Austrian count family, one of the oldest families in Austria, known since the mid-12th century. His main possession - Nikolsburg - was located in Moravia (now Mikulov in the Czech Republic). They also owned Feldsberg and Steyeregg. The family's possessions in the Czech Republic were confiscated in 1945. Titles until the 17th century. did not have, from 1608 - a princely family. In 1658 the clan split into two lines - Karlovskaya and Gundakarskaya. Prince of the Charles line John-Adam-Andrei Liechtenstein in 1699 bought the imperial seigneury of Schellenberg from the Counts of Hohenham, and in 1712 - the possession of Vaduz, united into the Principality of Liechtenstein. After his death, in 1712, the seigneury passed to a family related to him.
His successor, Prince Wenzel (from the Gundakar line, succeeded Johann-Adam, who had no male offspring), received the title of Imperial Prince of Liechtenstein in 1719 (in fact, he ruled the principality from 1748). In 1772, the Gundakar line was divided into the Frantsevskaya and the Second Charles, which died out in 1908. Currently, the Liechtenstein House is the largest in Europe in terms of the number of members.
Until 1938, the residence of the Princes of Liechtenstein was in Vienna.
The Principality of Liechtenstein is an independent state.
Religion: Catholic.
Habsburgs- an ancient Alsatian family, whose representatives in the 9th century. took possession of lands in Switzerland, in the cantons of Aargau and Thurgau. OK. 1020 Habichtsburg Castle (Hawk Castle) was built at the confluence of the Lare River and the Rhine. From the 12th century - Counts of Habsburg. In 1232, the line of the Counts of Laufenburg separated from the main line (extinct in 1415). Count Rudolf of Habsburg became King of Germany in 1273, and Duke of Austria in 1276. Under Rudolph and his sons, Styria, Carniola and Carinthia were annexed to Austria. By the 14th century The formation of the crown lands of the Habsburgs - Austria proper - was completed.
Subsequently, the Netherlands, the lands of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and vast territories on the Balkan Peninsula passed into the possession of the Habsburgs. Since 1438 (with short interruptions) the Dukes of Austria have been Holy Roman Emperors. From the 16th century The Habsburg monarchy is one of the great powers. Representatives of the House were the Spanish kings (1516-1700), the Dukes of Modena (1771-1859), and the Grand Dukes of Tuscany (1790-1859).
One of the Habsburgs - Archduke Maximilian - was Emperor of Mexico (1864-1867). After the liquidation of the Holy Roman Empire in 1804, the Austrian Empire was formed (from 1867 the Austro-Hungarian Empire).
In 1740, the Habsburgs were extinguished, but thanks to the Pragmatic Sanction adopted by Emperor Charles VI, the Habsburg lands were inherited by his daughter Maria Theresa. Since she married Duke Franz-Stephen of Lorraine, their offspring are considered to be the Lorraine line of the House of Habsburg.
The House of Habsburg is a single House. Members of the Modena and Tuscan lines of the House, along with the titles of Princes and Princesses of Modena and Tuscany, have the titles of Austrian Archdukes and Archduchesses, and the head of the House of Habsburg is formally the head of all lines of the House.
Religion: Catholic.
Lorraine (Lothringen, Lorraine) - a duchy that first appeared as a separate possession during the division of the empire. Lothair I of his lands between 3 sons; Lorraine went to the middle son, Lothair II, from whom it received its name (Lotharii regnum); at this division it approximately coincided with the former Austrasia, occupying the lands between the Rhine, Scheldt, Meuse and Saone. From the very beginning of its political existence, Lorraine became a subject of contention between France and Germany. A hundred years later, imp. Otto, in order to reduce the influence of the Lorraine dukes, divided Lorraine into two duchies: Upper Latvia (L. Mosella) and Lower Latvia (L. Mosana). The regions of Trier, Metz, Toul and Verdun were directly dependent on the emperor. Lower Latvia was given by Otto to Duke Godfrey, after whom it went to various ducal houses, and in 1429 it was annexed to Burgundy. Upper Latvia was received by Count Frederick of Bar, whose descendants owned it until 1033, when both duchies united for a time under the rule of the Lower Taringian Duke of Goselon. In 1048, the emperor gave Upper Latvia to Gerhard of Alsace, the founder of the House of Lorraine, whose direct representatives owned Lorraine until 1431. This year the mind. Charles of Lorraine, with the rank of constable of France, leaving only his daughter Isabella, who married Rene of Anjou. Although Charles II's nephew, Anton, Count of Vaudemont, disputed Isabella's rights, the imp. Sigismund gave the dukedom to her and her husband, with which Anton reconciled, marrying his son Frederick to Iolanta, daughter of Isabella and Rene. In the person of Rene's grandson, Nicholas, the House of Angevin ceased, and the duchy again went to the male line of the Lorraine dynasty in the person of Rene II, son of Frederick and Iolanta. During his reign, Latvia was terribly devastated by Karl the Bold. Rene II's heir, Anton, defeated the rebel peasants and was hostile to the Reformation. During the childhood of his grandson, Charles III, the king of France. Henry II annexed Metz, Toul and Verdun to France. Under Charles IV, Latvia was occupied by the French (1634). Only in 1697 did the grandson of Charles IV, Leopold Joseph Charles, again receive the country, under difficult conditions. He was succeeded in 1729 by his son Franz-Stephan, whose mother, Charlotte of Orleans, during her childhood cruelly oppressed the population. A few years later, France deprived Franz Stephen of the throne and gave it to the Polish ex-king Stanislav Leszczynski. Franz Stefan, who married Maria Theresa, daughter of the Emperor. Charles VI, received as a reward Vel. Duchy of Tuscany and was subsequently Emperor. German under the name of Franz I. In the person of his sons, Joseph II and Leopold II, the House of Lorraine took the Austrian throne, which belongs to him to this day. After the death of Stanislav in 1766, Upper Latvia was incorporated into France, forever losing its political independence.
Flag of Austria
According to legend, during the crusade the Duke fought so fiercely that his white marching uniform was covered in blood. When he took off his belt, it turned out that no blood had penetrated under it, and a white stripe remained on his clothes. The Duke subsequently transferred these colors to his standard. After the Habsburgs came to power, the colors red and white continued to be widely used. At the time, a red flag with a white stripe and a heraldic shield of the same color was approved as a naval flag. However, the red-white-red banner was approved as the state flag only after the proclamation of the republic in 1918.
Flag of the Habsburgs
Under the Habsburgs, the Austrian Empire did not have a national flag, but a "national flag" with black and yellow stripes was sometimes used. These are the "national" colors of the Holy Roman Empire (the imperial flag featured a black eagle on a yellow field). Black and yellow are traditionally called "Habsburg" colors, although in fact the Habsburg livery colors are red and yellow.
Trade flag of Austria-Hungary
In Austria-Hungary, the trade flag of the empire was quite widespread, which was a combination of the flags of Austria and Hungary, differing only in the color of the lower stripe (red for Austria and green for Hungary), with the heraldic shields of the two countries.
Coat of arms of the Archduchy of Austria
A scarlet shield with a white belt is crowned with an Archduke's crown. The history of the appearance of the heraldic colors of Austria is described in the section on the flag.
In the golden shield there is a black double-headed crowned eagle, holding a sword and scepter in the right paw, and an orb in the left, having a shield with the coats of arms of the Austrian lands on the chest. The shield is topped with the Imperial Crown and supported by two golden griffins with black heads, manes and wings.
The large State Emblem of Austria-Hungary consists of three shields. On the right is the coat of arms of the Austrian crown (Cisleithania) (see above). The shield is supported on the left by a golden griffin with a black head. On the left is the coat of arms of the Hungarian Crown (Transleithania), topped with the Crown of St. Stephen. The shield is supported on the right by an angel in a silver robe. In the center between the two coat of arms is the family shield of the Habsburgs-Lorraine - a twice-dissected field: in the first gold there is a scarlet armed lion crowned with azure (County of Habsburg); in the second scarlet field there is a silver belt (historical colors of Austria); in the third golden field there is a scarlet baldric, burdened with three flying silver alerions (an eagle without beak and paws), placed in accordance with the baldric (Duchy of Lorraine). The shield of the Habsburgs-Lorraine is crowned with a royal crown, and is surrounded by chains of the highest awards of the empire: the Illustrious Order of the Golden Fleece, the orders of Maria Theresa, St. Stephen and Leopold with the corresponding signs. The coat of arms stands on an ornamental base with a ribbon on which is inscribed the motto in Latin: "Indivisibiliter Ac Inseparabiliter" ("One and Indivisible").
Regalia of the Austrian Empire
The imperial regalia of Austria includes the crown, scepter and orb.
The crown was made in 1602 for. Since the regalia of the Holy Roman Empire was permanently kept in Nuremberg, some emperors ordered personal crowns for themselves. The crown was modeled after the imperial crown of Charlemagne and the Czech crown of St. Wenceslas.
The scepter and orb were made in 1612 for the emperor, brother and successor. The scepter and orb were used at the coronation of the emperors of Austria, sometimes as Czech royal regalia, sometimes when proclaiming hereditary archdukes of Austria.
Currently, the regalia of the Austrian Empire is stored and exhibited in the Hofburg Palace in Vienna.
Schönbrunn
Other states within Austria
Austria
Österreich(German)
The first historically attested inhabitants of the territory of modern Austria were the Illyrians. At the beginning of the 4th century BC, the Celts moved to the territory of the Middle Danube, who in the 2nd century BC formed an early state formation here, called the kingdom of Norik, with its center in modern Klagenfurt. This state maintained allied relations with Ancient Rome, which contributed to the rapid spread of Roman influence among the Celts. In 16 BC, the kingdom became part of the Roman Empire, but for some time the Celts maintained a high degree of independence under the rule of their own princes. Only around 40 AD, under the emperor, the Roman province of Noricum was formed on the site of the Celtic state. The lands west of the Inn River became part of the province of Raetia, and the territory east of modern Vienna became part of the province of Pannonia.
During the period of Roman rule, a system of fortifications and roads was built along the Danube, cities grew rapidly (Vindobona (Vienna) in Pannonia, Virun (Klagenfurt) and Juvavum (Salzburg) in Norica, Brigantium (Bregenz) in Raetia). The local population gradually became Romanized, and residents of the interior parts of the empire moved to the cities. However, from 167 onwards, the devastating Marcomannic wars unfolded on the territory of Norik. In the 4th century, German raids began from the northern bank of the Danube. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, the kingdom of the Rugians was formed on the territory of Norica, which, however, was annexed to the state in 488. The population of the former provinces, however, continued to preserve Roman culture and speak dialects of the Latin language (the Romansh language has been preserved to this day in the mountainous regions of Switzerland and Tyrol).
Babenbergs
Dukes of Austria
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First division of the Habsburg possessions | |
The Habsburg dynasty has been known since the 13th century, when its representatives ruled Austria. And from the middle of the 15th century until the beginning of the 19th century, they completely retained the title of Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire, being the most powerful monarchs of the continent.
Habsburg history
The founder of the family lived in the 10th century. Almost no information has been preserved about him today. It is known that his descendant, Count Rudolf, acquired lands in Austria already in the middle of the 13th century. Actually, southern Swabia became their cradle, where the early representatives of the dynasty had a family castle. The name of the castle - Habischtsburg (from German - “hawk castle”) gave the name to the dynasty. In 1273, Rudolf was elected king of the Germans and emperor. He conquered Austria and Styria from the Bohemian king Přemysl Otakar, and his sons Rudolf and Albrecht became the first Habsburgs to rule in Austria. In 1298, Albrecht inherited the title of Emperor and German King from his father. And subsequently his son was elected to this throne. At the same time, throughout the 14th century, the title of Holy Roman Emperor and King of the Germans was still elective between German princes, and it did not always go to representatives of the dynasty. Only in 1438, when Albrecht II became emperor, did the Habsburgs finally appropriate this title to themselves. There was only one exception later, when the Elector of Bavaria achieved royal rank by force in the middle of the 18th century.
Rise of the Dynasty
From this period, the Habsburg dynasty gained increasing power, reaching brilliant heights. Their successes were laid down by the successful policies of I, who ruled at the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th centuries. Actually, his main successes were successful marriages: his own, which brought him the Netherlands, and his son Philip, as a result of which the Habsburg dynasty took possession of Spain. About the grandson of Maximilian, they said that the Sun never sets on his domain - his power was so widespread. He owned Germany, the Netherlands, parts of Spain and Italy, as well as some possessions in the New World. The Habsburg dynasty was at the height of its power.
However, even during the life of this monarch, the gigantic state was divided into parts. And after his death it completely disintegrated, after which the representatives of the dynasty divided their possessions among themselves. Ferdinand I got Austria and Germany, Philip II got Spain and Italy. Subsequently, the Habsburgs, whose dynasty was divided into two branches, were no longer a single whole. In some periods, relatives even openly opposed each other. As was the case, for example, during
Europe. The victory of the reformers in it greatly damaged the power of both branches. Thus, the Holy Emperor never again had his former influence, which was associated with his rise in Europe. And the Spanish Habsburgs completely lost their throne, losing it to the Bourbons.
In the middle of the 18th century, the Austrian rulers Joseph II and Leopold II for some time managed to once again raise the prestige and power of the dynasty. This second heyday, when the Habsburgs once again became influential in Europe, lasted about a century. However, after the revolution of 1848, the dynasty loses its monopoly on power even in its own empire. Austria turns into a dual monarchy - Austria-Hungary. The further - already irreversible - process of collapse was delayed only thanks to the charisma and wisdom of the reign of Franz Joseph, who became the last real ruler of the state. The Habsburg dynasty (photo on the right) after the defeat in the First World War was expelled from the country in its entirety, and a number of national independent states arose from the ruins of the empire in 1919.
