Austria-Hungary belongs to the Germanic group of European states,
because the dominant race is German. The Germans, however, do not
form so much as a third of its varied population.
The usual name given to this great empire is Austria, a Latinized
form of the German _Oesterreich_, meaning “Eastern Kingdom.”
Since 1867 the empire is composed of a union of two states under one
emperor, but administratively distinct. The one is Austria, or
Cisleithania (“on this side the Leitha,” a tributary of the Danube);
the other, Hungary and the lands of the Hungarian crown, or
Transleithania. The present article deals with the empire as a
whole.
=Location and Extent.=--The Austrian dominions form geographically a
compact territory with a circumference of about five thousand three
hundred and fifty miles. The total area is greater than that of any
other European state save Russia, and is nearly twice the area of Great
Britain. The body of the empire lies in the interior of Europe, though
it has about one thousand miles of sea-coast on the Adriatic. Austria
borders on Italy, Switzerland, Bavaria, Saxony, Prussia, Russia,
Roumania, Servia and Montenegro. With the sanction of the Berlin
Congress of 1878, the small territory of Spizza, on the Montenegrin
frontier and formerly Turkish, was incorporated with Dalmatia. The
Turkish provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, thenceforward occupied and
administered by Austria, were annexed by proclamation in 1908, and are
now a part of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy.
=Surface Features.=--Austria-Hungary has been termed the “Empire of the
Danube,” since it lies for the most part within the basin of that river,
and embraces the whole of its upper plain, which lies at an elevation of
about three hundred feet above the sea. But it is also, next to
Switzerland, by far the most mountainous land in Europe, no less than
four-fifths of its area being more than six thousand feet above the
sea-level.
On the west, Austria embraces nearly half of the great mass of the Alps
between the plateau of Bavaria and the plain of Lombardy, the mountain
and valley scenery of Tyrol and Salzburg resembling that of Switzerland
on a lesser scale. The highest point of all here is the Ortler Spitze.
An eastern spur of these heights, the Bakony Wäld, runs into Hungary,
compelling the Danube to form a sharp east-to-south bend or knee in its
course. In the northwest the Bohmer Wäld, the Erz, and Riesen Gebirge,
the Sudetic Mountains, and the Moravian heights, enclose the high basin
of the Upper Elbe in Bohemia. Farther east the wooded Carpathians, with
the high outlying granite mass of the Tatra rise round the north of the
Hungarian plain. These are continued by the Transylvanian Alps, which
form the southeastern frontier, next Roumania, and which, with their
northern branch, the Biharia Mountains, enclose the highland of
Transylvania or Siebenbürgen on the east of the Hungarian plain.
=Rivers and Lakes.=--The Danube, entering Austria from Bavaria as a
considerable river, and flowing southeastward over the plain of Hungary,
grows to more than half a mile in width before it leaves the Hungarian
border to descend by the gorge of the Iron Gates into its lower plains.
It is the great highway of the kingdom, and the great outlet to the
Black Sea on the east. (See further under Danube.)
The Save, the southern boundary river of Hungary, and the Drave join the
Danube in the south from the Eastern Alps, up to the base of which both
are navigable.
The Theiss, winding south through the plain of Hungary from its source
in the Carpathians, is its great northern tributary, also navigable, and
so full of fish as to be popularly described as “two-thirds water and
one-third fish.”
The March, from the Sudetic Mountains, corresponds to the Leitha from
the south, forming part of the boundary between Austria and Hungary. The
high basin of Bohemia, as before said, forms the upper basin of the
Elbe, which escapes thence into Saxony.
The head stream of the Oder passes through Austrian Silesia; and the
Vistula, draining like these to the Baltic, has its head streams in the
northern slopes of the Carpathians in Galicia, the eastern portion of
which province, however, drains to the Black Sea by the Dniester.
=Lakes.=--The two large lake basins of the country, which seem to be
remnants of much more extensive inland waters, lie in Hungary between
the Danube and the Drave. The larger, the Platten See or Balaton Lake,
fifty miles long, shallow and stagnant, overflows into the surrounding
marshes only in spring. The Lake of Constance, on the northern margin of
the Alps, and Lake Garda, on the southern, touch upon Austrian
territory.
=Climate and Landscape.=--Though from the variations of elevation the
climates of different parts of Austria-Hungary are very diverse, three
broad divisions may be recognized--(1) the climate of the countries
which lie north of the Carpathian heights, in which the winters are long
and cold, and in which the vine does not flourish; (2) that of the
central plains and slopes of Hungary, favorable to wheat and vines; and
(3) the Mediterranean climate of the Adriatic shores, which yield oil
and silk.
Generally speaking, all the mountainous borders of Austria-Hungary are
forest-covered, the woods occupying a third of the whole surface of
those regions; the great plain of Hungary, on the other hand, is an
open, treeless steppe.
=Peoples and Races.=--Austria-Hungary extends over the area in which
many different races of Europe meet and interlace. Its population
includes Germanic, Slavonic, Magyar, and Romanic elements, with their
various tongues and dialects. The Germanic prevails in the Alpine
regions and in the valley of the Danube in the west, and is widely
mingled with the Slavonic and Magyar in the northern and central parts
of the country.
The Slavs, the most numerous branch, forming about forty-five per cent
of the whole population, appear in two divisions, a northern and
southern; to the northern Slavs belong the Czechs of Bohemia, the
Moravians and Slovaks, Poles and Ruthenians, or Russniaks of Galicia and
Bukowina; to the southern Slavs belong the Slovenes, Croats and
Servians, who occupy the southern border lands of Hungary, between the
Drave and Save, westward to the peninsula of Istria and the Dalmatian
coasts of the Adriatic. The Romanic element appears in the southeast on
the Danube frontier, in southern Transylvania and eastern Bukowina
(Wallachians), and in the southwest, where the Italians prevail in
numbers on the borders of Venetia. The Magyars occupy the central plains
of Hungary. The Szeklers of eastern Transylvania are a branch of the
same family, by some believed to be the descendants of the once
formidable Huns. Among minor elements of population, Jews are numerous
in the northern provinces, Gypsies in Hungary, and Armenians in
Transylvania and Galicia.
=Religion and Education.=--The state religion is the Roman Catholic, and
this is professed by two-thirds of the population; a large proportion on
the eastern borders next to Russia adhere to the Greek Church;
Protestants are most numerous in Hungary and Transylvania, but form only
a tenth part. General education, excepting in German Austria, where the
compulsory system is enforced, is in a very backward state. There are,
however, eleven universities in Austria-Hungary: Vienna, Prague (two),
Budapest, Graz, Innsbruck, Cracow, Lemberg, Czernowitz, Klausenburg, and
Agram.
=Industries and National Resources.=--The occupations of the country
naturally divide themselves between the mining and pastoral industries
of the mountains, and the agricultural and pastoral of the plains.
AGRICULTURE employs by far the largest share of the population; and the
lower lands of Austria-Hungary are among the most fertile portions of
Europe. Oats, rye, barley, wheat, and maize, are the commonest grains;
flax and hemp are widely grown; wines and tobacco chiefly in Hungary;
hops in Bohemia.
HORTICULTURE is carried to great perfection; and the orchards of
Bohemia, Austria proper, Tyrol, and many parts of Hungary produce a
profusion of fruit. Great quantities of cider are made in Upper Austria
and Carinthia, and of plum-brandy in Slavonia. In Dalmatia, oranges,
lemons and a few olives are produced.
In the production of wine, Austria is second only to France. With the
exception of Galicia, Silesia, and Upper Austria, the vine is cultivated
in all the provinces; but Hungary stands first, yielding not only the
finest quality of wine, but four-fifths the total amount produced in the
empire.
ANIMAL PRODUCTS.--The central Hungarian steppes are full of cattle, and
those of the Alpine regions are an exceedingly fine breed. Merino sheep
are carefully reared, especially in Moravia, Bohemia and Hungary. The
river fisheries are important all over the land. The coast fisheries are
of the utmost importance in rocky Dalmatia, where there is little
cultivable land.
MINERALS.--Its mineral wealth is not surpassed in any European country;
it is only lately that Russia has exceeded it in the production of gold
and silver. Mining has been an important pursuit in Austria for
centuries, and has been encouraged and promoted by the government. Gold
is found chiefly in Hungary and Transylvania, and in smaller quantity in
Salzburg and Tyrol. The same countries, along with Bohemia, yield
silver. Quicksilver is found in Hungary, Transylvania, Styria, and
Carinthia. Copper is found in many districts, tin in Bohemia alone.
Zinc is mined chiefly in Cracow and Carinthia. The most productive lead
mines are in Carinthia. Iron is found in almost every province of the
monarchy, though Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola are chief seats.
Antimony is confined to Hungary; arsenic, cobalt, sulphur, and graphite
are produced in various parts of the empire.
The useful earths and building-stones are to be had in great profusion;
likewise marble, gypsum, chalk, etc. Rock-salt exists in immense beds on
both sides of the Carpathians, chiefly at Wieliczka and Bochnia in
Galicia, and in the county of Marmaros in Hungary, and in Transylvania.
Salt is also made at state salt-works by evaporating the water of
salt-springs. There are inexhaustible deposits of coal. Austria has
abundance of valuable mineral springs; about sixteen hundred are
enumerated, some of them of European reputation, as the sulphur baths of
Baden in Lower Austria, the saline waters of Carlsbad, Marienbad,
Franzensbad, Teplitz, etc., all in Bohemia.
MANUFACTURES are most developed in the German portion of Bohemia, in the
districts round Vienna, in Moravia and Austrian Silesia, and in Styria.
The Magyar countries are far behind in this respect and Dalmatia and
Bukowina have scarcely any manufactures at all. Weaving employs the
largest number of hands; next in number come the metal, stone, glass and
wood workers, then the workers in leather. Iron and steel goods are made
in the Alps of Styria. Bohemia has a world-wide reputation for the
manufacture of various kinds of glass, and the Tyrol has long been noted
for the production of carved woodwork. Paper is made chiefly in Bohemia
and in or near Vienna.
=Cities and Towns.=--The most important cities are the capital, Vienna,
and eight other towns above one hundred thousand (Budapest, Trieste,
Prague, Lemberg, Gratz, Cracow, Brün, Szegedin), and twenty-two others
above fifty thousand.
=Vienna= (Ger. _Wien_, pron. _Veen_), the capital of the Austrian
Empire, and (jointly with Budapest) of the dual monarchy, is situated in
Lower Austria, on the Danube Canal, a south branch of the Danube, here
joined by the small river Wien.
CHIEF DIVISIONS.--Vienna proper consists of the Inner City and ten
suburban districts surrounding it, formerly encircled by fortifications
known as the Lines, which in 1892 were replaced by a boulevard, known as
the Ringstrasse. The central point of the city is the Graben, a short
street in the center of the inner city, a pleasant, well-built avenue,
of greater width than usual for streets within the Ring. The Stadt is
the fashionable quarter, where are the imperial palace, the residences
of many of the nobility, the leading churches, museums, galleries, etc.,
and the most elegant shops.
[Illustration: =PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS, VIENNA=]
THE RINGSTRASSE is perhaps not surpassed in its architectural
magnificence by any other street in Europe. Among the most conspicuous
of the public buildings upon it are the Bourse; the University, founded
in 1365 and renowned throughout the world as a medical school, has a
teaching staff of five hundred and some ten thousand students; the new
Rathhaus in the Gothic style, with a tower three hundred and
twenty-eight feet high; the new Court Theater, the extensive and
splendid Houses of Parliament; the Palace of Justice; the twin Imperial
Museums of natural history and of art; the Imperial Opera House,
sumptuous without and within; the Commercial Academy; the Palace of
Archduke William; the Austrian Museum of Art and Industry, and the
School for Art Industry.
Other institutions and buildings of interest are the Polytechnic
Institute (with a Technological Museum); the Deaf and Dumb Asylum,
founded by Maria Theresa; the splendid Public Hospital, the largest in
Europe, and the Josephinum, a medical college founded in 1784,
containing a large collection of anatomical models, etc.
MONUMENTS AND PARKS.--Of the public monuments the most noteworthy are
the equestrian statues of Joseph II., in the Josephsplatz, those of
Archduke Charles and Prince Eugene, and that of Francis I. in the
Hofgarten; the monument of Francis II., in the inner court of the
Hofburg; the grand Maria Theresa monument; the Beethoven and the
Schiller monuments; the Grill-parzer monument, etc. Of the many
beautiful fountains the finest is that by Schwanthaler representing
Austria, with the four rivers, Danube, Elbe, Vistula, and Po.
In the Volksgarten (bordering on the Ringstrasse) is the Temple of
Theseus, modeled after that at Athens, and formerly containing Canova’s
marble Theseus and the Minotaur, which is now in the Imperial Museum of
Art.
[Illustration: =IMPERIAL ART MUSEUM, VIENNA=]
The great park of Vienna is the Prater (four thousand two hundred and
seventy acres), extending for nearly four miles between the Donau Canal
(a narrow arm of the Danube) and the main stream of the river. It was
the site of the Great Exhibition of 1873, some of the buildings of which
are now used for exhibitions, concerts, etc.
[Illustration: =GRAND OPERA HOUSE, VIENNA=]
CHURCHES AND MUSEUMS.--The ecclesiastical center and the historic church
of the city, is St. Stephen’s Cathedral, adjacent to the Graben.
St. Stephen’s is one of the noblest Gothic edifices in Europe. It was
founded in 1147, but was burned in 1258. The present edifice was begun
soon after, but the tower was not finished until 1433. It has recently
undergone extensive restorations, both without and within. The tower is
four hundred and forty-nine feet high. The interior is rich in sculpture
and in monuments; and the carved stalls in the choir and the stone
pulpit are specially to be noted.
The Capuchin Church contains the burial-vault of the imperial family.
The Duke of Reichstadt, son of Napoleon I., lies here among his maternal
ancestors.
In the Minorite Church there is a fine mosaic copy of Leonardo da
Vinci’s Last Supper; also the monument of the poet Metastasio.
[Illustration: =THE IMPERIAL UNIVERSITY, VIENNA=]
The Augustine Church contains Canova’s monument of the Archduchess Maria
Christina, one of his noblest works; and in the Loretto Chapel are the
silver urns that hold the hearts of many members of the imperial family.
The Church of Maria-Stiegen is a Gothic structure of the fourteenth
century restored in 1820, and second in beauty only to St. Stephen’s.
The elegant Karlskirche, or Church of St. Charles Borromeo, was erected
in 1737 in fulfilment of a vow of Charles VI., when the plague raged in
Vienna; it is in Italian style, with two slender spires, one hundred and
forty-five feet high, near the porch.
The Imperial Museums now contain the Picture Gallery, arranged in
schools. It is second only to the Dresden collection, is specially
famous for its unrivaled examples of the Venetian school, Rubens, and
Dürer, the Antiquities, comprising statuary, mosaics, inscriptions,
etc., mostly Austrian; and the Ambras Collection, remarkable for its
ancient armor, ivories and other carvings, etc.
INDUSTRIES.--Vienna is the chief industrial city in the empire.
Machinery, scientific and musical instruments, artistic goods in bronze,
leather, terracotta, porcelain, furniture, meerschaum pipes, etc., are
among the noted manufactures. As a center of trade and finance Vienna is
no less important.
SCHÖNBRUNN, two miles from Vienna, is the seat of the magnificent Summer
Palace of the Emperor, with extensive gardens and pleasure-grounds. From
the marble colonnade of the Gloriette there is a fine view of the city
and its suburbs. In the churchyard is Canova’s monument of Baroness
Pillersdorf.
=Prague= (Ger. _Prag_; Czech _Praha_), the capital of Bohemia, is
situated at the base and on the slope of the hills which skirt both
sides of the isleted Moldau, two hundred and seventeen miles from Vienna
and one hundred and eighteen miles from Dresden. It offers a highly
picturesque appearance from the beauty of its site, and the numerous
lofty towers (more than seventy in number) which rise above the palaces,
public buildings, and bridges of the city.
[Illustration: =STATUE OF THE POET GRILLPARZER IN VIENNA=]
The royal Burg, on the Hradschin (two hundred and forty feet), the
ancient residence of the Dukes of Bohemia, dates mainly now from the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and has four hundred and forty
rooms. The neighboring Cathedral of St. Vitus is still unfinished,
though building was resumed in 1867. Here are the splendid royal
mausoleum and the shrine of St. John of Nepomuk, containing one and
one-half tons of silver. Of forty-seven other Catholic Churches the
chief are the domed Jesuit Church of St. Nicolas, and the Teyn Church
(1407; the old Hussite Church), with Tycho Brahé’s grave, and its marble
statue of the Slavonic martyrs, Cyril and Methodius.
[Illustration: =ROYAL PALACE, SCHÖNBRUNN, NEAR VIENNA=]
Of five bridges and two railway viaducts the most striking is the
Karlsbrücke, five hundred and forty-three yards long, with gate-towers
at either end, and statues of John of Nepomuk and other saints. Other
noteworthy objects are the town hall, the Pulverturm, the new Czech
Theatre, the old Jewish graveyard, the vast Czerni Palace and the
Picture Gallery.
Prague has numerous public gardens and walks, with several noble parks
close by. The manufactures include machinery, chemicals, leather,
cotton, linen, gloves, beer and spirits.
[Illustration: =SALZBURG, AUSTRIA, ONE OF THE MOST CHARMING TOWNS IN
EUROPE, AND BIRTHPLACE OF MOZART AND HAYDN=]
=Salzburg= (_sälts’börg_), is in Upper Austria, twenty-eight miles from
Linz, near the Bavarian frontier, one thousand three hundred and fifty
feet above sea, under some fine hills on the Salzach. It is considered
one of the most beautifully situated towns of Europe. At this point the
river passes between two extensive but isolated masses of rock, one of
which, the Mönchsberg (Monk’s Hill), is crowned by the old citadel,
dating originally from Roman times, but frequently rebuilt. This portion
of the city contains the fine cathedral, with a white marble façade, and
built in imitation of St. Peter’s at Rome.
Its industries are confined chiefly to the manufacture of musical
instruments, marble ornaments.
=Budapest= (_boo´da-pest_; Hung. pron. _boo´do-pesht´_) is the capital
of Hungary, and the second city of the Austrian Empire, consisting of
Buda on the west bank of the Danube, and Pest on the opposite bank.
[Illustration: =ROYAL PALACE AND SUSPENSION BRIDGE, BUDAPEST=]
These twin cities are joined by five bridges: a chain bridge between the
two commercial quarters; the Queen Elizabeth Bridge; the Franz Josef
Bridge; the Margaret Bridge; and a railway bridge.
Buda, the older and formerly the more important of the two parts, stands
on and around two hills. On one stands the royal castle, erected by
Maria Theresa, and a fortress, rebuilt after being destroyed by the
Hungarians in 1849. The palace chapel of St. Sigismund contains the
Hungarian regalia and the hand of St. Stephen. On the Blocksberg, to the
south of this hill, stands the old citadel, while on a lower mound to
the north is the Turkish mosque, built over the tomb of the saint Sheik
Gül-Babas.
Other prominent buildings are the palace of Archduke Joseph, the
residence of the Premier, and of the Minister of National Defense, all
standing in the Georgsplatz, where is also a monument to General Hentzi,
and the thirteenth-century parish church of St. John.
Pest, the more modern city, stands upon a sandy plain with fine quays
along the Danube. The main streets radiate from the Belvaros, which is
enclosed by boulevards replacing the old city walls.
The most notable buildings are the Houses of Parliament and Palaces of
Justice, the Academy of Sciences, containing valuable art collections,
and a fine library, the Bourse, and the Redoute buildings, all on the
Franz Josef Quay; the National Museum Theatre and University on Museum
Street; the Industrial Art Museum, on Ulloi Street; the Royal Military
Academy, in the Orczy Gardens; and the Leopold Basilica on Andrassy
Street, one of the most handsome thoroughfares in Europe. There are a
parish Church, a Greek Church, and a Jewish synagogue, and numerous
parks, including one on Margaret Island in the Danube.
Both towns have valuable baths and sulphur springs, and the united
cities form a large manufacturing center for machinery, spirits, and
tobacco, cutlery and metal-work, glass, etc. The most important industry
is milling, the trade in grain and flour being enormous, and there is
considerable commerce in cattle and swine, honey, wax, bacon and hides,
timber, and coal.
=Salzkammergut= (_Sahltzkammergoot´_), called the Austrian Switzerland,
one of the most picturesque regions of Europe, lies in a district famous
for its salt mines and brine springs, and hence known as the
_Salzkammergut_ (“Estate of the Salt Office”). The scenery combines in
rare beauty the features of valley, mountain and lake. The highest peak
is the Dachstein (nine thousand eight hundred and thirty feet); of its
lakes the most famous are Hallstatt, Traun or Gmünden, Atter, St.
Wolfgang, Aber, Mond, and Zell. The chief seats of the salt-works are
Ischl, Hallstatt, and Ebensee.
[Illustration: =THE GOTHIC POWDER TOWER, PRAGUE=]
=Other Important Places.=--Trieste, the only great seaport of the
Empire, is at the head of its gulf, on the North Adriatic. Pola, near
the southern extremity of the peninsula of Istria, is the chief naval
station of Austria.
Linz, on the Danube, is the seat of a considerable trade. Steyr, on the
river Enns, is noted for its steel and iron industry.
Northern Styria is the center of the Austrian steel and iron industry,
carried on more especially around Leoben. The capital, Graz, is a staple
place for the manufacture of machinery, and one of the most agreeable of
Austrian capitals, and a favorite place of residence.
_Semmering_, an Austrian Alpine pass (three thousand two hundred and
nineteen feet) connecting Vienna with Graz, though the lowest of the
Alpine passes, is traversed by the first railway (1854) to be carried
across the Alps. The viaducts of the Semmering railway, some of them
with several tiers of arches, are among the grandest works of
engineering. The Semmering road begins at Gloggnitz, at an elevation of
one thousand four hundred and twenty-six feet, and is carried along the
face of abrupt precipices over bridges and through tunnels, affording
views of the grandest and wildest scenery en route. This part of the
road is twenty-five miles long, and cost more than seven millions of
dollars.
Innsbruck, on the Inn, is the capital of the Tyrol, the most alpine part
of the monarchy. Its principal rivers are the Inn, in the north, and the
Etsch or Adige, in the south, the mountain range separating them being
crossed by the Pass of the Brenner (five thousand eight hundred and
sixty feet). On the Adige are Botzen, Trent, and Roveredo, the two last
inhabited by Italians.
Reichenberg, in the north, is the center of the textile trades; Teplitz
and Karlsbad, at the foot of the Erzgebirge, are famous watering-places;
Pilsen, in the west, is noted for its beer. Königgrätz and Sadowa, where
the battle was fought which decided the Seven Weeks’ war in 1866, are in
the east.
Brünn is the great center of the Austrian woolen trade; near it is the
old state prison, Spielberg. Olmütz is a strong fortress on the March.
Lemberg and Cracow (the ancient capital of Poland) are the centers of
trade, and the marts for the agricultural produce.
Bukowina is a small duchy at the head of the Sereth and other rivers
falling into the Black Sea, with Czernowitz for its capital. About forty
per cent of the inhabitants are Roumanians.
Pressburg, near the eastern frontier, is the old coronation city;
Komorn, lower down on the Danube, is famous as a fortress; Szegedin, the
chief town on the Theiss, was almost wholly destroyed by floods in the
year 1878.
Fiume, at the head of the Quarnero Gulf, is the chief seaport of
Hungary.