Exploring Austria-Hungary's Historic Cities: A Visual Journey

The Austro-Hungarian Empire, also known as the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe that existed between 1867 and 1918. It was formed by the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary, which were separate sovereign countries under international law, with a single monarch who was titled Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary. The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia was also an autonomous region under the Hungarian crown.

The empire was geographically the second-largest country in Europe and the third most populous, and its territory is divided today between Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Romania, Ukraine, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Poland. Notable cities within the empire included Vienna, Budapest, Prague, Trieste, Kraków, Zagreb, Sarajevo, and Fiume (now Rijeka).

Cities in the Austrian Empire (Cisleithania)

Cisleithania, officially The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council, was the northern and western part of Austria-Hungary, the Dual Monarchy created in the Compromise of 1867. It was distinguished from Transleithania, the Hungarian Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen, east of the Leitha River. The Cisleithanian capital was Vienna, the residence of the Austrian emperor. The territory had a population of 28,571,900 in 1910.

Cisleithania reached from Vorarlberg in the west to the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria and the Duchy of Bukovina in the east, and from the Kingdom of Bohemia in the north to the Kingdom of Dalmatia in the south. It comprised the current states of Austria (except Burgenland), as well as most of the territories of the Czech Republic and Slovenia, southern Poland, and parts of Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, Romania, and Ukraine.

Cisleithania consisted of 15 crown lands with representatives in the Imperial Council, the Cisleithanian parliament in Vienna. These crown lands were not states but provinces in the modern sense, with unique historic political and legal characteristics. Each crown land had a regional assembly, the Landtag, which enacted laws on regional matters.

The largest group within Cisleithania were Austrian Germans (including Yiddish-speaking Jews), who made up around a third of the population. German-speakers and Czechs made up a majority of the population, and almost 60% of Cisleithania's population was ethnically Slavic. Religion groups in Cisleithania included Roman Catholics, Greek Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Evangelicals, Muslims, and Jews.

Cities in the Kingdom of Hungary (Transleithania)

The Kingdom of Hungary, also known as Transleithania, was a component of the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. It represented the Hungarian territories of the empire and was the largest and foremost entity of the two. The Kingdom of Hungary was a constitutional monarchy, with the monarch bearing the title of king. The kingdom was multiethnic and covered what is today Hungary, Slovakia, Transylvania and other parts of Romania, Carpathian Ruthenia (now part of Ukraine), Vojvodina (now part of Serbia), the territory of Burgenland (now part of Austria), Međimurje (now part of Croatia), Prekmurje (now part of Slovenia) and a few villages which are now part of Poland.

The Kingdom of Hungary was informally referred to as Transleithania, meaning the lands or region "beyond" the Leitha River. This was to distinguish it from Cisleithania, the Austrian half of the empire, which lay to the west of the Leitha River. The capital of Transleithania was Budapest.

The Kingdom of Hungary was made up of the Kingdom of Hungary proper, into which Transylvania was fully incorporated, and the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia, which maintained a distinct identity and internal autonomy. The territory of Fiume (now known as Rijeka) was also a part of the Kingdom of Hungary, as a free port. The Military Frontier was under separate administration until 1873-1882, when it was incorporated into the Kingdom of Hungary and the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia.

The Kingdom of Hungary was granted equal status with the Austrian Empire following the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, which created the dual monarchy. The Kingdom of Hungary had its own diet (parliament) and constitution, but the members of the Governor's Council were appointed by the Habsburg monarch. The official language of the kingdom was Hungarian, but Croatian was permitted to be used by delegates of Croatia-Slavonia.

The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of its first king, Stephen I, at Esztergom around the year 1000. His family, the Árpád dynasty, led the monarchy for 300 years. By the 12th century, the Kingdom of Hungary had become a European power.

The Kingdom of Hungary was restored as a constitutional monarchy in 1920, following the pullout of Romanian occupation forces. However, it was short-lived, as the monarchy was abolished in 1946 when the Communists took power.

Cities in the Austro-Hungarian Condominium

The Austro-Hungarian Condominium was a unique political entity that existed between 1867 and 1918. It was a constitutional monarchy that united the Empire of Austria and the Kingdom of Hungary under a single monarch. While the two kingdoms were technically separate sovereign countries, they were bound by a diplomatic and military alliance, with unified foreign policy and defence systems.

The Condominium was formed in the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War and the wars of independence by Hungary against Habsburg rule. The Compromise of 1867 established a dual monarchy, with Cisleithania (the northern and western parts of the former Austrian Empire) and Transleithania (the Kingdom of Hungary) as its two constituent parts.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, which came under Austro-Hungarian rule in 1878, was a unique territory within the Condominium. It was jointly governed by both Austria and Hungary, with each kingdom having its own set of officials and systems of administration. This arrangement provoked the Bosnian Crisis in 1908 when the Condominium formally annexed the territory, leading to international tensions.

The Condominium was one of the major powers in Europe, with a large and diverse population. Its constituent parts included:

• The Empire of Austria, comprising:
• Bohemia
• Bukovina
• Carinthia
• Carniola
• Dalmatia
• Galicia
• Küstenland
• Lower Austria
• Moravia
• Salzburg
• Silesia
• Styria
• Tyrol
• Upper Austria
• Vorarlberg
• The Kingdom of Hungary, comprising:
• Hungary proper
• Croatia-Slavonia
• Bosnia and Herzegovina (as a condominium)

The Condominium also included several smaller territories, such as the villages of Zavalje, Mali Skočaj, and Veliki Skočaj, and the western part of the Municipality of Herceg Novi in modern-day Montenegro.

The Condominium's official name was the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, but it was often referred to as the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy. It was geographically the second-largest country in Europe and had one of the world's largest machine-building industries. However, it was also a multi-ethnic empire with diverse languages and customs, which presented challenges in governance and ultimately contributed to its dissolution in 1918.

Cities in the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia

The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia was created in 1868 when the kingdoms of Croatia and Slavonia were merged following the Croatian-Hungarian Settlement of 1868. The kingdom was ruled by the emperor of Austria, who bore the title of King of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia. The King's appointed steward was the Ban of Croatia and Slavonia. The kingdom included parts of present-day Croatia and Serbia (eastern Syrmia).

Slavonia is located in the Pannonian Basin and is largely bordered by the Danube, Drava, and Sava rivers. The region consists of the Sava and Drava valleys and the mountains surrounding the Požega Valley, and plains in the east. The largest city in the region is Osijek, followed by Slavonski Brod and Vinkovci.

The Autonomous Government or Land Government, officially the "Royal Croatian–Slavonian–Dalmatian Land Government", was established in 1869 and had its seat in Zagreb. At its head stood the Ban, who was responsible to the Croatian–Slavonian Diet. The Ban was appointed by the King, on the proposal and under the counter-signature of the Joint Hungarian minister-president.

The Croatian Parliament or the Royal Croatian–Slavonian–Dalmatian Sabor had legislative authority over autonomous issues according to the Croatian–Hungarian Settlement of 1868. The parliament was summoned annually at Zagreb by the King or by a specially appointed commissioner (usually the Ban). It was unicameral, but alongside 88 elected deputies, there were 44 ex officio members from the Croatian and Slavonian high nobility.

The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia held independent elections for the Croatian Parliament in 1865, 1867, 1871, 1872, 1878, 1881, 1883, 1884, 1887, 1892, 1897, 1901, 1906, 1908, 1910, 1911, and 1913. The main political parties represented in the Parliament included the People's Party, the Independent People's Party, the Croatian-Hungarian Party, the Party of Rights, the Pure Party of Rights, Starčević's Party of Rights, the Serb Independent Party, the Croatian Peoples' Peasant Party, and the Croat-Serb Coalition.

The modern University of Zagreb was founded in 1874. The Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts and Matica hrvatska were the main cultural institutions in the kingdom. The Croatian National Theatre in Zagreb was opened in 1895, and the Croatian National Theatre in Osijek was established in 1907.

In 1918, the Croatian parliament abolished the Hungarian–Croatian personal union, and the Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia, along with the Kingdom of Dalmatia, became part of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, which later formed the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, renamed Yugoslavia.

Cities in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria

The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, also known as Austrian Galicia or Austrian Poland, was a constituent possession of the Habsburg monarchy in the historical region of Galicia in Eastern Europe. The Kingdom was established in 1772, with lands annexed from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth as part of the First Partition of Poland.

The Kingdom was initially divided into six large Kreise, or 'circles', which were further subdivided into 59 Kreisdistrikte, or 'circle districts'. Over time, the number of subdivisions changed, with the introduction of political districts (Bezirkshauptmannschaften) in 1867, of which there were 74.

• Belz
• Berezhany
• Biecz
• Bochnia
• Boryslav
• Brody
• Buchach
• Chortkiv
• Dukla
• Drohobych
• Gorlice
• Halych
• Jarosław
• Jasło
• Kalush
• Kolomyia
• Kozova
• Kraków
• Krosno
• Lesko
• Leżajsk
• Lviv
• Łańcut
• Machliniec
• Myślenice
• Nadvirna
• Nowy Sącz
• Oświęcim
• Peremyshliany
• Przemyśl
• Pidhaytsi
• Rava-Ruska
• Rohatyn
• Rymanów
• Rzeszów
• Sambir
• Stanyslaviv
• Terebovlia
• Ternopil
• Tarnów
• Tomaszów Lubelski
• Truskavets
• Wieliczka
• Zalishchyky
• Zator
• Zolochiv
• Zhovkva
• Żywiec

Today, the territory of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria is split between Poland and Ukraine.

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