Cisleithania
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Cisleithania (German: Zisleithanien) was the name of the Austrian part of Austria-Hungary, the Dual monarchy created in 1867 and dissolved in 1918. The Cisleithanian lands continued to constitute the Empire of Austria. The somewhat cumbersome official name was "Die im Reichsrat vertretenen Königreiche und Länder" ("The Kingdoms and Lands represented in the Imperial Council").
The Cisleithanian capital was Vienna. The territory had a population of 28,571,900 in 1910.
The Latin name Cisleithania derives from the Leitha river- most of its territory lay west (or on "this" side, from an Austrian perspective) of it. Transleithania, the lands of the Kingdom of Hungary in the Dual Monarchy, lay to the east across the Leitha river.
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Provinces
Cisleithania consisted of 15 crownlands which had representatives in the Reichsrat (Cisleithanian parliament):
| State | Capital |
|---|---|
| Böhmen (Bohemia) | Prag (Prague) |
| Bukowina (Bukovina) | Czernowitz (Chernivtsi) |
| Dalmatien (Dalmatia) | Spalato (Split) |
| Galizien und Lodomerien (Galicia and Lodomeria) | Lemberg (Lviv) |
| Kärnten (Carinthia) | Klagenfurt |
| Krain (Carniola) | Laibach (Ljubljana) |
| Küstenland (Coast Land) | Triest (Trieste) |
| Mähren (Moravia) | Brünn (Brno) |
| Niederösterreich (Lower Austria) | Wien (Vienna) |
| Oberösterreich (Upper Austria) | Linz |
| Salzburg | Salzburg |
| Schlesien (Silesia) | Troppau (Opava) |
| Steiermark (Styria) | Graz |
| Tirol | Innsbruck |
| Vorarlberg | Bregenz |
Politics
Each crownland had a regional assembly, the Landtag, which sent representatives to the Reichsrat until 1873, when the population was granted universal suffrage based on class differences (high classes got more influence during elections).
The Reichsrat (with 498 members) was a stage of nationalist struggle between Germans and the Slavs of the Empire, especially the Czechs. At first Germans dominated, but the Slavs gained a majority after an 1807 electoral reform which abolished class-based suffrage.
For representation in federal matters (finance, defences) the Reichsrat appointed a delegation of 60 members to discuss these matters with the Emperor.
Politics were frequently paralysed because of the tensions between different nationalities. From 1909 onward Emperor Franz Joseph autocratically ruled through imperial decrees. The Reichsrat was prorogued in March 1914 and did not meet again until after the accession of Karl I in 1916.
Ethnic composition of the population (1910)
| Ethnicity | % of total Cisleithanian population |
|---|---|
| Germans | 33% |
| Czechs | 22% |
| Poles | 15% |
| Ruthenians | 12% |
| Slovenes | 5% |
| Italians | 3% |
| Croats and Serbs | 3% |
| Other | 7% |
References
- Allgemeines Verzeichnis der Ortsgemeinden und Ortschaften Österreichs nach den Ergebnissen der Volkszählung vom 31. Dezember 1910 (ed. by K.K. Statistische Zentralkommission, Vienna, 1915) (=latest austrian gazetteer, register of political communities, giving the results of 1910 census)
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