The Austro-Hungarian Empire, a European state that was born in 1867 and ended in 1919, was made up of an extensive territory of Central and Eastern Europe, and was ruled for almost its entire existence by the monarch Francisco José I.

This had a great role during the First World War , as it was part of the Triple Alliance with Germany . After the defeat, different national movements emerged that promoted its dissolution and the formation of new states.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire was characterized by being a great world power in economic matters, with great commercial and industrial developments and a strong military power.

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Origin of the Austro-Hungarian Empire

This empire was born after a decree called “Austro-Hungarian Compromise”, of the year 1867 , which unified the old Austrian Empire, which was in a deep economic and political crisis, with Hungary , which was recognized as a kingdom after a long period of Ottoman rule in history.

With this treaty, the Austro-Hungarian Empire increased its territory and population, and therefore its influence over the rest of Europe. Countries of the Austro-Hungarian empire

Characteristics

Among the main characteristics of the Austro-Hungarian Empire we can highlight the following:

• He had a particular political system , with which power was under the command of the monarch, who was emperor and king at the same time.
• Only two people held the position of monarch in their entire existence : Francisco José I (1867 – 1916) and Carlos I (1916 – 1919).
• The capital of the empire was Vienna and its official language was German and Hungarian .
• They had two parliaments , one located in Vienna and the other in Budapest.
• It was one of the largest empires in Europe, with 676,000 km ² and 53 million inhabitants by 1916.
• The entire empire had a common currency , initially the florin, until 1892, and then the crown.
• It became the sixth economic and commercial power in the world .
• Its western regions achieved greater industrial and commercial development compared to the eastern ones.

What countries formed the Austro-Hungarian Empire?

At first, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was made up of Hungary and Austria , but later various territories were annexed, in which today are the following countries:

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Austria	Hungary	Czech Republic
Slovakia	Slovenia	Croatia
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Serbia	Part of italy
Romania	Poland	Ukraine

Fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire

The decline and dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire began with the First World War, the origin of which was contributed by separatist intentions and the empire’s political instability. In fact, the First World War began with the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Francisco Fernando of Austria, which occurred in Sarajevo.

The then emperor Carlos I allied himself, during the conflict, with Germany, who lost the war.

In this way, faced with intense social pressure, Carlos I had to abdicate in 1919. This fact dissolved the empire, originated the birth of the republics of Austria and Hungary , and ended up dividing the remaining regions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Countries of the Austro-Hungarian empirere