The New International Encyclopædia/Austria-Hungary

​AUSTRIA-HUN′GARY, or, officially, The Austro-Hungarian Monarchy (Med. Lat. Austria, from Ger. Oesterreich, eastern realm + Hungary). The largest European country after Russia and the Swedish-Norwegian monarchy. It forms a compact territory in southern Europe, lying between latitudes 42° and 51° N. and between longitudes 9° 30′ and 26° 30′ E., and is bordered for a shorter distance by the sea than any other great European State. Its coast-line comprises the greater part of the eastern shore of the Adriatic, the bulk of the country receding to a great distance from the sea. It is irregularly bounded on the north by Saxony, Prussia, and Russia; on the east by Russia and Rumania; on the south (including Bosnia and Herzegovina) by Rumania, Servia, and Montenegro; on the southwest by the Adriatic Sea and Italy, and on the west by Switzerland and Bavaria. The former Turkish provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, though, in an official sense, merely occupied and administered by Austria-Hungary, and not reckoned as an integral part of the Empire, must be regarded now as virtually incorporated in it. The total area of the Austrian dominions, not including the 23,262 square miles occupied by the two provinces just mentioned, is 240,942 square miles, nearly half of which (115,903 square miles) is occupied by the crown-lands represented in the Austrian Reichsrat, Vienna, and the greater half by the Kingdom of Hungary or the lands represented in the Magyar Parliament, sitting at Budapest. The greatest length from east to west is about 800 miles; greatest breadth from north to south, 650 miles. The following are the area and population, in 1890 and 1900, of the several divisions of the monarchy:

The last three divisions constitute the lands of the Hungarian Crown. The provinces represented in the Reichsrat of Vienna are called collectively Cisleithania, or the ‘country on this side of the Leitha’ (a small stream forming part of the boundary between Lower Austria and Hungary), while the Hungarian half of the monarchy is called Transleithania, or the ‘country beyond the Leitha.’ The density of population of the whole country in 1890 was 171 to the square mile. The increase of population during the last decade of the century was, therefore, about 9 per cent.

Topography. Austria-Hungary is one of the most mountainous countries of Europe. The mountains are comprised in three great systems—the Alps, the Carpathians, and the Bohemian Highlands, which embrace the Sudetic Mountain System, the principal member of which is the Riesengebirge (Giant Mountains), the Erzegebirge (Ore Mountains), the Böhmerwald, and a few minor ranges. The Alps cover the crownlands of Tyrol, Salzburg, Carinthia, Carniola, Styria, and the parts of Upper and Lower Austria south of the Danube. The eastern spurs of the Alps stretch through Croatia toward the southwestern part of Hungary. The total area of the Austro-Hungarian Alps is estimated at about 40,000 square miles, of which nearly 700 square miles are covered with glaciers. Their highest peaks are in the Rhætian and Noric Alps, which extend from Switzerland to the Danube. The Ortler Spitze, the loftiest summit in Austria-Hungary, rises to a height of nearly 12,800 feet. The Carpathian Mountains, greatly ​inferior to the Alps in height, describe an immense curve, amounting to two-thirds of a circle, about Hungary, girding it on the north and east, and covering an extensive area in Transylvania. In their broad sweep of above 800 miles, from the Danube at Pressburg back to that river at the Iron Gates, they embrace the vast Hungarian plain, a region more level than the prairies of the United States. The highest peak of the Carpathians is the Gerlsdorfer Spitze, about 8700 feet. At the head of the Adriatic is the remarkable highland region, of limestone formation, known as the Karst. On the borders of Dalmatia and Bosnia is a mountain range which bears the name of the Dinaric Alps. The mountains of Austria-Hungary are famous for their picturesque scenery, and abound in caverns, some of them very large. The Adriatic coast-land, with its many islands, its bays, and frowning heights, is one of the most picturesque regions in Europe.

Hydrography. Among the rivers of Austria-Hungary, the Danube is the most important, and is second only to the Volga in all Europe, its basin embracing about three-fourths of the total area of the country. It enters Upper Austria at Passau, and crossing Lower Austria in an easterly direction, enters Hungary, which it traverses eastward to the Bakony Forest, then turns abruptly and flows due south to the border of Croatia, where it receives the Drave, then flows again eastward, receives from the north its principal affluent, the Theiss, and from the west the Save, and at the Iron Gates breaks through the farther extremity of the Carpathian range, to descend thence into the great plains of Rumania and Bulgaria. The Danube is a very important factor in the economic life of the country, affording the largest navigable waterway. Besides the Danube there are several large rivers in Austria-Hungary. The Theiss, with its largest tributary, the Maros, collects all the waters of eastern Hungary, and delivers them to the Danube at Titel. Two other great tributaries of the Danube, the Drave and Save, collect the drainage of Croatia, Slavonia, Bosnia, Carniola, Carinthia, and a great part of Styria, since the high mountains bordering the Adriatic coast prevent any streams from the interior reaching that sea. The Elbe drains most of Bohemia, while the Dniester traverses eastern Galicia, and the Vistula forms part of the boundary line between Russian Poland and Galicia. The Inn traverses northern Tyrol, and the Adige flows through the southern part of that province. The lakes are comparatively few and insignificant. The most important are the Plattensee and the Neusiedlersee, in the western part of Hungary. There are numerous small lakes, especially in the Alps, some of them situated at an altitude of over 7000 feet, and famous for their scenery. The uneven surface of Austria-Hungary is not favorable for the construction of artificial waterways, and the canals of the country are few and comparatively unimportant. The Franzens Canal is the longest (137 miles), and connects the Danube with the Theiss. Austria-Hungary is famous for its hot and mineral springs, of which there are over 2800, mostly situated in Bohemia, Hungary, and Transylvania. The most important of them are Karlsbad, Marienbad, and Teplitz (Bohemia).

Climate. The climate of Austria-Hungary, while generally mild, differs considerably in different localities, owing to the uneven surface of the country. The average annual temperature varies from 62° F. in Ragusa, in the southern part of Dalmatia, to 51° in Budapest, and 48° at Prague. The northern Carpathians are characterized by very cold winters and cool summers, while in the valleys of Transylvania the winters are very severe and the summers very hot. The mean annual temperature of Vienna is about 50° F. The rainfall is very abundant, and at times excessive, in the western part of the country, near the Alps, where in some places the total annual rainfall exceeds 100 inches; it is lowest in Lower Austria, Moravia, and Silesia, averaging about 25 inches per year.

Fauna. The geographical position of Austria as a part of southern Central Europe gives it the fauna characteristic of its latitude, and there is little that is locally characteristic or different from that of the neighboring countries. The valley of the Danube forms one of the recognized migration highways for birds, between Northeastern Europe and Southern Asia; and the river abounds in fish that ascend from the Black Sea, furnishing important fisheries, of which that for sturgeon is notable. The valley regions have been largely denuded of wild animals by the civilization that has occupied them for so many centuries; but in the high Alps the chamois and ibex still survive in considerable numbers under legal protection; and the other high mountains still shelter bears, lynxes, wolves, and representatives of most of the species of smaller animals which originally dwelt there.

Flora. The flora of Austria-Hungary is characterized by great diversity and richness. It may be divided into vertical zones regulated by relative altitude on the mountains, from the fig and grape-producing southern valleys to the Alpine summits. In the west the general flora is much like that of southern Germany, but on the lower Danube and near the Adriatic trees and plants of a warmer climate prevail.

Geology. In its geological structure, Austria-Hungary shows as much variety as in the formation of its surface. Archæan rocks are represented by gneiss, schist, and granite in the Alps, Bohemian Highlands, and Carpathians, and are noteworthy for their mineral riches. The Silurian formation underlies a large area in Central Bohemia, where are located the celebrated silver mines of Pribram, and is also prominent in the Alps and in Galicia. The Devonian formation occurs in Moravia, Galicia, and the Alps. Carboniferous strata, frequently inclosing coal-beds, are found in Central and Western Bohemia, in Moravia, Silesia, Galicia, Styria, and Hungary (Eibenthal). Rocks of later age are represented by Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, Tertiary, and alluvial beds, as well as by igneous intrusions. The Tertiary strata are of great economic importance, as they inclose valuable deposits of lignite and salt, and also are intersected by igneous dikes that carry the gold and silver ores of Schemnitz, Kremnitz, and Nagy-Bánya.

Mining. The mining industry of the monarchy dates centuries back, and some of the mines are believed to have been worked by the Celts and the Romans. The mineral deposits are remarkably rich and varied, including almost every known mineral, besides many kinds of precious stones, mineral oil, and useful earths. Gold is found mainly in Hungary proper and Transylvania, while silver occurs in Hungary, ​

COPYRIGHT, 1902, BY DODD, MEAD & COMPANY.

​Transylvania, Bohemia, and Tyrol, and quicksilver in Carniola (Idria). Iron is the most important metallic product of the monarchy, and is worked mainly in Bohemia, Moravia, Styria, and in many parts of Hungary. Copper is found in Tyrol, Salzburg, Transylvania, and Hungary Proper; lead occurs mainly in Bohemia, Carinthia, Galicia, and Hungary. The most important and the most common mineral of Austria-Hungary is coal, which constitutes over 80 per cent. in value of the total mineral production of Austria and over 40 per cent. of that of Hungary. While coal is found in almost every province of the Empire, the greater part of the output comes from Bohemia, which produces more than one-half of the mineral products of Austria and nearly one-third of its metal products. Rock salt exists in immense beds on both sides of the Carpathians, in the county of Mármaros in Hungary, in Transylvania, and in Galicia. The salt mines of Wieliczka in Galicia are the most famous in the world. Salt is also made by State salt-works by evaporating the water of salt-springs, and from the sea-water on the coasts of the Adriatic. The sale of salt in Austria is a Government monopoly. Of other salts, alum, sulphate of iron, and sulphate of copper are the most important. The useful earths include all sorts of clay up to the finest porcelain earth (in Moravia, Bohemia, and Hungary). Of precious and semi-precious stones the most abundant are the Hungarian opal (which passes in commerce as Oriental), Bohemian garnet (the finest in Europe), carnelian, agate, beryl, amethyst, jasper, ruby, sapphire, topaz, etc. In 1885 oil-wells of great productiveness were opened at Kolomea, in Galicia, and heavy import duties were soon laid on petroleum for the benefit of these wells and in order to encourage refining. Considerable deposits of zinc, tin, manganese, bismuth, sulphur, arsenic, uranium, nickel, and graphite are also found in the various parts of the monarchy.

The following table, compiled from official reports, shows the progress of mining in Austria and Hungary during the last decade of the century:

The annual value of the products of the mines of Austria increased from about $55,000,000 at the beginning of the decade to nearly $75,000,000 at its close. The annual value of the metallurgical products amounts to about $20,000,000. The total annual value of the mineral output of Hungary for the same period advanced from about $20,000,000 to nearly $25,000,000. The number of persons employed in both the mines and the furnaces in Austria is nearly 150,000, about 5 per cent. of this number being women and less than that boys. In Hungary about 55,000 persons are employed in the same industries, with a similar proportion of women and boys. About 36 per cent. of the men are employed in the metal mines, 36 per cent. in the coal mines, and 25 per cent. in the iron and steel works.

Agriculture. Rich soil, abundance of water, and a mild climate have combined to make Austria-Hungary one of the foremost agricultural countries in Europe. Its crops are remarkable for their variety, embracing, besides all the common European products, a great many sub-tropical plants and fruits. The most fertile lands are those in Hungary, Bohemia, Moravia, Lower and Upper Austria, and Galicia. Fully 95 per cent. of the total surface of the monarchy is productive, and is distributed as follows:

With the great variety in climatic and topographical conditions of the monarchy, ranging from the sunny slopes of the Adriatic coast-land to the snow-clad Alpine mountains, and from the vine-laden hills of the Tyrol in the west, to the broad, fertile plains of Hungary in the east, the agricultural products of Austria-Hungary offer as great contrasts as can be found between those of any two countries of Europe.

The eastern half, or Hungary with its dependencies, serves as the granary of the monarchy, besides exporting considerable quantities of grain to South Germany and Switzerland. The western half, or Austria, produces everything from wheat ​to sub-tropical fruits, but it depends for most of its grain supply on Hungary. Its main efforts are devoted to the raising of industrial plants, such as beet-root, tobacco, flax, hemp, rape-seed, hops, barley, potatoes, etc. The varied nature of the two halves of the monarchy may be seen from the foregoing table of their average annual products.

Thus it will be seen that Austria furnishes only about one-fourth of the total wheat crop of the country, about one-seventh of the corn, and less than one-fifteenth of the tobacco crop. If, in addition to this, it be remembered that even these small figures include the crops of Galicia, which geographically belongs to the eastern half of the monarchy, and whose products of wheat, corn, and tobacco constitute one-third, one-fourth, and two-thirds of the total respective crops of Austria, the latter’s share in those crops will be seen to be very small indeed. On the other hand, Austria furnishes nearly two-thirds of the rye crop of the monarchy and over three-fourths of the potato crop, both of which go largely to feed the distilleries. The same is true of its proportion of the hops and barley consumed by the breweries, and of the beet crop, raised for the sugar refineries. Austria and the lands of the Hungarian Crown devote about an equal area to vine growing. This is on the decline in Hungary, the area under cultivation having shrunk from about 915,000 acres in the early eighties to about 500,000 acres in the early nineties. Still Hungary continues to stand first in the quality of the wine produced, and the whole of the monarchy is second only to France in the production of wine. Horticulture is carried to great perfection, and the orchards of Bohemia, Austria proper, Tyrol, and many parts of Hungary produce a profusion of fruits. The chief orchard products of the monarchy, in the order of their commercial importance next to grapes, are plums, peaches, apricots, apples, nuts, almonds, chestnuts, and figs, great quantities of which are exported annually. In Tyrol, Dalmatia, and Southern Hungary, olive and mulberry trees are successfully raised and are gaining in area of cultivation. Rice is cultivated in the Hungarian district of the Banat, but not enough for home consumption. Potatoes are raised everywhere, and in elevated districts are often almost the sole subsistence of the inhabitants. Great quantities of cider are made in Upper Austria and Carinthia, and of plum brandy in Slavonia. In Dalmatia oranges and lemons are raised; twice as much olive-oil is imported as is produced in the country.

Stock-breeding is no less important than the cultivation of the soil, being largely developed in the Alpine Highlands and in the Hungarian plains, in both of which pastures are abundant and the land is best adapted for grazing purposes. In spite of this fact, not enough cattle are raised to satisfy the home demand. The number of cattle in the monarchy has remained practically stationary, at about 15,000,000 for the last two decades, and in proportion to the number of inhabitants is less than in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Great Britain. Sheep-breeding has suffered a great decline from the competition of Australian wool. From more than 20,000,000 in 1869, the number of sheep fell to less than 15,000,000 in 1884, and less than 12,000,000 in 1895. The breeding of sheep, like that of horses, has been a special object of care to the Government. The finer wools are furnished by Moravia, Bohemia, Silesia, Lower Austria, and a great part of Hungary and Galicia. The great mass is, however, composed of what is known as middling and inferior sorts. Goats are reared chiefly in Dalmatia, and swine in Hungary. The pride of Austro-Hungarian stock-breeders is their horses, which are among the finest in Europe, and whose number (about 3,500,000) in the monarchy is second only to that in Russia and Germany. Horse-breeding is promoted by what are called ‘military studs.’ Besides a number of imperial studs, there are a great many private establishments, especially in Hungary, for the same purpose.

Forestry is one of the most important industries in Austria-Hungary, over 30 per cent. of whose surface is under forests, making the monarchy second only to Russia in that respect. Of the total area of forest in Austria, more than two-thirds is under pines and other trees found in high altitudes, and in Hungary the proportion is about the same. The forests are chiefly situated in the Carpathians, Alps, and other mountains of the country. The administration of the forests and domains belonging to the State is under control of the ministry of agriculture, and includes schools of forestry; and the exploitation of the forests is subject to restrictive regulations. The average annual yield of the forests exceeds 1,050,000,000 cubic feet of lumber, over 40 per cent. of which is used for manufacturing and building purposes, and less than 60 per cent. as fuel. The extensive forests, besides timber, yield a number of secondary products, as tar, potash, charcoal, bark, cork, etc.

The land distribution in Austria-Hungary differs in its several parts. In Galicia, Bukowina, and to a considerable extent in Hungary, where the cultivation of wheat and cattle and sheep raising constitute the chief branches of agriculture, large estates thrive best and occupy from 25 to 46 per cent. of the total area under farms. Nearly 87 per cent. of the peasants, however, own their farms. But these are often not large enough to yield a living, and their owners often depend for that on employment as day laborers on the neighboring large estates, or in the nearby countries of Germany and Russia. On the other hand, in Dalmatia and Southern Tyrol, where fruit-raising, wine-making, and silk culture constitute the chief occupation, small farms are most successful and the peasants are most prosperous, owning from 92 to 97 per cent. of the land. In the remaining crown-lands peasant holdings occupy about three-fourths of the total agricultural area.

Manufactures. The industrial development of Austria-Hungary has been advancing with rapid strides for the last few decades, and in many cases this has been due to the material support received from the Government in direct subventions, reduced freight rates on State railways, and exemption from import duties on raw products and machinery used in the industries. The following are the 10 most important industries in the country, employing more than 100,000 persons each: (1) The clothing industry, with nearly 800,000 workers—less than one-fourth of whom are employed in Hungary, and the rest in Austria. (2) Manufacture of foods and drinks, nearly 600,000 people, one-fifth of them ​in Hungary. (3) The textile industry, nearly 500,000 persons, less than one-fifteenth employed in Hungary. (4) Building trades, nearly 400,000, less than one-fourth of whom are employed in Hungary. (5) Some 325,000 people are engaged in wood-working, less than a third of them in Hungary. (6) The iron and steel works of the monarchy furnish employment to 300,000 people, nearly 30 per cent. of whom are in Hungary. (7) The quarries and potteries of the monarchy keep some 150,000 people busy, less than one-tenth of them in Hungary. (8-10) Finally, machine-building and tool and implement making, and the paper and leather industries each give work to more than 100,000 people; less than one-third of these are employed in Hungary.

The mere enumeration of the principal industries of Austria-Hungary shows the overwhelming industrial importance of Austria in the monarchy. It is this industrial diversity of Austria and Hungary that makes the monarchy more or less self-sufficient, the two halves depending upon exchange with each other for their material well-being. The chief seats of industry in Austria are Bohemia, Silesia, Moravia, and Lower Austria. In Hungary, Budapest is the heart of industrial activity, 40 per cent. of the Hungarian factory population being employed there; yet the number of Budapest’s manufacturing establishments constitutes but 10 per cent. of the total in Hungary, which shows that most of the large modern factories and mills of Hungary are located in its capital.

The most important industries in the monarchy that are carried on on a large scale, and play a leading part in the commercial and financial life of the country, are the textile and iron and steel industries. The most ancient branches of the textile industry are the spinning and weaving of wool and linen, for both of which the country produces abundant raw material. The maintenance of these industries has always been an object of special solicitude with the people of Austria, because it not only furnishes employment to the manufacturers and their workmen, but also affords an outlet to the wool and flax crops of the country. But although the wool and linen industries are still very nourishing, their relative importance is receding before the rapidly growing cotton industry. The raw cotton is imported from the United States and India, and is converted into finished products in the spinning, weaving, bleaching, dyeing, and printing establishments of the monarchy. The growth of the industry is best shown by the increasing quantity of raw cotton consumed from year to year. In 1831 the imports of raw cotton amounted to 12,456,000 pounds; in 1858 they rose to 87,523,000 pounds. Cotton was seriously threatening the very existence of the linen industry, when the breaking out of the Civil War in the United States, with the consequent cotton famine, gave the linen industry a chance to revive. After the war the cotton industry took a new lead, and the imports of cotton jumped to 132,739,000 pounds in 1871, 245,482,200 pounds in 1891, and 358,269.500 pounds in 1898. The silk industry is also making rapid strides, owing chiefly to the increased cultivation of the silk-worm in Hungary. Formerly the seat of silk manufacture was largely centred in Southern Tyrol and the neighboring region; now there are large silk-spinning establishments in Szegszárd, Panesova, and Neusatz, in Hungary, in which country about 86,000 families were engaged in the production of raw silk in 1894, as against only 100 families in 1879. All of the textile products enumerated constitute an important item of export from Austria-Hungary.

The iron and steel industry of Austria-Hungary is abreast of the times in its modern methods of manufacture. The production of pig, cast, and wrought iron, Bessemer steel, iron bars, etc., although large, is barely sufficient to cover the home demand on the part of the manufacturers of steel rails, iron plate, steel wire, etc., besides the numerous comparatively smaller manufactures of all kinds of metallic ware. In addition there is the very important machine-building industry, which includes the manufacture of locomotives, agricultural machinery, and all kinds of machinery used in modern manufacturing establishments. How inadequate most of these products are to meet the domestic demand, in spite of their great increase in the course of the last decade, is to be seen from the following figures, which show that, with a few exceptions, the imports of these products are greater than the exports:

The milling industry is still carried on to a considerable extent by small establishments, in which the motive power is wind or water, but there are now thousands of steam mills, most of them in Hungary. Some of them, as those in Budapest, are on a large scale.

In 1890 there were 106,616 distilleries, the great mass being diminutive stills, of which 27,055 were in Austria and 79,561 in Hungary. In 1898, out of 30,637 distilleries in Austria, only 600 used any kind of machinery, and a similar proportion held in Hungary. But of the 25,434,000 gallons produced by the 79,010 distilleries of Hungary in 1896, 24,884.000 gallons, or 97.8 per cent. of the total product, were turned out by 501 distilleries, or by about one-half of 1 per cent. of all the distilleries. The number of breweries is on the decrease, because the small breweries are crowded out of existence by their new large rivals. In 1865 there were 3143 breweries; in 1880 there were 2217; in 1890, 1859 (1761 in Austria and 98 in Hungary); in 1898 the number declined further to 1614. The annual output of the Austro-Hungarian breweries fluctuated between 317,000,000 and 370,000,000 gallons, and is behind only that of Germany and Great Britain in all Europe.

The beet-sugar industry is one of considerable importance in Austria, as well as in Hungary, and is fostered by the Government by a very liberal bounty system. In 1865 there were 147 refineries in the monarchy; the number grew to 215 (198 in Austria and 17 in Hungary) in ​1890, and 234 (214 in Austria and 20 in Hungary) in 1898, and the annual output increased from 845,000 tons of sugar in 1890 to nearly 935,000 tons in 1898, which not only covers the entire domestic demand, but also furnishes a considerable surplus for export. The sugar industry gives employment to from 85,000 to 90,000 people, of which about one-sixth are employed in Hungary.

The glass industry is especially developed in Bohemia, whose products enjoy great fame and constitute a very important article of export from Austria-Hungary. The pottery products are also of importance, and include the most artistic and expensive porcelain and china ware. The chemical industry thrives especially in Bohemia, Silesia, Lower Austria, and Hungary, and its most important products are potash, sulphuric and hydrochloric acids, pharmaceutical goods, and dyestuffs and explosives. The manufacture of paper, carried on extensively, is rapidly growing throughout the monarchy, and furnishes large quantities for export, giving employment to some 25,000 people. The manufacture of friction matches is carried on extensively in Austria.

The leather industry sprang up at an early date, as a natural outgrowth of the country’s enormous stock-raising, and has developed to such an extent as to require the importation of considerable quantities of hides from abroad; and yet it is unable to supply the domestic demand for leather, which also has to be imported in great quantities.

The manufacture of tobacco has constituted a Government monopoly since 1670. It is carried on in 43 factories, of which 28 are in Austria and 15 in Hungary, giving employment to upward of 50,000 working people, more than 90 per cent. of whom are women. The annual output of the Government factories aggregates about 1,600,000,000 cigars, 2,500,000,000 cigarettes, 88,000,000 pounds of tobacco, and 3,750,000 pounds of snuff, yielding a revenue of about $20,000,000 to the Austrian Government and nearly $12,000,000 to the Hungarian Government. The consumption of tobacco in the monarchy (3.3 pounds) per capita is behind that of Great Britain, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Switzerland, and is about the same as in Germany.

Transportation. Railways.—The first steam railway in Austria, the Kaiser Ferdinand Nordbahn, 8 miles long, was opened in November, 1837, although a horse railway—the first ever built in Europe—had existed since 1825. The first line was built by a private company, and it was not till 1841 that the Government began to construct railways on its own account. In the meantime, the great prosperity of the country in the early forties, with its consequent abundance of idle capital seeking investment, stimulated the construction of many private lines, and sent up the prices of railway shares on the exchanges. The poor crops of 1845, however, and the commercial panic of 1846 which followed, made short work of this optimism, and prices tumbled, bringing ruin to many and leaving the railways in a pitiful plight. It was under these circumstances that the Government determined upon the policy of nationalizing the railways, and appropriated over $10,000,000—soon increased to $25,000,000—for buying up the shares of private railway companies; and in less than a year (September, 1847) the Government owned a controlling interest in four of the largest railways of the country—the Hungarian, the Lombardo-Venetian, the Gloggnitz, and the Oedenburg railways. The financial straits in which these railways found themselves forced the Government to pursue to an end the policy it had once begun, and to buy out the roads entirely. By September, 1854, the Government found itself in possession of 1100 miles of railways, or practically the entire mileage of Austria. In the following year, however, the Government suddenly reversed its policy, and began to dispose of its acquired lines, and by 1858 the total length of the State lines dwindled down to some 8 miles. This radical change in the railway policy of the Austrian Government, while partly due to official mismanagement under State control, was mainly caused by the fact that the Government needed a large amount of ready cash, in order to effect a change in its monetary standard. The following decade was marked by feverish activity in construction, due largely to indiscriminate grants of subventions by the Government to private companies. From 1860 to 1870 the length of private lines increased from 1815 miles to 3800 miles, while the proportion of subsidized roads increased from 20 per cent. at the close of the fifties to 75 per cent. in 1866. In 1873 the Austrian Government, partly influenced by the great drain upon its finances caused by the granting of subventions, and partly stimulated by the success of State railway ownership in Germany and in France, made an attempt to return to its former policy. As an initial step in that direction, a law was passed in 1877 conferring on the Government the right to take over, with a few exceptions, all the lines which had been receiving a subvention from the Government, or whose payment of interest had been guaranteed by it. The total amount paid out by the Government in the form of subventions and guarantees up to 1876 was about $49,000,000. Since 1877 the State has steadily increased its railways, both by construction and by purchase, so that at the close of 1898 it owned and controlled over 56 per cent. of the total railway mileage of Austria.

The experience of Hungary with its railways has been, in the main, the same as that of Austria, with the difference that the Hungarian Government, since the Ausgleich of 1867, has pursued the policy of State ownership and control with greater energy. The first steam railway in Hungary was opened in July, 1846, a line 21 miles long, from Budapest to Waitzen. At the end of 1899 the total length of the railway lines of Hungary was about 10,500 miles, of which ​nearly 83 per cent. was owned or controlled by the Government. The foregoing table illustrates the growth of railway lines in Austria and Hungary during the last half century.

Merchant Marine. Cut off from the sea on all sides except for a small outlet on the Adriatic, Austria-Hungary naturally falls behind all of the leading European countries in her merchant marine. In 1899 this comprised 12,605 vessels of 220,021 tons in Austria, and 494 vessels of 63,117 tons in Hungary. Of these, Austria had 187 steamers of 161,924 tons. Austria employed altogether 32,575 seamen and Hungary but 2279. In 1884 the merchant marine of the entire monarchy consisted of 9206 vessels of 324,458 tons, employing 29,358 people; thus in fifteen years there was an increase of 42 per cent. in the number of vessels, but a decline in the total tonnage. In 1899, 125,000 vessels of 15,000,000 tons entered and cleared the 104 seaports of Austria-Hungary (of which 93 belonged to Austria and only 11 to Hungary), as against 85,000 vessels of 11,000,000 tons in 1891. Nearly 90 per cent. of these vessels carried the Austro-Hungarian flag, next in the order of importance being those of Italy, Greece, and Great Britain. The most important seaports are Trieste in Austria and Fiume in the Kingdom of Hungary. The Danube is navigated by a large number of steamboats throughout the whole of its course in Austria-Hungary, and affords a great outlet to the Black Sea.

Commerce. The lofty mountains surrounding the country on nearly all sides and the small extent of its coast-line are great obstacles in the way of development of foreign commerce. On the other hand, the great diversity of natural resources in the two halves of the monarchy is especially favorable to an active internal trade. For purposes of commerce and trade, Austria and Hungary form a single customs union, maintained by a mutual agreement. According to it the commercial relations of the two halves of the monarchy to each other and to foreign countries are exactly the same as in the case of the separate States of the United States; no import or export duties can be levied on goods going from one part of the monarchy to the other, and all duties on foreign goods are uniform throughout the country. Nearly 1,000,000 people are employed in commerce. Eighty-five per cent. of the entire foreign commerce is by land, and only 15 per cent. goes by water. The countries which share most in the trade with the monarchy are:

་ Next come France, Switzerland, Turkey, etc. The following figures show the growth of foreign commerce during the last decade of the Nineteenth Century:

These show an increase for the decade of nearly 68 per cent. in the value of the imports, but only of 24 per cent. in that of the exports. In 1900, of the total imports into the country, 57 per cent. was raw material, 14 per cent. half-finished products, and 29 per cent. manufactured goods. On the other hand, of the total exports during the same year, only 35 per cent. consisted of the products of land, forests, and fisheries; 7 per cent. represented products of the mines and half-finished products of smelting-works, etc.; and nearly 60 per cent. was manufactured goods. These few figures clearly show the predominating importance of manufactures over agricultural and mining products in the exports of the country, and reveal a tendency and growing ability to convert the raw products, both domestic and foreign, into finished products before calling in the aid of foreign manufactures for the satisfaction of the wants of the population. That this is a growing tendency is shown by the fact that there was an increase of 9 per cent. in the value of the imports of raw products in 1900 as compared with 1899, and at the same time a decline of 2 per cent. in the exports; while there was a falling off of 1.3 per cent. in the value of the imports of half-finished products and an increase of 6 per cent. in the exports; and a decrease of about one-half of one per cent. in the value of the imports of manufactured products and an increase of 5 per cent. in the exports.

The United States, as shown above, ranks sixth in the foreign commerce of Austria-Hungary, and, on the other hand, the latter country ranks tenth in our own foreign commerce. It is interesting to trace the growth of trade between the United States and Austria-Hungary during the last decade. In 1890 its total value was $12,906,000, in 1900 it increased to $16,126,000, or an increase of nearly 25 per cent. in a decade. But the exports of Austria-Hungary to the United States during that period suffered a decline of $2,500,000, or 21 per cent., while the exports of the United States to Austria-Hungary increased by nearly $6,000,000, or more than 33 per cent. The following table shows the fluctuations of the Austro-American trade during that decade:

The chief articles of import from the United States are cotton, and some machinery and other manufactured goods, while Austria-Hungary exports to us mainly beet sugar, glassware, pottery, furniture, millinery, jewelry, and beans.

Banking. The banking system of the monarchy is quite simple. It centres in the Austro-Hungarian Bank, with headquarters at Vienna and Budapest, 71 branches in the principal cities of the country, and agencies in many other towns. This bank has the exclusive privilege of issuing paper money, and to that extent exercises even a more complete control over the monetary situation ​of the monarchy than the Bank of England does over that country. It was organized in 1816, under the name of the “Austrian National Bank,” and from the beginning was endowed with the great powers it now enjoys. Except for the period lasting from 1848 till the middle of the sixties, when the country’s resources were drained to exhaustion by the ravages of the Revolution and foreign wars, it has enjoyed great prosperity during its entire existence, and has had a high reputation for stability and sound management. In 1877 it was recognized as the Austro-Hungarian Bank, in order to bring it into conformity with the new political status of the country. The capital of the bank is fixed at $36,540,000, and the resources have been growing all the time, as the following figures (taken at the close of the respective years) will show:

The most important bank next to the Austro-Hungarian Bank is the Austrian Credit Bank for Trade and Industry (Oesterreichische Credit-Anstalt für Handel und Gewerbe). Its functions are the same as those of the large private banking-houses of the United States; viz., the promotion of all kinds of industrial undertakings, and negotiating State and provincial loans. It was founded in 1855, with an authorized capital of $40,000,000, which was subsequently reduced to $16,000,000, and has branches in the largest cities of the country. Among the other important banks should be mentioned: The Lower Austrian Discount Company, organized 1853 ($4,000,000); the Anglo-Austrian Bank, organized 1864, capital $7,000,000; the Austrian Territorial Bank (Länderbank), organized 1880, with $16,000,000, mostly French capital, invested in railways, mines, and foreign loans; the Union Bank; and the General Austrian Mortgage Bank (Bodenkredit-Anstalt), organized 1864. The latter advances loans on real estate by issuing mortgage bonds, which are sold in the open market, so that it practically serves as an intermediary between the real-estate owners and the capitalist who does the actual advancing of money. Its usefulness to the former is in securing for him a lower rate of interest than he would otherwise have to pay, and to the latter in that it assumes the responsibility for the solvency of the debtor. It has proved an extremely useful institution, attracting a large amount of capital from abroad (chiefly France), and distributing it in the agricultural community which has stood in need of it most. Nearly all of these banks have branches throughout the country, thus extending their usefulness as far as possible. An account of the banking system of Austria would not be complete without mentioning the Vienna Clearing-House (Giro und Cassen-Verein), which, in addition to attending to ordinary clearing-house transactions (see Clearing-House), performs many other services for banks and business firms. The growth of its transactions is shown by the following few figures:

In addition to the banks enumerated, there are a number of other banks of minor importance—savings, pawning, mortgage banks, etc. All in all, there are 44 joint-stock banks (besides branches and agencies) and 17 private banks in Austria, with a capital stock of more than $120,000,000. The comparatively small number of banks in the country is due to the fact that in Austria the system of branch banking is in vogue. In Hungary the system of small independent banks is more in favor, there being in 1900, 360 banks, with a total capital of about $77,000,000.

The postal savings-bank system has attained a fuller development in Austria-Hungary than in any other country. Besides the savings department proper, in which deposits are accepted for the smallest amounts, there is a check department, in which the minimum deposits are fixed at $40. The use of the post-office as a banking institution has proven of inestimable benefit to the business community, as the facilities thus afforded by the Government for out-of-town remittances, as well as for local payments, are far superior to those offered by any private bank. The postal savings department has thus been converted into a gigantic clearing-house for the entire country. The relative importance of the two departments is shown by the following figures: The number of depositors in the savings department proper increased from an annual average of 783,208 in 1883–90, to 1,527,265 in 1900; their deposits increased during the same period from $8,500,000 to $26,000,000. In the check department the number of depositors increased during the same period from 17,808 to 40,271, while the deposits increased from $14,000,000 to $41,000,000. The number of postal savings-banks in Hungary exceeded 4,200 at the end of the century, having 389,000 depositors and over $6,000,000 deposits. The private savings-banks numbered 550 in Austria, with more than 3,000,000 depositors; over $720,000,000 in deposits, and 731 banks in Hungary, with about $300,000 in deposits.

Education. Owing to the diversity of race and language which prevails in the various provinces of Austria, the system of public education presents many differences in the various crown-lands of the Empire. In general, the organization and management of all public institutions of learning in Austria (Cisleithania) are left to the provincial authorities; but these are required to conform to a uniform scheme of instruction established by act of the Imperial Parliament and applied by the ​minister of public instruction. School administration is under the supervision of local, district, and provincial boards, and district and provincial inspectors. The features common to all the crown-lands are the division of educational institutions into primary, secondary, and higher schools, and the very low cost at which instruction in schools of all grades is imparted. Characteristic, too, of all the Austrian provinces is the high degree of excellence which technical education has attained. The care of primary instruction is incumbent on the local communities, and attendance at the primary schools between the ages of 6 and 14 (in three provinces between 6 and 12) is compulsory. The course of instruction includes, besides the ordinary branches, the subjects of religion, physical training, and, in the case of girls, domestic science. In 1893 the number of national schools and grammar schools (Volksschule, Bürgerschule) in Cisleithania, in which elementary education was imparted, was 18,807, with a teaching force of 67,354 men and women and an enrollment of 3,160,837 pupils. In 1898 the number of schools rose to 19,735, the number of teachers to 74,783, and the number of pupils to 3,483,646.

Above the elementary schools are the Gymnasia and the Realschulen, offering courses of eight and seven years respectively. The Gymnasia prepare for the universities, the Realschulen for the technological institutes. For the support of the secondary schools, the State, the provinces, and the larger communes coöperate. In 1896 there were 182 Gymnasia, with a teaching staff of 3699 and an attendance of 59,975, and 84 Realschulen, with 1579 teachers and 26,429 students. In 1901 the number of Gymnasia was 212 and the attendance 69,788, while the Realschulen had increased to 106 in number, with 35,192 students; in other words, the number of pupils in the Realschulen increased at a rate almost double that in the Gymnasia. Universities of Cisleithania, eight in number, supported by the State, are located at Vienna, Prague (two, German and Czech), Gratz, Innsbruck, Cracow, Lemberg, and Czernowitz. Each comprises faculties of theology, jurisprudence and political science, medicine, and philosophy. The universities at Vienna and Cracow and the German University at Prague, date back to the Fourteenth Century; and of these, the first ranks among the foremost universities of the world, especially as to its faculty of medicine. In 1893 the number of professors and tutors in all these universities was 1140 and the number of students 13,528. In 1901 the combined faculties included 1395 instructors, and the students numbered 17,132, showing an increase of nearly 25 per cent. in the student body and teaching staff. The number of students at the University of Vienna, in 1900, was 6981. In 1898 56 theological seminaries (of these 42 Catholic) gave instruction to 1978 students. Of the technological institutes, the most important are the six State high schools at Vienna, Prague (two), Gratz, Brünn, and Lemberg; and the mining academies at Leoben and Pribram. In addition, there are numerous schools of agriculture, forestry, and mining, industrial schools, military and naval academies, and schools of fine arts and music. In all, the special schools of Austria in 1898 numbered 3599, with a recorded attendance of over 225,000 students. General culture is highest in the German-speaking provinces (Bohemia included) and lowest among the Slavic races of Dalmatia, Galicia, and Bukowina.

Of learned societies, libraries, museums and art galleries there are a very great number, the most prominent of which are the imperial academies of science at Vienna, Prague, and Cracow. The Imperial Library at Vienna possesses 900,000 volumes and the library of the University of Vienna nearly 600,000. The periodical press increased in numbers from 2137 publications in 1894, to 2849 in 1899.

The educational system of Hungary is similar in its general outline to that of Austria, but differs from it in the greater uniformity of organization, due to the preponderating influence of the Magyar element in the population. The persistent attempt to make Magyar the exclusive language in the public schools has been a marked feature of educational policy in Hungary proper in very recent years. Attendance at the elementary schools, grammar schools, and the so-called repetition courses is compulsory for all children between the ages of 6 and 15, and it is incumbent on all communes to provide, generally with the aid of the State, adequate facilities for elementary instruction. In 1894 the number of elementary schools was 16,881, and the enrollment of pupils 2,270,584, or nearly 80 per cent. of all children of school age. In 1899 the schools had increased to 18,375. The Gymnasia and the Realschulen, which offer courses of eight years in preparation for the universities and technical schools, are supported by the communes, by the State, or partly by both. In 1894 there were 186 of these secondary schools, with a staff of 3230 instructors and 51,228 students. In 1899 the number of institutions was 214 and the attendance 61,520. At Budapest, Klausenburg, and Agram are universities supported by the State, with faculties of theology, law and political science, medicine, and philosophy, attended in 1899 by nearly 9500 students. Of these the University of Budapest is preëminently in the lead, with a faculty of 275 professors and instructors and an enrollment of about 5000 students. At Budapest is also the Royal Joseph Polytechnic Institute, with nearly 2000 students. The other technical institutions and commercial institutes of superior grade, 51 in number, impart instruction to nearly 6000 students, while the lower commercial and industrial schools are attended by more than 86,000 pupils. Between 1895 and 1899 the number of periodicals rose from 1000 to 1258, of which 71 per cent. were in the Magyar language and 12 per cent. in German.

Government. The Austro-Hungarian monarchy is composed of the Empire of Austria and the Kingdom of Hungary, and though it is common to speak of an Austro-Hungarian empire divided into Cisleithan and Transleithan halves, it is nearer the truth to regard Austria-Hungary as a loose union of two independent States. Essentially the only bond between them is their possession of a common ruler; the crown of both is hereditary in the House of Hapsburg-Lorraine, and the Emperor of Austria is at the same time Apostolic King of Hungary. He is crowned both at Vienna and Budapest, and takes the oath before both the Austrian Parliament and the Hungarian nation in his twofold capacity. The present dual system was adopted by the ​Ausgleich (agreement) of 1867, when the two countries, while retaining their complete independence in domestic affairs, agreed to establish a common administration for certain matters of State. Also by this Ausgleich (which is a general name for several treaties dealing with different subjects adopted at about the same time) Austria and Hungary were constituted a customs union, pledged to a common commercial policy, with a common coinage and system of weights and measures, a joint bank of issue, and a uniform control of monopolies and interstate railways. The departments of State common to both countries are those of finance, war, and foreign affairs, and in the functions delegated to the last two, there is apparent a general tendency to grant as little as possible to the common administration, and to keep as much as possible for the national executive. The minister of foreign affairs is charged with the supervision of the Emperor-King’s household and with the maintenance of the diplomatic and consular service. The ministry of war is concerned chiefly with the organization and training of the troops, since recruiting and the regulation of the terms of service are left to the two parliaments. The duties of the minister of finance are confined to the administration of the customs, the balancing of accounts for the two other ministries, and he is also intrusted with the government of the dependent provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The proportion of the common expenses to be borne by the two countries is determined, according to the Ausgleich, every ten years, and in 1899 the rate was fixed at 65.6 per cent. for Austria and 34.4 per cent. for Hungary.

Practically all legislation necessary to render the work of the common departments efficacious, rests with the Austrian and Hungarian diets, but the ministries are controlled directly by two bodies known as the Delegations, representing the parliaments of the two countries. Each delegation consists of 60 members, 20 of whom are elected by the Upper House and 40 by the Lower House. The delegations assemble at Vienna and at Budapest in alternate years, and deliberate apart, communicating only in writing. If they arrive at no agreement after three interchanges, they meet as one body and vote without debate. Evidently the system of dual government is not only cumbersome, but precarious, in that it depends for its continuance on the mutual good-will of two contracting parties, each of whom keeps a jealous watch against the least ascendency on the part of the other. The activity of the common ministries is dependent on concurrent legislation by the Austrian and Hungarian Parliaments; a refusal on the part of either to vote its proportion of the common expenses or its quota of troops may instantly paralyze the financial and defensive powers of the monarchy; and that such action is not at all improbable was shown in 1897, when that part of the Ausgleich establishing a customs union failed of renewal, and was replaced by a reciprocity treaty for a term of ten years.

The Austrian Empire, independently of Hungary, comprises the seventeen crown-lands represented in the Reichsrat at Vienna. Of these territorial divisions, diverse in race, language, and history, some, like Bohemia, Galicia, and Dalmatia, are kingdoms of which the Austrian Emperor is King; some, like Styria, Carniola, and the two Austrias, are duchies or archduchies; the rest are variously designated principalities. As a result of this combination of sectionalism, based on ethnographical distinctions, with the personal rule of one man, the Empire partakes at the same time of the character of a federal State and of a centralized monarchy. The element of racial diversity influences also the relations between the Crown and the legislative bodies. Parliamentary government, in spite of presenting practically all the outward forms it bears in England, for instance, has not attained to anything like full development, for the reason that the various parties in the Diet have not as yet been able to unite permanently either in supporting or opposing the Crown. By playing off the different factions against each other, the Emperor has succeeded in retaining the balance of power, and in making the ministers his servants, though in law they are responsible to the Parliament. At the same time, such incidents as the blocking of all legislation for months at a time—a thing which happens frequently in the strife of parties—afford him an opportunity for exercising his extra-constitutional powers in the matter of promulgating ordinances and decrees.

The constitution of Cisleithania is based, among other statutes, on the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713, on the patents of 1860 and 1861, and chiefly on the Fundamental Law of December 21, 1867. It may be suspended at any time by a two-thirds vote of both houses of the Reichsrat. The Emperor is the source of law and justice; he legislates concurrently with the Reichsrat for Cisleithania and with the provincial diets (Landtage) for the provinces. He has the power to make treaties, issue ordinances, grant pardons, appoint officials, and to summon, prorogue, and dissolve the legislatures. Through his ministers he may initiate legislation. In case of necessity he may suspend the constitution and legislate provisionally by ordinance. Every act of his, however, must be countersigned by a minister, and his extra-constitutional decrees must be countersigned by the entire Ministerial Council.

The Reichsrat consists of a House of Lords (Herrenhaus) and a House of Representatives (Abgeordnetenhaus). The Upper House was made up in 1901 of 17 members of the Imperial family, 66 persons holding their seats by hereditary right, 6 archbishops and 8 bishops of princely rank, and 139 life-members. The Lower House consists of 425 members, chosen as follows: 85 by the great landed proprietors, 118 by the towns, 129 by the rural communities, 21 by the Chambers of Commerce, and 72 by the whole male population above the age of twenty-four, exclusive of domestic servants. The different classes of electors are representative, in a way, of the ancient estates. The qualification for the franchise, in all classes except the last, is the payment of a direct tax, which varies from a very considerable sum, in the case of the landed proprietors, to a trifling amount in the town and rural communities. The representatives are selected directly in all classes, save the rural communities. The electoral districts are not marked out on the basis of population alone. Ethnical and economic conditions, and to a great degree the historical importance of different provinces, are taken into consideration. The representation of the different provinces in the Lower House of the Reichsrat is as follows: Lower Austria, 46; Upper ​Austria, 20; Bohemia, 110; Bukowina, 11; Carinthia, 10; Carniola, 11; Dalmatia, 11; Galicia, 78; Görz and Gradisca, 5; Istria, 5; Moravia, 43; Salzburg, 6; Silesia, 12; Styria, 27; Trieste, 5; Tyrol, 21; Vorarlberg, 4.

The Reichsrat assembles annually. The consent of both houses is necessary to all treaties relating to commerce or necessitating the imposition of taxes as well as to all statutes and appropriations. Bills may originate in either house, but the annual budget and the recruiting bill fixing the quota of troops for the year must be presented to the Lower House first. Concerning the position of the Reichsrat in respect to the executive, something has been said above; its relation to the provincial diets may be summed up in the statement that the latter are vested with the power of legislation on all subjects not reserved to the Reichsrat, and that the matters so reserved are very numerous, including any interest that may concern two or more provinces in common. In greater detail, the scope of the Reichsrat includes, in addition to those mentioned, the subjects of customs, coinage and communications, banking, corporations and trade, citizenship, domicile and census, religion and the right of association, the press and copyright, the general policy of public instruction, judicial legislation, the organization of the executive and judicial departments.

The administrative work of the General Government is divided into eight departments, comprising the ministries of the Interior, Finance, Defense, Agriculture, Railways, Justice, Commerce, Instruction and Worship. The heads of the eight departments, together with two ministers without portfolio representing the kingdoms of Bohemia and Galicia, constitute the Ministerial Council. The civil service in Austria is characterized by its freedom from politics, elaborate automatism, and its marked tendency to intrude on the private life of the citizen. Though the Austrian constitution embodies a comprehensive bill of rights, acts which in their nature are serious limitations of the rights of the citizen are frequently justified as being embraced within the legitimate exercise of the police power. The constitutional restraints on the freedom of speech and of the press, and the right of association, are considerable, and as their interpretation is left largely to executive officials, they often become quite onerous.

Provincial Diets And Local Government. The provincial diets of Cisleithania are in many cases the ancient assemblies, established in the different provinces before they were brought under one rule; the diets, therefore, are the rallying-grounds of national parties, and in a way, the internal political condition of Austria is affected as much by the attitude of the various provincial legislatures toward the general problems of government as by the relations of parties in the Reichsrat. The diets are unicameral, and comprise (1) the archbishops and bishops of the Catholic Church and the rectors of the universities within the crown-land, and (2) the representatives of landed proprietors and the Chambers of Commerce, and the members elected by the rural communities and the towns. The size of the diets varies from 242 members in Bohemia to 21 members in Vorarlberg. The president of the assembly is appointed by the Emperor, who through this officer, as well as through the exercise of the right of prorogation and dissolution, exerts very considerable influence on the legislative bodies. The authority of the provincial assembly extends to questions of local government and local taxation, agriculture and public works, the control of the territorial domains, and the management of secondary schools and charitable institutions. The executive power is vested in a committee (Landes-Ausschuss), consisting of a president appointed by the Emperor, and a certain number of members elected by the Diet.

For administrative purposes, every province constitutes a department (Landesregierung) under a governor (Statthalter or Landes-Präsident) appointed by the Emperor. The Landesregierung is subdivided into districts (Bezirkshauptmannschaften) and communes (Gemeinden). The police, as well as the civil power, is vested in the governor. He presides over the boards of education and of health, and controls directly the magistrates of the towns and the heads (Bezirkhauptmänner) of the districts. There is no uniform municipal code in Austria, each provincial diet having the power to model the municipal government after its own fashion. But within each province there is perfect uniformity of administration except for some of the largest cities, such as Vienna, Prague, etc., which are governed by special charters. The common features of all the municipalities in Austria include a Gemeindeausschuss, or municipal council, elected generally for a period of three years by the members of the commune, and a Gemeindevorstand, or executive board, elected by the council. This board consists of a small number of men under the presidency of the burgomaster, and carries out the decisions of the council.

Justice is administered in the first place by 939 district courts, which try minor offenses and misdemeanors, and hold prisoners for the higher tribunals. For the trial of more serious charges, there are 72 provincial and circuit courts of original jurisdiction. Cases involving severe penalties, or concerned with political and press offenses, are brought before the jury courts. Appeals are taken to the higher provincial courts, 9 in number. The court of last resort is the Supreme Court of Justice and Cassation at Vienna. There are also numerous courts for the trial of special matters, such as commercial, revenue, and military cases. The Court of the Empire at Vienna decides questions of jurisdiction and cases involving conflict of laws. Before the High Court of Administration are brought all controversies between private citizens and public officials.

The Kingdom of Hungary comprises Hungary proper, with Transylvania and the crown-lands of Croatia-Slavonia. The constitution of the Kingdom is based on a series of statutes beginning with the Golden Bull of 1222, the charter of Hungarian liberties. The fundamental law of June 8, 1867, confirmed the sweeping reforms which the Revolutionists of 1848 had effected in abolishing old feudal privileges, extending the suffrage, and reconstructing institutions on a modern basis. Subsequent legislation has modified the constitution only in matters of detail and procedure. The King is bound by the same constitutional limitations as in his Austrian dominions; but, by reason ​of the greater homogeneity of the Lower House of the Hungarian Parliament, does not exercise so great an influence in its deliberations as over those of the Austrian Reichsrat. As in Austria, decrees must be countersigned by a responsible minister to acquire validity. The Hungarian Parliament is composed of an Upper House―the Table of Magnates―and a Lower House―the House of Representatives. The Table of magnates in 1900 consisted of 17 members of the royal family, 42 archbishops, bishops, and other dignitaries of the Catholic and Greek churches, 12 representatives of the Protestant churches, 225 hereditary peers, 76 life-peers, 17 high officers of State, holding their seats ex officio, and 3 delegates from Croatia-Slavonia. The House of Representatives, which is chosen by the entire male population over the age of twenty, the qualifications being the payment of a small direct tax or the possession of a certain income, contains 453 members (413 from Hungary and 40 from Croatia-Slavonia), elected for a period of five years. In the Parliamentary scheme, the Table of Magnates plays an important part. The majority of its members are great landowners, possessing extensive influence in the country, and as such often enter into opposition to the popular chamber. In the Parliament as a whole, the Magyar element is strongly predominant, and of the Magyars it is the gentry, or minor nobility, that make up the bulk of the House of Representatives and are the controlling political power of the country. The establishment of the Magyar supremacy has been steadfastly pursued in all walks of public life, and the Magyar language is the only recognized language in the courts and schools of Hungary proper, the army, etc. Although the other races combined outnumber the Magyars by 4,000,000 out of a total population of 19,000,000, the only race that has received recognition from the Magyars is the Slavic race of Croatia-Slavonia. The Hungarian Parliament legislates for Hungary and for all affairs that are common to Hungary and Croatia-Slavonia. For purposes of local legislation―i.e. for such matters as agriculture, education, police, and many features of civil and criminal law―Croatia-Slavonia has a diet of its own, consisting of 7 ecclesiastical dignitaries, 20 peers and officers of State, and 90 representatives of the rural communities and towns.

The executive power in the Kingdom of Hungary is vested in a cabinet consisting of 9 ministers and a minister-president. The 9 ministers are those of (1) Finance, (2) Interior, (3) Agriculture, (4) Industry and Commerce, (5) Defense, (6) Justice, (7) Education and Public Worship, (8) Minister for Croatia-Slavonia, (9) Minister ad latus―i.e. near the person of the King. The ministers are responsible to Parliament. The chief executive in Croatia-Slavonia is the Ban, who stands under the control of the Hungarian ministers. Hungary proper (including Transylvania) is divided into 63 counties, at the head of each of which is a governor (German Obergespan), and 25 independent municipalities, the latter comprising the free royal cities. The counties are subdivided into 106 incorporated towns, governed by magistrates, and 410 presidencies (Stuhlrichterämter), and the presidencies are further portioned out into greater and smaller communes. In these ultimate units the representative body is composed, half of deputies, elected by all males over the age of twenty, paying a small tax, and half of the highest taxpayers in the communes. The executive power rests with a council appointed for varying terms in the rural and town communes. The presidencies have no legislatures, but are mere administrative divisions.

Local Government. The legislative bodies in the counties are elected by the qualified parliamentary electors of the district, and the Obergespan is assisted in his duties by a committee or council appointed for a period of ten years. In the degree of self-government the municipalities rank with the counties. Their representative bodies are created in the same manner as those of the communes, and they have their councils and magistrates. Croatia-Slavonia contains 8 counties and 12 free cities. The counties are subdivided into communes, rural and urban, similar in their government to those of Hungary. The county legislatures are composed of representatives chosen by the body of parliamentary electors, of committees representing the municipalities and communes, and of the higher county officials.

Justice. In Hungary the tribunals exercising original jurisdiction comprise 457 district courts for the trial of misdemeanors, 76 circuit courts for the hearing of criminal charges and important civil cases, and 15 jury courts for the trial of press offenses. Appeals from the lower courts rest with the 12 Royal Tables of Justice, and in the final instance with the Royal Curia at Budapest, in Hungary, and the Supreme Court of Justice and Cassation at Agram, in Croatia-Slavonia. There are besides a tribunal of Commerce and Exchange at Budapest, a Court of Admiralty at Fiume, a Central Court of Land Registry, and a Supreme Court of Discipline for military cases.

Finance. An extremely heavy public debt, whose origin dates back a century and a half, and which not only shows no signs of abatement, but keeps growing from year to year; a chronic deficit in the Imperial budget; a burdensome system of taxation, which falls heaviest on the shoulders of the poorer classes of the population―such is the cheerless aspect of the national finances of the country. The following figures show the budgets of Austria and Hungary during the last quarter of the century:

The per capita expenditure increased in Austria from $7.92 in 1880 to $9.58 in 1890, and to $12.70 in 1901; while in Hungary it was $7.49, $9, and $11.53, respectively. Nearly 40 per cent. of the total expenditure of the monarchy is absorbed by the service of the debt; 18 per cent. of Austria’s expenditure and 7 per cent. of Hungary’s go to the common expenditure of the monarchy, i.e. for the ministry of foreign ​affairs, consular services, army and navy, etc.; and about 40 per cent. of the expenditure of either country goes to general administrative expenses, including clerical service in all departments, maintenance of schools and teachers, churches and clergy, police, gendarmerie, etc. The chief source of revenue is taxation, which furnishes 88 per cent. of all the income of Austria, and 70 per cent. of the revenue of Hungary; and in both countries the indirect taxes, i.e. those falling heaviest on the consumers, especially the poorer classes, constitute the most important item of taxation, yielding more than 60 per cent. of the entire revenue in Austria and over 40 per cent. in Hungary. The direct taxes yield 28 per cent. of the revenue of Austria and 30 per cent. of Hungary, and the income tax goes to make up about one-fourth of the direct taxes. Finally, a more important source of revenue than in most other countries are the Government monopolies and undertakings, railways, telegraphs, post-office, tobacco, forests, mines, lottery, etc., which furnish as much as 30 per cent. of all the revenue of Hungary and about 8 per cent. of that of Austria.

The public debt of Austria-Hungary is extremely large. Fully 40 per cent. of the total expenditure of the monarchy goes toward paying interest and a slight part of the principal of the debt. By the agreement of 1867, the separate debts of the two countries were consolidated into a common debt of the monarchy. In 1899 this common debt still amounted to more than $1,102,000,000. Since 1868 the new debts contracted by the two countries have been kept distinct, and interest paid out of the separate revenues of Austria and Hungary. While the common debt has been somewhat decreased, although very slowly, the separate debts have gone on increasing from year to year, until now they have grown to tremendous proportions, proving a great drain on the resources of the people. In 1887 the total indebtedness of the monarchy exceeded $2,114,000,000; in 1897 it had increased to $2,723,000,000. Of this great total $26,000,000 represented the floating debt of the monarchy, consisting mostly of paper money; $1,090,000,000 was the amount of the joint consolidated interest-bearing debt of the monarchy; $597,935,000 represented the special Austrian debt, and $1,006,000,000 the special Hungarian debt. It should be noted in conclusion that a great part of that debt has been incurred for the purchase or construction of profitable undertakings, such as railways, telegraphs, mines, etc.

Army and Navy. Military service is obligatory on all citizens in Austria and in Hungary. The military system is organized on identical lines in both halves of the monarchy, and the common army is under the head of the common ministry of war. Austria and Hungary have their own national guards (the Landwehr in one, the Honvédseg in the other) and the general levy (Landsturm, Nepfölkelés) of the nation. The common army and the special armies are reinforced by a supplementary reserve (Ersatzreserve, Póttartalék). The terms of service are, for the common army, 12 years, of which 3 years are spent in the line, 7 years in the reserve, and 2 years in the Landwehr; for the special armies, 12 years likewise, of which 2 or 3 years are passed in the line and 9 or 10 years in the Landsturm. All citizens between the ages of 19 and 42 who do not serve in the common army, the national guards, the supplementary reserve, or the navy, belong to the Landsturm, or general levy. Persons possessing certain educational qualifications are subject to only one year’s active service in the military forces. The Austro-Hungarian navy is maintained chiefly for purposes of coast defense. See articles Armies; Navies.

Weights, Measures, and Money. The metric system is in vogue throughout the monarchy. The monetary system is on the gold basis. A crown (Krone)—equal to one-half of the old gulden or florin—is worth 20.3 cents United States money. A crown has 100 Heller, the heller being equal to one-half kreuzer, the coin formerly in vogue.

Population. The growth of population during the last half of the Nineteenth Century was as follows:

(For figures of population and its density by crown-lands, see first table of this article.)

At the close of the Nineteenth Century there were but three cities in Austria-Hungary having a population of over 200,000: Vienna (1,674,957), Budapest (732,322), and Prague (201,589). The following are the most important towns of Cisleithania: Vienna, Prague, Lemberg, Gratz, Trieste, Brünn, Cracow, Pilsen, Czernowitz, Linz, Pola, Budweis, Laibach, Salzburg, Zara, Innsbruck, Troppau, Klagenfurt, and Olmütz. The principal towns of Transleithania are: Budapest, Szegedin, Maria-Theresiopel (Szábadka), Debreczin, Presburg, Hódmezö-Vásárhely, Agram, Kecskemét, Arad, Temesvár, Groszwardein, Klausenburg, Fünfkirchen, Fiume, and Kaschau.

Birth and Death Rates. Both show the same tendency to decrease that is so prevalent throughout the civilized world, the former due to increased uncertainty of occupation and greater willingness on the part of the population to check births, and the latter due to improved sanitation and higher standards of living. In 1898 the death-rate in Austria was 24.76 per thousand, as compared with 29.22 in 1888, the birth-rate in the same years being 35.97 and 37.62, thus leaving an excess of new-born over deceased equal to 11.20 per thousand in 1898, as against but 8.60 in 1888. In Hungary the death-rate per thousand was 33.4 in 1891, and 28.5 in 1897, while the birth-rate decreased from 42.6 in 1891, to 40.3 in 1897, the excess of births over deaths thus having increased from 9.2 in 1891 to 11.8 in 1897. In 1890 there were 19,264 blind people in Austria and 18,363 in Hungary―a rather high proportion for the latter country, considering its smaller share of the population of the monarchy. The respective numbers of deaf mutes in the two halves of the monarchy were 30,876 and 19,024; insane, 36,151 and 10,536.

Emigration and Immigration. In the twenty-year period of 1878-1898 about 900,000 people emigrated from Austria-Hungary to North and ​South America, of which 818,310 went to North America, 41,210 to Brazil, and 25,000 to Argentina. According to the report of the United States Commissioner-General of Immigration, the number of immigrants coming to the United States from Austria-Hungary increased from 62,491 in 1898–99 to 114,847 in 1899–1900, the most numerous nationalities in order of importance in the latter year being Slovaks (29,000), Poles (22,000), Croatians and Slavonians (17,000), Jews (17,000), Hungarians (14,000), Germans (7000), and Czechs or Bohemians (3000). Immigration is very small, and principally comes from Germany, Rumania, and Servia.

Nationalities. The population of Austria-Hungary embraces a greater number of races, distinct in origin and language, than that of any other European country except Russia. The Slavs are the most numerous race, amounting to over 46 per cent. of the whole population. Next in order come the Germans, then the Magyars, while the Wallachs (Rumans) occupy the fourth place. The Slavs form the bulk of the population of Bohemia, Moravia, Galicia, Carniola, Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia, and the north of Hungary. The Slavs are split up into a number of nationalities, differing greatly in language, religion, culture, and manners; so that their seeming preponderance in the monarchy is lost. These nationalities include the Czechs (the most numerous of all) in Bohemia and Moravia, the Poles in Galicia, the Ruthenians in Galicia and Northern Hungary, the Croats and Serbs in Croatia and Slavonia, the Slovaks mainly in northwestern Hungary, the Slovens in Carniola, Styria, etc., the Morlaks in Dalmatia, and some Bulgarians. The Slavs constitute more than half of the population of Cisleithania. The Germans number only about 25 per cent. of the total population. They are dispersed over the monarchy, predominating numerically in Upper and Lower Austria, Salzburg, Tyrol, Styria and Carinthia. The Magyars, or Hungarians proper, constitute only about one-sixth of the population of the monarchy, and less than 43 per cent. of that of the Kingdom of Hungary. One-seventh of the population of Transleithania consists of Rumans, who constitute the bulk of the people of Transylvania. The Rumans are also numerous in Bukowina. The other Romanic peoples of Austria-Hungary are the Italians, inhabiting the south of Tyrol, İstria, Trieste, and Dalmatia; the Ladins (Latins), occupying some valleys in Tyrol; and the Friauls about Görtz, north of Triest. The number of Jews in the monarchy is not far from 2,000,000, which is about one-fifth of the total Jewish population of the globe. The Gypsies are estimated to number about 100,000. There are more than 10.000 Armenians scattered over the eastern half of the monarchy.

As to religion, the great bulk of the nation is Roman Catholic. By the census of 1890 there were 27,754,000 Roman Catholics; of Greeks and Armenians in union with the Church of Rome, 4,485,000; of Orthodox Greeks, 3.178.000. The Protestants of all denominations numbered 3.933.000; and of Israelites there were 1.868,000. The monarchy is divided into archbishoprics, bishoprics, Protestant superintendencies, and parishes. The statutes regulating the relations of State and Church insure the sovereign certain rights arising from the dignity of his office, but the law insures religious liberty and the independence of the Church from the State. There is no religious test as a qualification for the possession of civil and political rights, and liberty of conscience is secure. The religious bodies have a legal right to manage their own affairs and to possess funds, estates, or endowments for the purposes of worship, instruction, or charity. But they must first secure their legal recognition from the minister of ecclesiastical affairs, which is granted to all sects whose doctrines and practices are not inimical to the laws of the State.

The nucleus of the dual monarchy was that part of the archduchy of Austria that lies below the Enns. In the earliest times, what is now the archduchy of Austria was inhabited by the Taurisci, a Celtic people, subsequently replaced by the Norici. After the conquest of the Norici by the Romans (B.C. 14), the country to the north of the Danube belonged to the Marcomanni. On the south of the river lay the Roman provinces of Noricum and Pannonia, in the latter of which was the municipal city of Vindobona (Vienna). Tyrol formed part of Rhætia. All these boundaries were swept away by the irruption of the northern peoples, and the regions in question were occupied in succession, during the Fifth and Sixth centuries, by the Boii, Vandals, Goths, Huns, Longobards, and Avars. After the Longobards had settled in Italy, the Enns came, about 568, to be the boundary between the tribes of German origin and the Avars, a people who had come from the East. The Avars in 788 crossed the Enns, and fell upon Bavaria, then part of the Frankish Empire; but Charlemagne drove them back (796) as far as the Raab, and brought the district from the Enns to that river under his rule. He sent colonists, mostly Bavarians, into the new province, and appointed a margrave over it. It came into the possession of the Hungarians in 900, but was reconquered by Otho I. in 955, and reunited with the German realm.

About 976 the Emperor Otho II. appointed Leopold of Babenberg margrave of the reconquered province, and his dynasty ruled this frontier region of the Holy Roman Empire for about 270 years. Their possession came to be known as Oesterreich, or Eastern Realm, a name Latinized into Austria. Under Henry Jasomirgott (1141–77) the Mark above the Enns was annexed to the lower Mark, the enlarged province raised to a duchy, and important privileges were conferred on the new duke and his heirs. Duke Henry removed his capital from the Leopoldsberg to Vienna. He beautified the city, and began the building of the cathedral of Saint Stephen. Under his successors Styria was united with Austria. Under Leopold VI., the Illustrious (1198–1230), the Austrian realm reached a high stage of prosperity. The Babenberg line became extinct with his successor, Frederick, who fell in battle with the Magyars (1246). An interregnum ensued. The Emperor Frederick II. treated the duchy as a lapsed fief of the Empire, but claims to its possession were set up while the Empire was distracted by the contests between rival emperors. The States of Austria chose Ottokar, King of Bohemia, as duke in 1251, and in 1260 this powerful monarch made himself master of Styria. He subsequently came by inheritance into possession of Carinthia. Ottokar refused to acknowledge Rudolph of Hapsburg as Emperor, and ​a war ensued in which he was vanquished. He was compelled to give up Austria, Styria, and Carinthia to Rudolph. The struggle was soon renewed, and Ottokar lost his life in the battle on the Marchfeld (1278). Shortly afterwards the Emperor (1282) conferred the duchies of Austria, Styria, and Carinthia on his sons, Albert and Rudolph.

Fostered by the Hapsburg family policy, which was maintained for centuries without regard to its effect upon Germany, the power of Austria and the Hapsburgs grew together. Albert, while attempting to subdue the rebellious Swiss, was murdered near Rheinfelden (1308) by his nephew, John of Swabia, whom he had deprived of his hereditary possessions. Frederick the Handsome, one of his five sons, was chosen (1314) by a party to the Imperial throne, but the election was contested, and he was defeated (1322) by his rival, Louis of Bavaria. The House of Hapsburg was already so powerful that it excited the jealousy of the German princes. Another of the sons of Albert, Leopold, was defeated at Morgarten (1315) in his attempt to reduce the Swiss cantons which had thrown off their allegiance under Albert I. At last, on the death of all his brothers, Albert II. reunited the Austrian possessions. After his death (1358), two sons, Rudolph and Albert III., successively followed in the duchy of Austria. Another son, Leopold, held the other lands, but lost his life at Sempach (1386), in seeking to regain the Hapsburg possessions in Switzerland. From Albert and Leopold were derived the two ducal lines of Austria and Styria (the latter afterwards subdivided into the lines of Styria and Tyrol). During Albert III.'s reign, Tyrol and other districts were acquired by Austria. After his death (1395), the dukedom was held by his son, Albert IV. Albert V., who succeeded his father in 1404, and who married the daughter of the Emperor Sigismund, was chosen successor to that monarch in Hungary and Bohemia, and was at the same time raised to the dignity of Holy Roman Emperor, as Albert II. (1438). The Imperial dignity was henceforth uninterruptedly held by the Hapsburgs, with the exception of one brief interval, down to the end of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. With Ladislas, Albert’s son, the Austrian line of the house became extinct (1457), and its possessions went to the Styrian line. To this line belonged the Emperor Frederick III., who made Austria an archduchy, of which he came into full possession after the death of Ladislas and of his own brother, Albert, in 1463.

In 1477 his son, Maxmilian I., married Mary of Burgundy, daughter of Charles the Bold, and thus acquired the opulent provinces of the Netherlands. Becoming Emperor on the death of his father (1493), he gave the government of the Netherlands to his son Philip. Tyrol now fell again to the chief branch of the House of Austria, and several districts were acquired from Bavaria. The court of Vienna became an important centre of German art and science. The marriage of the Emperor’s son, Philip, with Joanna of Spain placed the House of Hapsburg on the throne of Spain and the Indies. Philip died in 1506; and on the death of Maximilian I., in 1519, Philip’s son, Charles I. of Spain, more powerful by his hereditary possessions than any other monarch in Europe, was elected German Emperor as Charles V. On account of his large interests outside of Germany, Charles was required by the electors to sign an agreement (Wahlkapitulation) to the effect that he would not further the interests of Spain at the expense of the Empire; and this practice was continued with his successors. In 1521 Charles relinquished the sole sovereignty over the bulk of the old hereditary possessions of the House of Austria to his brother, Ferdinand (originally joint possessor with him), the founder of the Austrian branch of the House of Hapsburg, as distinguished from the Spanish. In 1556 Charles V. abdicated the Imperial throne of Germany, and was succeeded by Ferdinand I. Ferdinand had married the sister of Louis II. of Hungary and Bohemia, and after the death of that king on the field of Mohács, where the Turks laid low the power of Hungary, in 1526, Ferdinand was chosen to succeed him in Bohemia, and was also elected king by a part of the nobles in Hungary. John Zápolya, Waywode of Transylvania, was chosen King of Hungary by the National party, and was supported by Sultan Solyman the Magnificent, who established the Turkish sway over a great part of Hungary, and whose forces laid siege to Vienna in 1529. After contests extending over twenty years, Ferdinand was allowed to retain possession of Upper Hungary on condition of paying an annual tribute to the Sultan. The catastrophe of Mohács may be said to have given birth to the peculiar political organism now known as the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, with such discordant elements as Germans, Magyars, and Slavs united under the sway of a single dynasty. The Bohemian realm in the time of Ferdinand I. included (besides Bohemia) Moravia, Silesia, and Lusatia. On the death of Ferdinand I., in 1564, his eldest son, Maximilian II., received the Imperial crown, together with Austria, Hungary, and Bohemia; a second son, Ferdinand, received Tyrol; a third, Charles, obtained Styria and Carinthia. Maximilian II. was fond of peace, tolerant in religion, and a just ruler. He died in 1576, and of his five sons, the eldest, Rudolph II., who had been crowned King of Hungary and of Bohemia, succeeded him as Roman Emperor. Under him the possessions of the Archduke Ferdinand of Tyrol, who had married Philippine Welser, the beautiful daughter of an Augsburg burgher, reverted to the other two lines, Ferdinand’s children not being considered noble. Rudolph II. adhered to the old feudal usages, and was an incapable sovereign, leaving everything to his ministers and the Jesuits. His war with the Porte and Transylvania brought him little credit; and the Protestants of Bohemia, oppressed by the Jesuits, extorted from him a charter of religious liberty. He died January 20, 1612, having already relinquished Hungary, the Archduchy of Austria, and Moravia, in 1608, and Bohemia, in 1611, to his brother Matthias, who succeeded him as Roman Emperor. Matthias concluded a twenty years’ peace with the Turks, and had his cousin Ferdinand, son of the Archduke Charles of Styria, third son of Maximilian II., chosen King of Bohemia, Hungary, and of the Romans. Bohemia, where the religious strife kindled the Thirty Years’ War in 1618, refused to acknowledge the new King, who was a fervent Catholic, and chose the Elector Palatine, Frederick V., the head of the ​Protestant Union, as King. The States of Austria and the Hungarians were also refractory. Matthias died March 30, 1619, and Ferdinand II. became Roman Emperor. The battle of Prague (1620) subjected Bohemia to Ferdinand, who suppressed Protestantism there with a relentless hand. The events of the reign of Ferdinand II. will be found treated in the article on the Thirty Years’ War. Bohemia’s right of election of its king and its patent of religious liberty were withdrawn. The war closed (1648) under Ferdinand’s son, Ferdinand III. (1637–57), a more politic prince and a better financier. At the peace of Westphalia (1648), Austria had to cede her possessions in Alsace to France. Ferdinand III.’s son and successor, Leopold I., provoked the Hungarians to rebellion by his severity. Tökölyi (q.v.) received aid from the Porte, and Kara Mustapha besieged Vienna (1683), which was rescued only by an army of Poles and Germans under John Sobieski and Charles of Lorraine, who inflicted a crushing defeat upon the Turks. In 1687 Leopold I. forced the Hungarians to make their kingdom hereditary in the Hapsburg family. Prince Eugene compelled the Porte (1699) to give up the country between the Danube and Theiss, and, in 1718, to cede other important territories to Hungary. At this time also Transylvania became a possession of the Hapsburgs. On the death of Charles II., the last of the Hapsburg sovereigns in Spain, in 1700, the Archduke Charles, second son of Leopold I., claimed the crown in opposition to Philip V., grandson of Louis XIV. This led to the war of the Spanish Succession (q.v.), during which Leopold died, May 5, 1705. He was of sluggish, phlegmatic character, and wholly under the influence of the Jesuits.

His eldest son and successor, the enlightened Joseph I., continued the war. He died childless, April 17, 1711, and was succeeded by his brother, Charles VI. The peace of Utrecht (1713) secured to Austria the Spanish Netherlands, Milan, Mantua, Naples, and Sardinia (exchanged for Sicily in 1720). A curtailment of territory, however, soon ensued. At the peace of Vienna (1735), which ended the War of the Polish Succession, Charles VI. had to give up Naples and Sicily to Don Carlos of Spain, and part of Milan to the King of Sardinia, receiving only Parma and Piacenza instead. He also lost at the peace of Belgrade (1739) a great part of the fruits of Eugene’s conquests, giving back to the Porte, Belgrade and the adjoining Servian territories, as well as the parts of Wallachia and Bosnia that had belonged to Austria. The Emperor conceded all these points with a view of securing adhesion to the Pragmatic Sanction (q.v.), conferring the succession on his daughter, Maria Theresa, an object to which his whole policy for years had been directed.

With his death (October 20, 1740), the male line of the Hapsburgs was extinct, and Maria Theresa, who was married to Francis, Duke of Lorraine, assumed the government. Counter-claimants appeared, and the War of the Austrian Succession broke out. Frederick II. of Prussia took the opportunity to revive an old claim of the Hohenzollerns upon Silesia and to conquer that country. The Elector of Bavaria, who was supported by the power of France (England taking the part of Austria), assumed the title of Archduke of Austria, was crowned King of Bohemia at Linz and Prague, and elected Emperor as Charles VII. (1742). The Hungarians stood loyally by their Queen, who, however, at the peace of Breslau (1742) was forced to yield Silesia to Prussia. Frederick renewed the war in 1744 by coming to the assistance of the Emperor, whose dominions had been overrun by his enemies. Charles VII. died in January, 1745, and Maria Theresa’s husband was elected Roman Emperor as Francis I. A second treaty of peace (1745) confirmed Prussia in the possession of Silesia, and at the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748), Austria had to cede Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla to Don Philip of Spain. These sacrifices secured the existence of the Austrian monarchy; but Maria Theresa was bent on recovering Silesia, and with this view entered into alliances with France, Russia, Saxony, and Sweden. This forced Prussia and England to act together. At the close of the Seven Years’ War (q.v.), Prussia retained Silesia, and Austria had spent her blood and treasure in vain. At the death of Francis (1765), his son, Joseph II., became Emperor, and joint-regent with his mother, of the hereditary States. Collateral branches of the House of Austria were planted by the younger sons of Maria Theresa, the Archduke Leopold of Tuscany and the Archduke Ferdinand, who married the heiress of Este (see Modena). In the first partition of Poland (1772), Austria acquired Galicia and Lodomeria, and Bukowina was ceded by the Porte in 1777. Maria Theresa died on November 29, 1780. Her administration had been distinguished by unwonted unity and vigor, both in home and foreign relations.

Joseph II., now sole ruler, was an active reformer in the spirit of the enlightened despotism of the times, though often rash and violent in his mode of proceeding. He introduced economy into every department, mitigated the censorship of the press, granted liberties and rights to Protestants, abolished 900 convents, and revised the school system. By a protective system of duties he gave an impulse to native manufactures. But his reforming zeal and passion for uniformity in the diverse countries composing his scattered realm excited opposition; the Netherlands rose in insurrection, and other disturbances broke out, which hastened his end (1790). He was succeeded in the hereditary Hapsburg dominions, as well as in the German Empire, by his brother, Leopold II., who pacified the Netherlands and Hungary. When the progress of the French Revolution had begun to threaten the political stability of Europe, Leopold entered into an alliance with Prussia against the Republican propaganda, but he died March 1, 1792, before the war began. This was declared by his son and successor, Francis, in the same year. (See France.) By the treaty of Campo Formio (1797), Austria lost Lombardy and the Netherlands, but received most of the territory of the extinguished republic of Venice (including Venetian Istria and Dalmatia). The war with France was renewed in 1799, and ended by the peace of Lunéville (1801). In 1804, when Napoleon was proclaimed Emperor of France, Francis declared himself hereditary Emperor of Austria (under the title of Francis I.), uniting all his dominions in one empire. In 1805 Austria engaged in a fresh struggle with Napoleon, who vanquished her forces and those of Russia at Austerlitz, on ​December 2. In the peace of Presburg, December 26, Francis had to give up his Venetian dominions and to cede Tyrol to Bavaria. On the establishment of the Confederation of the Rhine, at the behest of Napoleon, Francis laid down the dignity of Roman Emperor, which his family had held for nearly 500 years. In 1809 Austria once more defied the might of Napoleon, but the battle of Wagram broke her power, and, in the peace of Schönbrunn (Vienna), she had to part with a large portion of the old hereditary dominions of the Hapsburgs.

The humiliating peace of Vienna was followed (1810) by the marriage of Napoleon with the Archduchess Maria Louisa, daughter of the Emperor Francis; and in March, 1812, Napoleon and Francis entered into an alliance against Russia. This unnatural alliance ceased abruptly, when the Russian campaign of 1812 had broken the power of the French Emperor. In August, 1813, Austria joined the anti-Napoleonic coalition of England, Russia, Prussia, and Sweden. Francis I. took an active part, and Austria obtained full indemnity for her losses at the close of the war. In the remodeling of the map of Europe that took place at the Congress of Vienna (1815), Austria was reinstated in the possession of Lombardy, the Venetian territories, Tyrol, and the territories wrested from her by Napoleon in 1809. Belgium was constituted part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Italian possessions of Austria were now constituted into the so-called Lombardo-Venetian kingdom. Ferdinand, the Emperor’s uncle, was restored to the Granch Duchy of Tuscany, of which he had been dispossessed by Napoleon.

During the period of the Restoration, and until the Revolution of 1848, Austria, her course guided by the subtle and reactionary statesmanship of Prince Metternich, exercised a powerful influence in European affairs. The Holy Roman Empire had ceased to be even a name, but the presidency of the reorganized German Confederation had fallen to Austria, and her policy toward the Germanic States was that of ‘divide and rule.’ Austria, Russia, and Prussia were drawn closely together in the Holy Alliance, skillfully used by Metternich to further his schemes. Every constitutional movement was stifled, and every aspiration toward nationality by the peoples composing the heterogeneous Austrian domains was rigidly repressed. But under this superficial calm, the internal condition of the Empire was approaching a crisis. The bureaucratic system of Government and police supervision produced only irritation and discontent. The strife of nationalities became keener, but the policy of playing these nationalities off against one another no longer succeeded. The Polish insurrection, which led to the incorporation of Cracow with the monarchy (November, 1846), had turned into a frightful rising of the peasantry in Galicia against the nobles. This enabled the Government to overpower the political rising, but its success only hastened the crisis. In the meantime, the opposition to Austrian rule in Italy and Hungary was becoming uncontrollable, while discontent was rife among the Slavs of Bohemia, and even the States of Lower Austria insisted on some share in the management of the realm. Francis I. had been succeeded in 1835 by his son, Ferdinand I., but there was no change of policy. The revolutionary movement was already in full swing in Italy, when the fall of Louis Philippe shook Europe to its foundation (February, 1848). A host of petitions and addresses was followed, March 13, by a popular movement in Vienna, to which the Government and military, after a feeble resistance, succumbed. Metternich resigned; the right of citizens to bear arms, and the freedom of the press were granted; and the Emperor promised to convoke a consultative assembly from all parts of the Empire. At the same time, the opposition in Hungary had carried their demand for an independent and responsible ministry, and the Emperor was not in a position to withstand it. On March 18 the insurrection broke out at Milan, and Radetzky, the military commander, was forced to retire on Verona. Venice rose and drove out the Austrians. At the same time, in Vienna, the power passed into the hands of the National Guards and the Students’ Legion, the court finding it necessary to take refuge at Innsbrück. An insurrection broke out in Prague, which was repressed with bloody severity by Prince Windischgrätz (June).

The power of Austria began to recover first in Italy. Radetzky had been reduced to maintaining a defensive position at Verona, against Charles Albert of Sardinia, who had declared war on Austria at the outbreak of the revolution, and was aided by forces from Tuscany, Rome, and Naples. Negotiations had been entered into, under the mediation of Great Britain, offering the Lombards independence on moderate conditions. But in June, Radetzky took up the offensive, reduced in succession Vicenza, Padua, and other cities, and then turning against the chief Sardinian force, defeated it at Custozza (July 25) and drove it from the field. The fruits of the victory were the dissolution of Charles Albert’s army, and a truce which again delivered Lombardy to Austria. In the meantime, the Government at Vienna was more powerless than ever. The Emperor remained at Innsbrück, and the Constituent Diet was opened, July 22, by the Archduke John as his representative. But a new crisis was impending in Hungary. The opposition carried on by the Croats under their Ban, Jellachich (q.v.); to Magyar domination, produced a conflict of nationalities which the Imperial Government was able to use in the traditional Hapsburg way. On September 28 the Imperial Commissioner, Count Lamberg, who was sent by the Emperor to dissolve the Hungarian National Assembly, was murdered at Budapest. The Assembly continued its sittings, and appointed Kossuth president of the committee of defense. The advance of Jellachich, who had been made Imperial commander in Hungary, upon Budapest, was successfully met by the Hungarians. On October 6 a bloody insurrection broke out in Vienna. The arsenal was stormed and the war minister, Latour, murdered; the court fled to Olmütz, a committee of safety was appointed, the armed populace organized, while the Diet wavered between loyalty and revolution. In the meantime, the military forces had withdrawn from the capital, and joined Jellachich, in order to meet the Hungarians, who were advancing to the aid of the Viennese. Windischgrätz now approached with an army, and declared Vienna in a state of siege. The attack began on October 23, and after a resistance of eight days, the city was taken by storm. A number ​of revolutionary leaders were condemned and shot. The Diet met at Kremsir, in Moravia, and a new ministry was formed, headed by Prince Schwarzenberg. But the vigorous policy thought to be necessary for the restoration of order, and advocated by the Archduchess Sophia (mother of Francis Joseph) was foreign to the easy nature of Ferdinand I. The Emperor abdicated, December 2, and his brother, the Archduke Francis Charles, renounced his claims to the throne in favor of his son, Francis Joseph (q.v.), who was declared Emperor. The Diet, proving intractable, was dissolved in March, 1849, and a constitution was granted providing for two elective chambers and a responsible ministry. The monarchy was reconstituted into a unified realm and the national autonomy of Hungary abrogated. At the same time, in the German National Parliament at Frankfort, Austria opposed the project of a confederated State or an Empire under the leadership of Prussia. In Italy, on March 23, 1849, Radetzky inflicted upon Sardinia the decisive defeat of Novara, which was followed by the abdication of Charles Albert. The struggle in Italy was terminated in the following August by the surrender of Venice to the Austrians after a long siege.

During the winter of 1848–49 the Hungarians had been gathering strength beyond the Theiss to meet the attack of Windischgrätz, who had entered Hungary in December, and whose advance had compelled the Hungarians to evacuate Budapest in January. On the opening of the spring campaign they took the offensive, and were at first successful. Windischgrätz was succeeded in command by Welden, but the Imperial cause was not improved. The Diet at Debreczin proclaimed Hungary a republic, with Kossuth as governor; but Russian assistance at last enabled the Austrians to turn the tide, in spite of the gallant efforts of the Hungarian forces. Kossuth resigned the civil and military power into the hands of Görgei, who laid down his arms to the Russians at Világos (August 13, 1849). The surrender of Komorn, in September, completed the subjugation of Hungary, which was treated as a conquered country, and the captured patriots were dealt with by Haynau, who had succeeded Welden, with bloodthirsty rigor.

This completed the subjugation of the nationalities, and the spirit of the restoration soon showed itself. One important fruit of the revolution was retained―the abolition of feudalism. All other liberal concessions very soon disappeared. For a time the forms of the constitution of March, 1849, were retained; but the rigorous military government, and the surveillance exercised over the press, showed the real spirit of the new régime. Ultramontane influences were rampant. Finally, January 1, 1852, it was announced that the constitution and the fundamental rights were abolished, trial by jury set aside, and the old press law revived. This was followed by still greater concessions to the clergy. For ten years Austria persisted in her policy of reaction, undeterred by its paralyzing effect on the economic life of the nation or by the signs of impending revolution.

When the Eastern war broke out (1853–56), Austria’s peculiar relations to Russia led her, in spite of her desire to preserve the integrity of the Ottoman Empire, to remain neutral during the contest; but it was an armed neutrality, which silently warned Russia against aggressions on the Danube.

The unceasing movements in Germany and Italy toward national unity finally forced Austria out of her unyielding attitude. The Government of Austria in Lombardy and Venetia was far from satisfactory. By means of secret treaties Austria obtained a predominant influence in Parma, Tuscany, Modena, the States of the Church, and in the kingdom of the Two Sicilies. That influence was exercised in the interests of despotism, and in opposition to the welfare of the people, whose wishes their rulers, backed by Austrian troops, were enabled to set at defiance. The question of Austria’s position in Italy was brought by Cavour before the European Congress at Paris in 1856, but nothing direct resulted from the discussions. Sardinia, after all remonstrances of a peaceful kind had failed, began to arm. Austria demanded her immediate disarmament, on pain of war; but Sardinia, whose army was swelled with volunteers from every part of the peninsula, and who had previously entered into a treaty, offensive and defensive, with France, refused. Austria accordingly commenced hostilities by crossing the Ticino on April 29, 1859. On May 3, France, as the ally of Sardinia, formally declared war against Austria; but, in anticipation of what was to follow, she had several days before dispatched troops into Piedmont. The Austrian army was overthrown at Magenta, June 4, and Solferino, June 24. On July 11, Francis Joseph and Napoleon met at Villafranca and agreed on terms of peace, the chief condition of which was the cession of Lombardy to Sardinia. (See Italy.) Immediately after this war, the Emperor Francis Joseph began to turn toward schemes of a more liberal internal policy. The constitutional régime inaugurated in 1861 failed, however, to be acceptable to the Hungarians, and the antagonism of the Czechs of Bohemia, as well as of the Poles of Galicia, tended further to paralyze the efforts of the Government.

Prussia, which since the Restoration had been content to remain in her subordinate position with regard to Austria in the German Confederation, now entered upon a new and energetic policy after the accession of King William I. in 1861 and the calling of Bismarck into the ministry. A steady effort was made to draw the North German States close to Prussia. Austria was entangled in the complications of the Schleswig-Holstein affair (see Schleswig-Holstein), and in 1864 she found herself involved with Prussia in a war against Denmark for the liberation of the two duchies. The convention of Gastein, in 1865, with respect to the government of the duchies was a makeshift not calculated to relieve the strain on Austria and Prussia. Austria sought to force the hand of Prussia by referring the settlement of the Schleswig-Holstein question to the German Diet. Prussia made a move by occupying Holstein, and the German Diet thereupon summoned the States to mobilize the Federal Army of execution against Prussia. The latter declared the Confederation dissolved, invaded simultaneously Austria and the States that had joined Austria, and in the brief seven weeks’ campaign that followed triumphed completely. The victory of the Prussians at Sadowa was followed by the peace of Prague, which dissolved the old Confederation, allowing reorganization without ​Austria. Italy had been the ally of Prussia, and although the Italian Army and navy were defeated at Custozza and at Lissa, Prussia was able to exact the surrender of Venetia by Austria, which thus ceased to be either a German or an Italian power. See Germany and Seven Weeks’ War.

The catastrophe of Sadowa made it evident to the Austrian Government that a radical change in the internal constitution of the Empire was necessary. Above all, the demands of Hungary, as formulated by her great spokesman, Francis Deák, had to be met. Under the guidance of Chancellor von Beust, Francis Joseph effected a reconciliation with the Magyars on the basis of the restoration to them of their constitutional liberties. This settlement, known as the Ausgleich of 1867, established the Austro-Hungarian monarchy on the present dualistic basis. With the adoption of the Ausgleich, parliamentary government in Vienna was firmly established. The dual constitution of the monarchy, however, was far from acceptable to the Slavs. The Czechs in particular clamored for autonomy and the restoration of the realm of Saint Wenceslas. The Poles were also loud in their demands. From time to time concessions were made to these conflicting elements, now the Liberal Germans and again the Slavs being foremost in the councils of the Emperor. This conflict of nationalities has found expression in the disgraceful scenes enacted in the Austrian Reichsrat. In the meantime, Hungary has proceeded in the path of political and economic development, undisturbed by the perplexities of her Cisleithan neighbor. Under the guidance of her able foreign minister, Count Andrássy, Austria-Hungary took an important part in the settlement of the situation growing out of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78. The Congress of Berlin allowed her to occupy Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was effected only after a bloody struggle (1878).

Bibliography. Clarke, “Agricultural Administration in Austria-Hungary,” in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society (London, January, 1891); Wurzbach, Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Österreichs (Vienna, 1857–92); Schwiedland, Kleingewerbe und Hausindustrie Österreichs (Leipzig, 1894); Eder, Die Eisenbahnpolitik Österreichs (Vienna, 1894); Chelard, L’Autriche contemporaine (Paris, 1894); Das Gemeindegesetz vom 5 März, 1862 (Vienna, 1895); Wirth, "The History of Banking in Germany and Austria-Hungary," in A History of Banking in All the Leading Nations, Vol. IV. (New York, 1896); Umlauft, Die österreichisch-ungarische Monarchie (Vienna, 4th ed., 1897); Auerbach, Les races et les nationalités en Autriche-Hongrie (Paris, 1898); Laurencic (editor), Unsere Monarchie, etc. (Berlin, 1899); Whitman and McIlrath, Austria (New York, 1899); Matlekovits, Das Königreich Ungarn (Leipzig, 1900); Österreichisch-ungarische Monarchie in Wort und Bild (Vienna, in Parts 1 to 360, 1886–1900), a series of volumes on the various crown-lands of the monarchy, containing a popular description of their natural resources, archæology, ethnology, literature, folk-lore, industries, etc.; “Beiträge zur neuesten Handelspolitik Österreichs” in Schriften des Vereins für Sozialpolitik, Vol. XCIII. (Leipzig, 1901), a symposium of articles by leading German authorities on the various aspects of the commercial and industrial interests of that country. For the history of the Austrian Empire, consult Mailáth, Geschichte des österreichischen Kaiserstaates, 5 vols. (Hamburg, 1834–50); Leger, History of Austro-Hungary, translated by Mrs. Birkbeck Hill (New York, 1889); Coxe, History of the House of Austria, 1218–1792, 3 vols. (London, 1847); Arneth, Geschichte Maria Theresias, 10 vols. (Vienna, 1863–79); Beust, Memoirs 1830–85 (London, 1887); Broglie, Frederick the Great and Maria Theresa (Eng. trans., London, 1883); Gindely, History of the Thirty Years’ War, translation by Ten Brook (London, 1886); Metternich, Memoirs, translation by Mrs. Napier (London, 1880); Ranke, History of the Reformation in Germany, translation by Austin (London, 1845–47); Whitman, The Realm of the Hapsburgs (London, 1893); Lowell, Governments and Parties in Continental Europe (Boston, 1896); for present political conditions: Seignobos, Political History of Europe since 1814, translation by MacVane (New York, 1899), which contains excellent bibliographies for the Nineteenth Century; Lavisse and Rambaud, Histoire générale, 12 vols., with full and scholarly bibliographies for each period (Paris, 1893–1901).