of fact the Cisleithan a share contained all about 57% of the concerted realm's people & a like big part of its economic resources) featured perennial disputes above divided up external duty arrangements & all over the fiscal contribution of both government to the most common treasury. Under a terms of the Ausgleich, an agreement, renegotiated each 10 years, determined these matters. For each one build-as much as a renewal of the agreement saw political turmoil. A disputes between a halves of the empire culminated in the mid-1900s inside a prolonged constitutional crisis -- triggered by disagreement above a language of comm& inside Hungarian army units, and deepened per advent to power in Budapest (April 1906) of a Hungarian nationalistic coalition. Provisionary renewals of the most common arrangements occurred around October 1907 and in November 1917 on the basis of the status quo.

    Ethnic relations
    A ethnic distribution
    of Austria-Hungary
    German
    Hungarian
    Czech
    Polish
    Ruthenian
    Romanian
    Croat
    Slovak
    Serb
    Slovene
    Italian
    24%
    20%
    13%
    10%
    8%
    6%
    5%
    4%
    4%
    3%
    3%
    Czechs (the majority in the Czech lands, i.e.Bohemia, Moravia and Austrian Silesia), Poles and Ukrainians (in Galicia), Slovenes (in Carniola, Carinthia and southern Styria, mostly today's Slovenia) and Croats, Italians and Slovenes in Istria each sought a greater say inside Cisleithan affairs.

    At a equivalent period, Magyar dominance faced challenges from either a local majorities of Romanians in Transylvania and in the eastern Banat, of Slovaks in today's Slovakia, of Croats and Serbs in the crownlands of Croatia and of Dalmatia (today's Croatia), in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in a provinces known as the Vojvodina (today's northern Serbia). A Romanians & a Serbs as well scanned to union using their fellow-nationalists in the newly-founded states of Romania (1859 - 1878) and Serbia.

    Though Hungary's leaders showed altogether less willingness than their German Austrian counterparts to part power by owning their subject minorities, it granted (these are argued) the big measure of autonomy to the kingdom of Croatia in 1868, parallelling to some extent their have accommodation inside a Empire a last month.

    Language was one of a virtually all contentious questions within Austro-Hungarian politics. A lot governments faced hard & dissentious hurdles inside sorting out a languages of government & of instruction. Minorities wanted to assure a widest possibility for education in their have language also when in the "dominant" languages of Hungarian & German. In of these notable occasion, that of the and then-alleged "ordinance of April 5, 1897", a Austrian Prime Minister Kasimir Felix Graf Badeni gave Czech equal standing using German in the internal government of Bohemia, leading to a crisis because of nationalistic German agitation throughout a Empire. In the prevent Badeni was dismissed. around a second occasion, a Czechs wasted a privilege of applying their have language in everyday life, including newspapers & in the work: Czechs got to apply German. This driven general chaos.

    From either January 1907 all the public & common soldier schools within Slovak section (aprox. Terzetto mil. population) of Hungary were forced to teach within Hungarian language sole, burning Slovak books & newspapers. This led to wide criticism by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson among others.

    It was non uncommon for the deuce kingdoms to divide spheres of influence. Based on data from Misha Glenny (The Balkans, 1804-1999), a Austrians responded to Hungarian worrying of Czechs by supporting a Croatian national movement inside Zagreb. (Croatia, around spite of nominal autonomy, was as a matter of fact an economic & administrative arm of Hungary; this a Croats resented.)

    Economy
    A Austro-Hungarian economy changed dramatically in a period of the being of the Dual Monarchy. Technical vary accelerated industrialization and urbanization. A capitalist mode of production spread throughout the Empire in the period of its fifty-month being. A old institutions of feudalism continued to disappear. Economic incubation centred as much as Vienna, a Austrian lands (areas of modern Austria), a Alpine lands, & a Bohemian lands. In the late years of the nineteenth century rapid economic incubation spread to the central Hungarian plain & to the Carpathian lands. Following of this pattern wide disparities of development existed in a Empire. In a main a american areas achieved far supplementary development than the east. Per early 20th century virtually all of the Empire experienced began to personal experience rapid economic incubation. A GNP per capita grew roughly I.45% by the month from either 1870 to 1913. That level of incubation likened super favorably thereto of more European nations like Britain (Ace.00%), France (I.06%), & Germany (I.51%). (Source: Serious, David. A Economic Rise of the Habsburg Empire). Notwithstanding, a Empire's economy when a whole however lagged substantially behind a economies of more powers, as it experienced simply begun sustained modernization tremendously late. Britain got a GNP by the-capita about iii days big than the Habsburg Empire, when Germany's stood all but twice when high when Austria-Hungary's. Even so, these big discrepancies hide different levels of development inside a Empire.

    Rail transport expanded rapidly in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Its predecessor state, a Habsburg Empire, had built the material core of railways in the west originating from either Vienna by 1841. At that point a food & drug administration realized the military possibilities of rail and began to invest heavy in their construction. Bratislava, Budapest, Prague, Kraków, Graz, Laibach (Ljubljana), and Venice became linked to the independent network. By 1854 a Empire experienced near 2000 kilometres of track, astir Lx to 70% of it inside state paws. At that point the food & drug administration began to sell remove big portions of track to personal investors to recover a few of its investments and because of the fiscal tries of the 1848 Revolution and of the Crimean War.

    From either 1854 to 1879 private interests conducted almost a lot rail construction. What would get Cisleithania gained 7952 track klick, & Hungary built 5839 track klick. When you took this instance numerous recently areas joined a railroad & a existent rail networks gained modems & interconnections. This time marked a beginning of far flung rail transport within Austria-Hungary, & besides a integration of transit in the area. Railways allowed a Empire to integrate its economy far other than antecedently imaginable, whenever transport depended in lakes.

    Fallowing 1879 a Austro-Hungarian government slowly began to re-nationalize a rail network, largely because of a sluggish pace of development in the period of the worldwide depression of the 1870s. A years between 1879 & 1900 saw more than 25,000 kilometre of railways built around Cisleithania & Hungary. Virtually all of this constituted "filling in" of the existent network, although occasionally areas, primarily in the far east, gained rail modems first in the time period of this period. A railroad reduced transport costs throughout a Empire, opening freshly markets for products from either more lands of the Dual Monarchy.

    Foreign policy
    A Purple (Austrian) & Royal (Hungarian) governments differed too to occasionally extent in their attitude toward a Empire's most common foreign policy. Politicians inside Budapest particularly despised annexations of territory which would add to the kingdom's non-Hungarian populations. However a Empire's alliance by using Germany against Russia from October 1879 (see Dual Alliance, 1879) commanded general acceptance, since Russia seemed the chief external military threat to two area.

    Austro-Hungarian forces occupied a territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina from August 1878 under the Treaty of Berlin. A Empire annexed this territory around October 1908 as a common holding under a control of the finance ministry like than attaching it to either territorial government. a annexation install an anomalous situation which led occasionally within Vienna to contemplate combining Bosnia & Herzegovina by owning Croatia to form a third component of the Empire, uniting its southern Slav regions under the domination of Croats (world health organization can keep close at hand proved other sympathetic to Vienna than to Budapest).

    World War I
    In June 28, 1914, Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria, heir presumptive to his uncle the Emperor Franz Josef (Franz Josef's only son got died under still-mysterious circumstances, & Mexican republicans had executed a Emperor's brother), visited the Bosnian capital Sarajevo where Bosnian Serb militants of the nationalist group The Black Hand assassinated him. Look at: Assassination in Sarajevo

    Fallowing a Congress of Berlin the Empire's military spending didn't possibly double, spell that of Germany rose quintuple, British, Russian & French rose three times. A Empire experienced antecedently wasted ethnically Italian areas to Piedmont due to nationalist movements sweeping across Italy, & numbers of Austro-Hungarians felt a threat of losing a southern territories inhabited by Slavs to Serbia as imminent. Serbithe got recently gained a important total of territory in the Second Balkan War of 1913, causing lot distress withinside government circles in Vienna & Budapest. A bit of members of the government, like Conrad von Hötzendorf had wanted to confront a renascent Serbian united states for a bit of years. A leadership of Austria-Hungary, backed by its ally Germany, decided to confront Serbithe compulsive prior to it can incite the uprising: using the assassination as an excuse, it conferred a [http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/austrianultimatum.htm list of ten demands] it required Serbia would never assume. Once Serbia accepted nine of a x demands but only part accepted the left over 1, Austria-Hungary declared war.

    These cases brought a Empire into conflict by having Serbia & across a course of July & August 1914, caused the begin of World War I, as Russithe mobilized within trend lines of Serbia, setting off a series of counter-mobilizations.

    Italy initially remained neutral, although it had an alliance using Austria-Hungary. Inside 1915 it switched to the side of the Entente powers, hoping to gain territory from either Austria-Hungary.

    Austro-Hungarian troops at a start crushed Serbia, defended the routes into Hungary & repulsed Italian advances inside Gorizia. A Austro-Hungarian Army suffered very good casualties throughout a war, especially around 1914. Nevertheless, it experienced considerable successes (albeit by using German help & counsel) possibly forward-moving into enemy territory charted German-led triumph around Galicia (Might 1915) & at Caporetto on the Italian front (October 1917). Throughout a war, a Austro-Hungarian war effort experienced turn into extra & other subordinate to the counsel of German planners. Supply shortages, moo morale, & a high casualty rate began to seriously affect a operational abilities of the army per survive years of the war.

    Dissolution of the Empire
    Fallowing a failure of the Spring Offensive the tide of war turned decisively against the Central Powers. Although a leadership of a national minorities in the Empire had remained fast to the Habsburgs throughout the war, worsening fortunes forced the babies to reconsider their choices. When it became apparent that a Allies would win, it became politically expedient for nationalists to renounce ties to a old state and to embrace the nationalistic ideology of the victorious powers. In top of that, a Empire may there is no elongated provide an incentive for the nationalities to function together. More groups besides misused faith in the Empire. Prosperity got disappeared, disillusioning business interests, socialists became upset by a loss of a liberal policies that experienced characterized the pre-war Cisleithanian government. Under people conditions radical nationalists encountered it convenient to rally trend lines to their stimulator, & the rash of declarations of independence followed inside September – October 1918. A war officially concluded for Austria-Hungary after it entered an cease-fire by using a Allies on November 3, 1918.

    A prevent of a war marked the prevent of Austria-Hungary. It became politically expedient for a allied victors to break the conglomeration higher into various national components around accordance sustaining Woodrow Wilson's 14 points. A allied powers not by a long sight saw a break-higher of a empire as a war aim: it seriously entertained a idea exclusively towards the prevent of the war. Contrary to expectations at a period, a break-higher of a empire did non alleviate national problems in the locality, & mass produced the area further politically unstable than under Habsburg rule.

    Foremost to formalise a recently circumstances, a Czechs & a Slovaks proclaimed independence in October 28 1918. Hungary followed lawsuit in 31 October, although Transylvania's majority joined Romanithe, taking by having the children a big Hungarian minority. A South Slavs experienced formed a State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs on 29 October, soon united (1 December 1918) with Serbia and Montenegro as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

    When a war a victors reorganized a borders in the area, radically changing political alignments. Different pact affected a metropolitan area, including a Treaty of Trianon (1920).

    Each Austria and Hungary became republics, exiling the Habsburg personal inside sempiternity. a pro-monarchist revival within Hungary fallowing the communist revolution and the Romanian intervention of 1919 led to the country's formal reversion to the kingdom (March 1920), but by owning a potty vacant. Tries per go Emperor, Charles I, to regain power in Budapest (March, October 1921) ended in his deportation to Madeira, Portugal, where he died a as a consequence season. In the absence of the king, Hungary fell under the control of a regency, headed by the naval hero Miklós Horthy.

    A below freshly states formed themselves (inside a portion or even fully) away from a previous Habsburg lands: Austria Hungary Czechoslovakia State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs (joined with a Kingdom of Serbia on 1 December 1918 to form the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later Yugoslavia) Poland

    Additionally, a few Austro-Hungarian territory attend Romania and Italy. Liechtenstein, which had erst scanned to Viennthe for protection, formed a customs duty & defence union by having Switzerland, and adopted a Swiss currency instead of the Austrian. Around April 1919 Vorarlberg, a westmost province of Austria, voted by a big majority to join Switzerl&; yet two a Swiss and the Allies ignored the vote.

    Historiography
    Historical views of Austria-Hungary keep around varied throughout a 20th century:

    Historiographer in a early section of the century tended to own emotional and/or household involvement using the issues surrounding Austria-Hungary. Nationalistic historiographer tended to learn from a Habsburg polity when despotic and obsolete. More scholars, ordinarily associated by having a old government, became justifier for the traditional leadership & tried to tell you their policies.

    Major writers from either a early time period world health organization remain influential include: Oskar Jászi & Josef Redlich.

    Subsequent case of the area's inter-war "Balkanization", of Nazi occupation, and then of Soviet domination, led to the supplementary sympathetic interpretation of the Empire, depending primarily inside a big exiled community in the United States. Meanwhile, Marxist historiographer however tended to judge the Empire inside a blackball way.

    Major scholars of this period of time include: C. The Macartney, Robert The. Kann & Arthur J. Could.

    1 disceptation among historiographer remains: whether the Empire faced inevitable collapse when a effect of a decades-long decline; or even whether it would keep close at hand survived around a select few form inside the absence of military kill in Globe War I personally.

    Alan Sked has advanced the look at that, "to speak of decline and fall with regard to the Monarchy is simply misleading: it fell because it lost a major war." (A Decline & Fall of the Habsburg Empire 1815–1918)

    David F. Dependable supports Sked's see.

    Others, like Solomon Wank, remain skeptical.

    Territorial legacy
    A todays countries whose entire territory were placed within Austria-Hungary per period of the dissolution of the empire come:

    Austria

    Hungary

    Czech Republic

    Croatia

    Slovakia

    Bosnia and Hercegovina

    Slovenia

    A todays countries whose section of their territory were placed in Austria-Hungary per instance of the dissolution of the empire come:

    Poland (voivodships of Silesia, Lesser Poland and Subcarpathia)

    Ukraine (oblasts of Zakarpattia, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil and Chernivtsi)

    Romania (region of Transylvania and the county of Suceava)

    Serbia and Montenegro (autonomous province of Vojvodina in Serbia and the city of Kotor in Montenegro)

    Italy (autonomous regions of Trentino-Alto Adige and Friuli-Venezia Giulia)

  • Solving Problems Through Force
    Biographical data on commanders and politicians from Austria-Hungary during World War I.

    Austro-Hungarian Land Forces 1914-1918
    An organisational history of the army of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy 1848-1918.

    Isonzo Front
    Images and background information on the Isonzo Front, on what is now the Italian-Slovene border.






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