The Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen (, ), informally Transleithania (meaning the lands or region "beyond" the Leitha River), were the Hungarian territories of Austria-Hungary, throughout the latter's entire existence (30 March 1867 – 16 November 1918), and which disintegrated following its dissolution. The name referenced the historic coronation crown of Hungary, known as the Crown of Saint Stephen of Hungary, which had a symbolic importance to the Kingdom of Hungary.
According to the First Article of the Croatian–Hungarian Settlement of 1868, this territory, also called Arch-Kingdom of Hungary (, pursuant to Medieval Latin terminology), was officially defined as "a state union of the Kingdom of Hungary and the Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia". Though Dalmatia actually lay outside the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen, being part of Cisleithania, the Austrian half of the empire, it was nevertheless included in its name, due to a long political campaign seeking recognition of the Triune Kingdom, which consisted of a united Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia.
Terms – Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen, – Lands of the Holy Crown, – Lands of the Hungarian Crown, – Lands of the Hungarian Holy Crown – Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen – Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of (Saint) Stephen – Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen – Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen, – Lands of the Hungarian Crown – Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen – Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen – Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen – Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen – Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen – Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen
Transleithania Transleithania (, , , , , ) was an unofficial term for the Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen.
The Latin name Transleithania referred to the parts of the empire "beyond" () the Leitha (or Lajta) River, as most of its area lay to the east of that river – or "beyond" it, from an Austrian perspective. Cisleithania, the Habsburg lands of the Dual Monarchy that had been part of the Holy Roman Empire, along with Galicia and Dalmatia, lay to the west (on "this" side) of the Leitha River.
The territory reached from the arc of the Carpathian Mountains in present-day Slovakia to the Croatian coast of the Adriatic Sea. The capital of Transleithania was Budapest.Encyclopædia Britannica
Following the Hungarian victory at the Battle of Pressburg in 907, the Hungarian frontier advanced to the Enns River. In 984, after the Germans captured Melk, Grand Prince Géza withdrew Hungarian forces from the territories west of the Vienna Woods and the Kahlenberg. The peace treaty concluded between Géza and Henry (later Emperor Henry II from 1014) in 996 established the Leitha River as the historical border between Hungary and the German lands.
Crown lands After the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, Transleithania consisted of the Kingdom of Hungary (which included Hungary proper as well as the territories of the former Principality of Transylvania (Erdélyi Fejedelemség) and the former Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar), the internally self-governed Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia, and the free port of Rijeka (Fiume). The Military Frontier was under separate administration until 1873–1882, when it was abolished and incorporated into the Kingdom of Hungary and the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia.
Kingdoms Kingdom of Hungary Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia (from 1868) Kingdom of Croatia (1527–1868) Kingdom of Slavonia (1699–1868)
Free Cities Free City of Fiume
Condominium Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina (governed jointly by Cisleithania and Transleithania)
History
The Compromise of 1867, which created the Dual Monarchy, gave the Hungarian government more control of its domestic affairs than it had possessed at any time since the Battle of Mohács (see fig. 4). However, the new government faced severe economic problems and the growing restiveness of ethnic minorities. The First World War led to the disintegration of Austria-Hungary, and in the aftermath of the war, a series of governments—including a communist regime—assumed power in Buda and Pest (in 1872 the cities of Buda and Pest united to become Budapest).
Constitutional and legal framework The Transleithanian lands were under the rule of the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph I as Apostolic King of Hungary and King of Croatia and Slavonia. He was succeeded by his grand-nephew Emperor Charles I (King Charles IV) in 1916.
Once again a Habsburg emperor became king of Hungary, but the compromise strictly limited his power over the country's internal affairs, and the Hungarian government assumed control over its domestic affairs. The Hungarian government consisted of a prime minister and cabinet appointed by the emperor but responsible to the Diet of Hungary, a bicameral parliament elected by a narrow franchise. The Diet was convened by Minister-President Count Gyula Andrássy on 18 February 1867,
Joint Austro-Hungarian affairs were managed through "common" ministries of foreign affairs, defense, and finance. The respective ministers were responsible to delegations representing separate Austrian and Hungarian parliaments. Although the "common" ministry of defense administered the imperial and royal armies, the emperor acted as their commander in chief, and German remained the language of command in the military as a whole. The compromise designated that commercial and monetary policy, tariffs, the railroad, and indirect taxation were "common" concerns to be negotiated every ten years. The compromise also returned Transylvania to Hungary's jurisdiction.
At Franz Joseph's insistence, Hungary and Croatia reached a similar compromise in 1868, the Nagodba, giving Croatia a special status in the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown. In fact, this half of Austria-Hungary was officially defined (art. 1) as "a state union of the Kingdom of Hungary and the Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia". The agreement recognized Croatia's distinct identity and granted Croatia autonomy over its internal affairs, exercised by the Sabor (assembly) of the former Kingdom of Croatia. The Sabor gained partial authority to legislate in the areas of justice, education and religious matters, and interior affairs. In practice, however, this autonomy was fairly limited.Croatia-Slavonia placed under the rule of Hungary... "Under an 1868 agreement between Croatia and Hungary, known as the Nagodba, Croatian statehood was formally recognized, but Croatia was in fact stripped of all real control over its affairs..." History of Croatia Encyclopedia Britannica 2009 The Croatian Ban would now be nominated by the Hungarian prime minister and appointed by the king. Areas of common policies included finance, currency matters, commercial policy, the post office, and the railroads. Croatian became the official language of Croatia's government, and Croatian representatives discussing "common" affairs before the Hungarian diet were permitted to speak Croatian.
Transleithania did not have its own flag. According to the Nagodba (art. 62 and 63), in all joint Croatian and Hungarian affairs symbols of both Croatia and Hungary respectively had to be used. For instance, whenever the joint Hungarian-Croatian Parliament held a session, the Croatian flag and Hungarian flag were both hoisted on the parliament building in Budapest. In Vienna, in front of Schönbrunn Palace, a black and yellow flag was flown for Cisleithania, but both Croatian and Hungarian flags were flown for Transleithania. When in 1915 a new small official coat of arms of Austria-Hungary was released, composed of the Austrian and Hungarian coats-of-arms only, the Croatian government protested, since it was a breach of the Nagodba.Vinko Kriškovic. Izabrani politički eseji, Priredio Dubravko Jelčić. MH, SHK, Zagreb, 2003. Vienna responded quickly and included the Croatian coat of arms.
The Nationalities Law enacted in 1868 defined Hungary as a single Hungarian nation comprising different nationalities whose members enjoyed equal rights in all areas except language. Although non-Hungarian languages could be used in local government, churches, and schools, Hungarian became the official language of the central government and universities. Many Hungarians thought the act too generous, while minority-group leaders rejected it as inadequate. Slovaks in northern Hungary, Romanians in Transylvania, and Serbs in Vojvodina all wanted more autonomy, and unrest followed the act's passage. The government took no further action concerning nationalities, and discontent about Magyarization fermented.
Anti-Semitism appeared in Hungary early in the century as a result of fear of economic competition. In 1840 a partial emancipation of the Jews allowed them to live anywhere except certain depressed mining cities. The Jewish Emancipation Act of 1868 gave Jews equality before the law and effectively eliminated all bars to their participation in the economy; nevertheless, informal barriers kept Jews from careers in politics and public life.
Rise of the Liberal Party Franz Joseph appointed Gyula Andrássy—a member of Ferenc Deák's party—prime minister in 1867. His government strongly favored the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 and followed a laissez-faire economic policy. Guilds were abolished, workers were permitted to bargain for wages, and the government attempted to improve education and construct roads and railroads. Between 1850 and 1875, Hungary's farms prospered: grain prices were high, and exports tripled. But Hungary's economy accumulated capital too slowly, and the government relied heavily on foreign credits. In addition, the national and local bureaucracies began to grow immediately after the compromise became effective. Soon the cost of the bureaucracy outpaced the country's tax revenues, and the national debt soared. After an economic downturn in the mid-1870s, Deák's party succumbed to charges of financial mismanagement and scandal.
As a result of these economic problems, Kálmán Tisza's Liberal Party, created in 1875, gained power in 1875. Tisza assembled a bureaucratic political machine that maintained control through corruption and manipulation of a woefully unrepresentative electoral system. In addition, Tisza's government had to withstand both dissatisfied nationalities and Hungarians who thought Tisza too submissive to the Austrians. The Liberals argued that the Dual Monarchy improved Hungary's economic position and enhanced its influence in European politics.
Tisza's government raised taxes, balanced the budget within several years of coming to power, and completed large road, railroad, and waterway projects. Commerce and industry expanded quickly. After 1880 the government abandoned its laissez-faire economic policies and encouraged industry with loans, subsidies, government contracts, tax exemptions, and other measures. Between 1890 and 1910, the proportion of Hungarians employed in industry doubled to 24.2%, while the proportion dependent on agriculture dropped from 82% to 62%. However, the 1880s and 1890s were depression years for the peasantry. Rail and steamship transport gave North American farmers access to European markets, and Europe's grain prices fell by 50 percent. Large landowners fought the downturn by seeking trade protection and other political remedies; the lesser nobles, whose farms failed in great numbers, sought positions in the still-burgeoning bureaucracy. By contrast, the peasantry resorted to subsistence farming and worked as laborers to earn money.
Social changes