Cisleithania

Cisleithania, officially called The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council (German: Die im Reichsrat vertretenen Königreiche und Länder), was the northern and western part of Austria-Hungary, a big country made up of two parts in a special agreement called the Compromise of 1867. It was different from the other part, called Transleithania, which was the Hungarian Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen east of the Leitha River.

The capital of Cisleithania was Vienna, where the Emperor of Austria lived. In 1910, about 28.6 million people lived there. The land stretched from Vorarlberg in the west all the way to the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria and the Duchy of Bukovina in the east. It also went from the Kingdom of Bohemia in the north down to the Kingdom of Dalmatia in the south.

Today, the places that were once part of Cisleithania make up the modern States of Austria, most of the Czech Republic and Slovenia, parts of southern Poland, parts of Italy like Trieste, Gorizia, Tarvisio, Trentino, and South Tyrol, parts of Croatia such as Istria and Dalmatia, Montenegro including Kotor Bay, parts of Romania like Southern Bukovina, and parts of Ukraine such as Northern Bukovina and Galicia.

Term

The name Cisleithania comes from the Leitha River, which flows into the Danube. This river was the old border between the Archduchy of Austria and the Kingdom of Hungary near Vienna and on the way to Budapest. Most of Cisleithania lay west of this river.

After changes in 1867, Cisleithania became part of the Austrian Empire, though people usually just called it Austria. The official name was very long: "The Kingdoms and Lands represented in the Imperial Council" — but few used it. The lands east of the Leitha River became known as Transleithania, or simply Hungary, and included places like the Kingdom of Hungary, the Kingdom of Croatia, the Kingdom of Slavonia, and the Principality of Transylvania. Both parts of the empire included many different groups of people, such as Czechs, Slovaks, Poles, Ruthenians, Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs.

Crown lands

Cisleithania was made up of 15 special areas called crown lands. These areas sent representatives to the Imperial Council, which was the parliament of Cisleithania and met in Vienna. Though called crown lands, these were not separate countries. Instead, they were more like important historic regions with their own traditions and laws.

Each crown land had its own local assembly called a Landtag. These assemblies made small laws about local matters. They included both elected members and some people who held positions because of their jobs, like church leaders. The leader of each Landtag was called a Landeshauptmann. Emperor Franz Joseph and his government were also represented in each area by a person known as a stadtholder.

Kingdoms

• Kingdom of Bohemia (Land of the Bohemian Crown)
• Kingdom of Dalmatia
• Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria

Archduchies

• Archduchy of Austria above the Enns (unofficially Upper Austria)
• Archduchy of Austria below the Enns (unofficially Lower Austria)

Grand duchies

• Grand Duchy of Kraków (Subdivision of Galicia and Lodomeria)

Duchies

• Duchy of Bukovina
• Duchy of Carinthia
• Duchy of Carniola
• Duchy of Salzburg
• Duchy of Silesia (Land of the Bohemian Crown)
• Duchy of Styria

Margraviates

• Margraviate of Istria (Part of the Austrian Littoral)
• Margraviate of Moravia (Land of the Bohemian Crown)

Princely Counties

• Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca (Part of the Austrian Littoral)
• Princely County of Tyrol
• Princely County of Vorarlberg

Free Cities

• Free City of Trieste (Part of the Austrian Littoral)

Condominium

• Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Governed Jointly by Cisleithania and Transleithania) from 1878

Politics

According to the "December Constitution," the Austrian government handled most matters for the Cisleithanian lands. Some important areas, like the army, navy, and foreign affairs, were managed together by Austria-Hungary's leaders.

Cisleithania had its own parliament called the Austrian Reichsrat. It started in 1861 and had two parts. At first, members came from local councils, but later people could vote for them directly. Voting changed over time. At first, only certain men could vote, but later more men got the right to vote. As more people could vote, Slavic groups became stronger in the parliament. There were often big debates between German-speaking and Slavic members, especially about the rights of the Czech people. Sometimes, the parliament couldn't work well because of these disagreements. The emperor sometimes had to make decisions himself when the parliament was stuck. The Reichsrat did not meet for a while before World War I.

For matters that affected both parts of Austria-Hungary, like foreign affairs and defense, the Reichsrat sent delegates to meet with similar delegates from the Hungarian parliament. They had to agree on decisions, which were then approved by both parliaments.

Population

In 1910, Cisleithania was home to about 28.6 million people. The largest group were Austrian Germans, including Yiddish-speaking Jews, who were about a third of the population. German-speakers and Czechs were the majority, and almost 60% of the people were from Slavic ethnic groups.

Religion

Cisleithania was home to many different religious groups, including Roman Catholics, Greek Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Evangelicals, Muslims, and Jews. Roman Catholics were the largest group, making up 79% of the population. Greek Catholics followed, accounting for 12% of the people.

Orthodox believers made up about 2.3% of the population, mostly living in areas like Dalmatia and Bukovina. Evangelical churches had around 2% of the people. Muslims, mainly Sunni, joined the Austro-Hungarian Empire after 1878 and later became citizens in 1908, representing 1.2% of the population. Jews made up about 4.6% of the whole Austro-Hungarian population.