Archduchy of Austria
The Archduchy of Austria (German: Erzherzogtum Österreich) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire and the nucleus of the Habsburg monarchy. With its capital at Vienna, the archduchy was centered at the Empire's southeastern periphery.
Archduchy of Austria Erzherzogtum Österreich (German) | |||||||||
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| 1453–1804 1867–1918 | |||||||||
| Motto: A.E.I.O.U. (Motto for the House of Habsburg) "All The World Is Subject To Austria" | |||||||||
| Full coat of arms with decorations: | |||||||||
The Archduchy of Austria, 1477 | |||||||||
| Status | State of the Holy Roman Empire (1453–1806) Crown land of the Habsburg monarchy (from 1526) | ||||||||
| Capital | Vienna | ||||||||
| Common languages | Central Bavarian, German, Renaissance Latin | ||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholicism | ||||||||
| Demonym(s) | Austrian | ||||||||
| Government | Absolute monarchy | ||||||||
| Archduke | |||||||||
• 1453–1457 | Ladislaus the Posthumous (first formal archduke) | ||||||||
• 1792–1806 | Francis I a | ||||||||
• 1916–1918 | Charles I | ||||||||
| Historical era | Early modern period | ||||||||
| 1358/59 | |||||||||
• Emperor Frederick III acknowledged archducal title | 6 January 1453 | ||||||||
• Joined Austrian Circle | 1512 | ||||||||
| 28 April 1521 | |||||||||
| 1740–1748 | |||||||||
• Austrian Empire proclaimed | 11 August 1804 | ||||||||
• Holy Roman Empire dissolved | 6 August 1806 | ||||||||
| 30 August 1867 | |||||||||
| 18 November 1918 | |||||||||
• Disestablished | 1918 | ||||||||
| Currency |
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| ISO 3166 code | AT | ||||||||
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^a The title "Archduke of Austria" remained part of the official grand title of the rulers of Austria until 1918. | |||||||||
Its present name originates from the Frankish term Oustrich – Eastern Kingdom (east of the Frankish kingdom). The archduchy developed out of the Bavarian Margraviate of Austria, elevated to the Duchy of Austria according to the 1156 Privilegium Minus by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. The House of Habsburg came to the Austrian throne in Vienna in 1282 and in 1453 Emperor Frederick III, also the ruler of Austria, officially adopted the archducal title. From the 15th century onward, all Holy Roman Emperors but one were Austrian archdukes and with the acquisition of the Bohemian and Hungarian crown lands in 1526, the Habsburg hereditary lands became the centre of a major European power.
The archduchy's history as an imperial state ended with the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. It was replaced with the Lower and Upper Austria crown lands of the Austrian Empire.