Periods

The beginning of this epoch is marked by conflict between two kings: Rudolf I, crowned in 1273 as the first Roman-German king of the Habsburg dynasty, and Ottokar II Přemysl , King of Bohemia, who refuses to recognize ...

During the course of the fourteenth century the Habsburgs slowly establish their power base. Having inherited the Duchy of Carinthia in 1335, they assume dominion over Tyrol in 1363. Using the notorious forged document ...

In 1477 Charles the Bold of Burgundy falls in battle and his heir and daughter Mary subsequently marries the future emperor Maximilian I. The acquisition of Burgundy, one of the most prosperous regions in western Europe ...

Religious schisms convulse Western Christianity and change European society profoundly. Confessional affiliation becomes a political issue, determining the relationship between countries as well as between princes and ...

This is the age of magnificent courtly display. Under Leopold I work starts on the rebuilding of Schönbrunn Palace and on additions to the Hofburg in Vienna. At the same time the era is marked by large-scale military ...

Informed by the ideas of the Enlightenment, the state is reorganized on rational principles to further the welfare of its subjects. Under the rule of Maria Theresa and her son Joseph II reforms are instituted resulting ...

A time of violent convulsions: the French Revolution sends shockwaves across Europe, Napoleon changes the political map of Europe for good and the Austrian Empire rises from the ashes of the Holy Roman Empire. The ...

The nationalist movements in various parts of Europe herald an era of change for the Habsburg Monarchy – northern Italy is lost, autonomy conceded to Hungary and absolute rule transforms itself into constitutional ...

The Austrian writer Karl Kraus called the Great War the Last Days of Mankind. Triggered by the assassination of the heir to the Austrian throne and Austria-Hungary's declaration of war on Serbia, it leaves ten million ...