Austria-Hungary facts for kids
Coordinates: 48°12′N 16°21′E / 48.2°N 16.35°E
Quick facts for kids
Austria-Hungary
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1867–1918 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Motto: Indivisibiliter ac inseparabiliter
‘Indivisibly and inseparably’ |
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Anthem: Gott erhalte, Gott beschütze
’God shall save, God shall protect‘ |
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![]() Austria-Hungary on the eve of World War I
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![]() Austro-Hungarian Empire between 1878 and 1914 at its greatest exent (Stielers Handatlas)
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Capital | Vienna (Cisleithania) Budapest (Transleithania) |
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Official languages |
Other spoken languages: Bosnian, Carpathian Romani, Czech, Polish, Romanian, Rusyn, Serbian, Slovak, Slovene, Ukrainian, Yiddish |
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Religion | 76.6% Catholic (incl. 64–66% Latin & 10–12% Eastern) 8.9% Protestant (Lutheran, Reformed, Unitarian) 8.7% Orthodox 4.4% Jewish 1.3% Muslim (1910 census) |
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Demonym(s) | Austro-Hungarian | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Government | Constitutional dual monarchy | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Emperor-King | |||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1867–1916
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Franz Joseph I | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1916–1918
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Charles I & IV | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Minister-President of Austria | |||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1867
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Friedrich von Beust (first) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1918
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Heinrich Lammasch (last) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Prime Minister of Hungary | |||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1867–1871
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Gyula Andrássy (first) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1918
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János Hadik (last) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Legislature | 2 national legislatures | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• Imperial Council
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Herrenhaus Abgeordnetenhaus |
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• Diet of Hungary
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House of Magnates House of Representatives |
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Historical era | New Imperialism • World War I | ||||||||||||||||||||||
30 March 1867 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
• Bosnian Crisis
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6 October 1908 - 31 March 1909 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
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28 June 1914 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• Declaration of War on Serbia
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28 July 1914 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• Dissolution of Austria-Hungary
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31 October 1918 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
• Treaties of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and Trianon
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10 September 1919 and 4 June 1920 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Area | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1905 | 621,537.58 km2 (239,977.00 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Population | |||||||||||||||||||||||
• 1914
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52,800,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Currency |
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Austria-Hungary or the Austro-Hungarian Empire was a state in Central Europe from 1867 to 1918. It was the countries of Austria and Hungary ruled by a single monarch. The full name of the empire was "The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Crown of St. Stephen".
The dual monarchy replaced the Austrian Empire (1804–1867). It started with the compromise between the ruling Habsburg dynasty and the Hungarians. It was an empire made up of many different peoples and great power. It found its political life full of arguments between the eleven main national groups. It had great economic growth through the age of industrialization. It also saw social changes with many liberal and democratic reforms.
The Habsburg dynasty ruled as emperors of Austria over the western and northern half of the country and as kings of Hungary over the Kingdom of Hungary. The Kingdom of Hungary had some ability to govern itself. It also had a say in things that affected both it and the rest of the empire. This was mainly foreign relations and defense.
The empire's capital was Vienna. Austria-Hungary was the second largest country in Europe (after the Russian Empire). It had the third most people (after Russia and the German Empire).
Contents
Creation of Austria–Hungary
The Ausgleich or compromise of February 1867 created the Empire's dualist structure. The Austrian Empire (1804–67) had lessened in strength and in power. This was because of the Austro–Sardinian War of 1859 and the Austro–Prussian War of 1866. Also, the Hungarian people were not happy with how Vienna treated them. This had been going on for many years and it led to Hungarian separation. This included the Hungarian liberal revolution of 1848–49.
Emperor Franz Joseph tried to reach an agreement with the Hungarian nobility. He needed their support to keep the empire together. The Hungarian nobility would not accept anything less than equality between themselves and the Austrian elites.
Governmental structure
Hungary and Austria had different parliaments. Each had its own prime minister. The monarch kept the two working together. He had absolute power in theory but very little in reality. The monarch’s central government had charge of the army, navy, foreign policy, and the customs union.
World War I
The deaths of Franz Joseph's brother, Maximilian I of Mexico (1867), and his only son, Crown Prince Rudolf, made the Emperor's nephew, Franz Ferdinand, next in line to the crown. On June 28 1914, the heir visited the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo. Bosnian Serb militants of the group Mlada Bosna attacked Franz Ferdinand's motorcade and assassinated him.
Some members of the government, such as Conrad von Hötzendorf had wanted to fight the Serbian nation for many years. The leaders of Austria-Hungary decided to attack Serbia before it could start a revolt. They used the assassination as an excuse. They gave Serbia a list of ten demands called the July Ultimatum. They expected Serbia would not accept. Serbia accepted nine of the ten demands but only partially accepted the other one. Austria-Hungary declared war.
These events brought the Empire into conflict with Serbia. Russia moved its army to help Serbia. This set off troop movements on both sides and started World War I.
End of the Empire
Near the end of the war, it was understood that the allied powers would win. Part of the empire started declaring independence from the monarch. They formed their own countries.
The following countries were formed from the former Habsburg lands:
Some Austro-Hungarian lands were also given to Romania and Italy.
Images for kids
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Emperor Franz Joseph I visiting Prague and opening the new Emperor Francis I Bridge in 1901
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Coronation of Francis Joseph I and Elisabeth Amalie at Matthias Church, Buda, 8 June 1867
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Demonstration for universal right to vote in Prague, Bohemia, 1905
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Romantic style Great Synagogue in Pécs, built by Neolog community in 1869.
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Religions in Austria-Hungary, from the 1881 edition of Andrees Allgemeiner Handatlas. Catholics (both Roman and Uniate) are blue, Protestants purple, Eastern Orthodox yellow, and Muslims green.
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Dubrovnik, Kingdom of Dalmatia
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k.u.k. infantry in 1898
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Recruits from Bosnia-Herzegovina, including Muslim Bosniaks (31%), were drafted into special units of the Austro-Hungarian Army as early as 1879 and were commended for their bravery in service of the Austrian emperor, being awarded more medals than any other unit. The jaunty military march Die Bosniaken Kommen was composed in their honor by Eduard Wagnes.
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This picture is usually associated with the arrest of Gavrilo Princip, although some believe it depicts Ferdinand Behr, a bystander.
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Franz Josef I and Wilhelm IIwith military commanders during World War I
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Italian troops in Trento on 3 November 1918, after the Battle of Vittorio Veneto. Italy's victory marked the end of the war on the Italian Front and secured the dissolution of Austria-Hungary.
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The Treaty of Trianon: Kingdom of Hungary lost 72% of its land and 3.3 million people of Hungarian ethnicity.
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New hand-drawn borders of Austria-Hungary in the Treaty of Trianon and Saint Germain. (1919–1920)
