The Duchy of Styria (; ; ) was a

duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important differe ...

located in modern-day southern

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and northern

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

. It was a part of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

until its dissolution in 1806 and a

Cisleithania Cisleithania, officially The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council (), was the northern and western part of Austria-Hungary, the Dual Monarchy created in the Compromise of 1867—as distinguished from ''Transleithania'' (i.e., ...

n crown land of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

until its dissolution in 1918.

History

It was created by Emperor

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aachen on 9 March 115 ...

in 1180 when he raised the

March of Styria The March of Styria (; ; ) was a southeastern March (territorial entity), frontier march of the Holy Roman Empire, encompassing various regions around the river Mur (river), Mur. Created sometime before 970, it was broken off the larger March of ...

to a duchy of equal rank with neighbouring

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

and

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, after the fall of the Bavarian Duke Henry the Lion earlier that year. Margrave Ottokar IV thereby became the first duke of Styria and also the last of the ancient Otakar dynasty. As Ottokar had no issue, he in 1186 signed the Georgenberg Pact with the mighty

House of Babenberg The House of Babenberg was a noble dynasty of Austrian Dukes and Margraves. Descending from the Popponids and originally from Bamberg in the Duchy of Franconia (present-day Bavaria), the Babenbergs ruled the imperial Margraviate of Austria from ...

, rulers of

since 976, after which both duchies should in perpetuity be ruled in personal union. Upon his death in 1192, Styria as stipulated fell to the Babenberg Leopold V, Duke of Austria. Arms of the Archduchy of Austria

The Austrian Babenbergs became extinct in 1246, when Duke Frederick II was killed in battle against King

Béla IV of Hungary Béla IV (1206 – 3 May 1270) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia between 1235 and 1270, and Duke of Styria from 1254 to 1258. As the oldest son of Andrew II of Hungary, King Andrew II, he was crowned upon the initiative of a group ...

. Styria, a vacant Imperial fief, became a matter of dispute among the neighbouring estates. It passed quickly through the hands of Hungarian kings in 1254, until King

Ottokar II of Bohemia Ottokar II (; , in Městec Králové, Bohemia – 26 August 1278, in Dürnkrut, Austria, Dürnkrut, Lower Austria), the Iron and Golden King, was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty who reigned as King of Bohemia from 1253 until his death in 1278 ...

conquered it, being victorious at the 1260 Battle of Kressenbrunn. As King Ottokar II had married the last duke's sister

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

, he laid claim to both Austria and Styria. This met with strong opposition by the newly-elected King

Rudolph I of Germany Rudolf I (1 May 1218 – 15 July 1291) was the first King of Germany of the Habsburg dynasty from 1273 until his death. Rudolf's election marked the end of the Great Interregnum which had begun after the death of the Hohenstaufen Emperor ...

, who claimed the duchies as

escheat Escheat () is a common law doctrine that transfers the real property of a person who has died without heirs to the crown or state. It serves to ensure that property is not left in "limbo" without recognized ownership. It originally applied t ...

ed fiefs. Rudolph finally defeated Ottokar at the 1278

Battle on the Marchfeld The Battle on the Marchfeld (''i.e. Morava (river), Morava Field''; ; ; ); at Dürnkrut, Austria, Dürnkrut and Jedenspeigen took place on 26 August 1278 and was a decisive event for the history of Central Europe for the following centuries. T ...

, seized Austria and Styria and granted them to his sons Albert I and

Rudolf II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–1608). He was a member of the H ...

. The

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful Dynasty, dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout ...

provided Styria with dukes of their lineage from that point on. The duchy was, however, separated from Austria by the 1379

Treaty of Neuberg The Treaty of Neuberg, concluded between the Austrian duke Albert III and his brother Leopold III at Neuberg Abbey on 25 September 1379, determined the division of the Habsburg hereditary lands into the Albertinian line and the Leopoldian l ...

, after which Styria, Carinthia, and

Carniola Carniola ( ; ; ; ) is a historical region that comprised parts of present-day Slovenia. Although as a whole it does not exist anymore, Slovenes living within the former borders of the region still tend to identify with its traditional parts Upp ...

formed the Inner Austrian territory ruled by the descendants of Leopold III of the Leopoldian line, who took their residence at

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

. In 1456 they could significantly enlarge the Styrian territory by acquisition and re-acquisition of the comital

Celje Celje (, , ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, third-largest city in Slovenia. It is a regional center of the traditional Slovenian region of Styria (Slovenia), Styria and the administrative seat of the City Municipality of Celje. Th ...

estates in

Lower Styria Styria (, ), also known as Slovenian Styria (; ) or Lower Styria (; ) to differentiate it from Austrian Styria, is a traditional region in northeastern Slovenia, comprising the southern third of the former Duchy of Styria. The population of St ...

. Both duchies were again ruled in personal union, when Leopold's grandson Frederick V inherited Austria in 1457. In 1496 Frederick's son Maximilian I signed an order expelling all

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

from Styria, who were not allowed to return to Graz until 1856. In 1512 the duchy joined the Empire's Austrian Circle. A second Inner Austrian cadet branch of the Habsburgs ruled over Styria from 1564. Under Archduke Charles II of Inner Austria, Graz became a centre of the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...

, expedited by the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

at the

University of Graz The University of Graz (, formerly: ''Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz'') is a public university, public research university located in Graz, Austria. It is the largest and oldest university in Styria, as well as the second-largest and second-old ...

established in 1585 and continued under Charles' son Archduke Ferdinand II, who became sole rule of all Habsburg hereditary lands and

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

in 1619. The

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

population was expelled, including the astronomer

Johannes Kepler Johannes Kepler (27 December 1571 – 15 November 1630) was a German astronomer, mathematician, astrologer, Natural philosophy, natural philosopher and writer on music. He is a key figure in the 17th-century Scientific Revolution, best know ...

in 1600. Meanwhile, at the time of the Ottoman invasions in the 16th and 17th centuries after the 1526

Battle of Mohács The Battle of Mohács (; , ) took place on 29 August 1526 near Mohács, in the Kingdom of Hungary. It was fought between the forces of Hungary, led by King Louis II of Hungary, Louis II, and the invading Ottoman Empire, commanded by Suleima ...

, the land suffered severely and was depopulated. The Turks made incursions into Styria nearly twenty times; churches, monasteries, cities, and villages were destroyed and plundered, while the population was either killed or carried away into slavery. Styria remained a part of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

and from 1804 belonged to the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

. The development of the duchy was decisively promoted by

Archduke John of Austria Archduke John of Austria (, ; (or simply ''Nadvojvoda Janez''); 20 January 1782 – 11 May 1859), a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, was an Austrian field marshal and imperial regent (''Reichsverweser'') of the short-lived German Emp ...

, younger brother of Emperor Francis I, who in 1811 founded the '' Joanneum'', predecessor of the Graz University of Technology, and the

University of Leoben The Technical University of Leoben is a public university in Leoben, Styria, Austria. It was established on 4 November 1840 as the ''Steiermärkisch-Ständische Montanlehranstalt'' in Vordernberg, Styria, Austria's mining region. In 1849, Peter ...

in 1840. He also forwarded the construction of the Semmering railway to

Mürzzuschlag Mürzzuschlag () is a town in northeastern Styria, Austria, the capital of the former Mürzzuschlag District. It is located on the Mürz river near the Semmering Pass, the border with the state of Lower Austria, about southwest of Vienna. The ...

and the

Austrian Southern Railway The Austrian Southern Railway () is a long double track railway, which linked the capital Vienna with Trieste, the former main seaport of Austria-Hungary, by railway for the first time. It now forms the Southern Railway in Austria and the Spi ...

line from

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

completed in 1857, which boosted the Styrian economy. In the course of the

Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (, ) established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, which was a military and diplomatic alliance of two sovereign states. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereign ...

(''Ausgleich''), the duchy was assigned as a crown land for the

n part of

, while along with the rise of

nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...

the conflict between the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and Slovene population intensified. On the collapse of Austria-Hungary in the aftermath of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the

rump state A rump state is the remnant of a once much larger state that was reduced in the wake of secession, annexation, occupation, decolonization, a successful coup d'état or revolution on part of its former territory. In the last case, a government st ...

German Austria The Republic of German-Austria (, alternatively spelt ), commonly known as German-Austria (), was an unrecognised state that was created following World War I as an initial rump state for areas with a predominantly German-speaking and ethni ...

claimed all Cisleithanian Austria with a significant German-speaking population including large parts of the Styrian duchy, while the Slovene

n part joined the

State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs The State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs ( / ; ) was a political entity that was constituted in October 1918, at the end of World War I, by Slovenes, Croats and Serbs (Prečani (Serbs), Prečani) residing in what were the southernmost parts of th ...

. Conflicts arose especially around the majority German-speaking border-town of

Maribor Maribor ( , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is the seat of the ...

(Marburg an der Drau), where the census in 1900 recorded 83.5% German-speakers, which after a massacre of German protestors awaiting the American delegation, popularly known as " Marburg's Bloody Sunday", although it was actually a Monday, ultimately fell to Yugoslavia. The former duchy was partitioned broadly along

ethnic An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

lines, though where mixed, the defeated Austrian side lost the lands to Yugoslavia, such as the majority-German Abstall basin, with only the entirely German-speaking two thirds of its territory (

Upper Styria Upper Styria (), in the Austrian usage of the term, refers exclusively to the northwestern, generally mountainous and well-wooded half of the federal state of Styria. The southeastern half of the state around the capital of Graz is known as Cent ...

and parts of ) remaining with

, and the southern third of

with

passing to the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...

, eventually becoming part of modern

Name

Styria was attested in historical documents in AD 907 as ''Styria'', in 1191 as ''Marchia Stirensis'', and in 1215 as ''Marchia Styrie''. The name is of pre-Romance substrate origin. The German name ''Steiermark'' is a compound; the first element is borrowed from the ancient name ''Stiria'' and the second element, ''Mark'', means 'march, border region'. The Slovene name ''Štajerska'' and the Czech name ''Štýrsko'' are borrowed and adapted from the German name for the region.

Demographics

In 1910 the population of Styria included:A.J.P. Taylor, The Habsburg Monarchy 1809-1918, 1948: Serbian edition: A. Dž. P. Tejlor, Habzburška monarhija 1809-1918, Belgrade, 2001, page 302. *983,000 speakers of

*409,000 speakers of Slovene

Dukes

Various dynasties

Otakars The Otakars (or von Traungaus, or Traungauer) were a medieval dynasty ruling the Imperial March of Styria (later the Duchy of Styria) from 1056 to 1192. History The dynasty began with Otakar I, probably a son or son-in-law of Aribo of Austria, A ...

* Ottokar IV (1180–1192), had been the Margrave of Styria since 1164.

* Leopold V of Austria (1192–1194) *

Leopold VI of Austria Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name), including a list of people named Leopold or Léopold * Leopold (surname) Fictional characters * Leopold (The Simpsons), Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The ...

(1194–1230), son * Frederick II of Austria (1230–1246), son, killed in battle Přemyslids *

(1251/1260–1278), ''against''

Árpád dynasty The Árpád dynasty consisted of the members of the royal House of Árpád (), also known as Árpáds (, ). They were the ruling dynasty of the Principality of Hungary in the 9th and 10th centuries and of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 to 130 ...

(1254–1258) and his son *

Stephen V of Hungary Stephen V (, , ; before 18 October 1239 – 6 August 1272) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia between 1270 and 1272, and Duke of Styria from 1258 to 1260. He was the oldest son of King Béla IV and Maria Laskarina. King Béla ...

(1258–1260), ''claimants''

House of Habsburg

* Rudolph I (1278–1282), also

King of the Romans King of the Romans (; ) was the title used by the king of East Francia following his election by the princes from the reign of Henry II (1002–1024) onward. The title originally referred to any German king between his election and coronatio ...

1273–1291 * Albert I (1282–1308), son, also

from 1298, jointly with his brother **

Rudolph II Rudolf II (18 July 1552 – 20 January 1612) was Holy Roman Emperor (1576–1612), King of Hungary and Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg), Croatia (as Rudolf I, 1572–1608), King of Bohemia (1575–1608/1611) and Archduke of Austria (1576–16 ...

(1282–1283) and his son ** Rudolph III (1298–1307) *

Frederick the Fair Frederick the Fair () or the Handsome ( – 13 January 1330), from the House of Habsburg, was the duke of Austria and Styria from 1308 as well as the anti-king of Germany from 1314 until 1325 and then co-king until his death. Background Frederi ...

(1308–1330), son of Albert I, jointly with his brother ** Leopold I (1308–1326) * Albert II (1330–1358), son of Albert I, jointly with his brother ** Otto the Merry (1330–1339) * Rudolph IV (1358–1365), son of Albert II * Albert III (1365–1379), son of Albert II, jointly with his brother ** Leopold III (1365–1386), Duke of Inner Austria from 1379 Leopoldian line *

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

(1386–1406), son of Leopold III * Ernest the Iron (1406–1424), son of Leopold III * Frederick V (1424–1493), son of Ernest the Iron, also King of the Romans from 1440,

from 1452 and Archduke of Austria from 1457, jointly with his brother ** Albert VI (1424–1463) * Maximilian I (1493–1519), also Archduke of Austria, Holy Roman Emperor (Emperor-elect) from 1508 * Charles I (1519–1521), also Archduke of Austria, Holy Roman Emperor 1530-1556 * Ferdinand I (1521–1564), also Archduke of Austria, Holy Roman Emperor from 1558 * Charles II (1564–1590), Archduke of Inner Austria * Ferdinand II (1590–1637), Archduke of Inner Austria, also Archduke of Austria and Holy Roman Emperor from 1619 See

List of rulers of Austria From 976 until 1246, the Margraviate of Austria and its successor, the Duchy of Austria, was ruled by the House of Babenberg. At that time, those states were part of the Holy Roman Empire. From 1246 until 1918, the duchy and its successor, the ...

References

External links

Map of the Balkans, 1815–59
showing the Duchy of Styria {{DEFAULTSORT:Styria, Duchy 1180 establishments in Europe 1180s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire Austrian Circle

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

Historical regions in Austria Subdivisions of Austria-Hungary Republic of German-Austria States and territories disestablished in 1918 States and territories established in 1180 History of Styria 1918 disestablishments in Europe Lands of the Empire of Austria (1867–1918) Subdivisions of the Austrian Empire (1804–1867) de:Geschichte der Steiermark