Kreis (Habsburg Monarchy)

A ( ) or 'Circle' was an administrative division of the Habsburg monarchy and Austrian Empire between 1748 and 1867.

History

Creation

After the Prussian annexation of the bulk of Silesia following the First and Second Silesian Wars, it became apparent that Frederick II's administrative structures allowed him to take much higher tax revenues from the area. Therefore, in the years following end of the War of the Austrian Succession in 1748, Maria Theresa and Joseph II enacted several administrative reforms with Prussia as a model, and the old territorial divisions were converted into new . These reforms were carried out by Maria Theresa's advisor Count Friedrich Wilhelm von Haugwitz and continued under chancellor Prince Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz-Rietberg from 1760. The bureaucratisation in the form of ('circle offices', ) lessened the influence of the estates by essentially separating them from the administration of the realms.

The origin of the as a unit of administration lay in Bohemia, where ( in German) had existed as territorial units since the 14th century (see Bohemia § Historical administrative divisions). Through the reform the system was further developed and applied to the Habsburgs' other realms (other than Hungary). In the Archduchy of Austria and Duchy of Styria the old quarters () served as a basis for the new (Waldviertel, Mostviertel, Industrieviertel and Weinviertel in Lower Austria; Innviertel, Hausruckviertel, Mühlviertel, and Traunviertel in Upper Austria; ).

The Hungarian counterparts were the ( or , formerly spelled ; ), which had existed for much longer and were dominated by the nobility.

In Lombardy–Venetia (1815–1859/66) there were "delegations", which gave rise to the later Provinces.

After 1848

The ('office districts'), or more precisely the ('district offices'), created in the reforms which followed the Revolutions of 1848 (specifically those of 1849Gesetz vom 26. Juni 1849, RGBl. 295/1849: and 1853Gesetz vom 19. Jänner 1853, RGBl. 10/1853: ), largely took over the responsibilities of the . These were proposed as early as 1849 by Interior Minister Alexander von Bach as part of a necessary reform to the administrative apparatus to deal with the increase in the number citizens interacting with the offices following the final abolition of serfdom in 1848. The administrations were thereby subdivided into subordinate . Some smaller were abolished or merged. The system was also expanded to the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar (formerly part of southern Hungary) and the Grand Principality of Transylvania in the course of these reforms.

The statutory cities were also excluded from administration, much like they are excluded from the modern districts ().

Abolition

With the creation of the political districts () in 1868, which go back to the December Constitution of 1867, the divisions were abolished and replaced with much more finely divided divisions; however, the newly created district commissions () were strongly influenced by the former administrations.

Organisation

With the there was for the first time a level of administration between the manors and free cities and the (in the crown lands the gubernatorial administration). At the head of every was a (roughly 'circle/district captain/head'; see ), whose officials were entrusted with clearly defined tasks, which significantly disempowered the estates in financial matters. The were the lowest level of political administration. This brought together direct oversight of taxation, as well as the conscription and recruitment system, the supervision of schools and poorhouses, the supervision of the individual municipalities and the protection of the peasants before the manor lords. The captains were obliged to travel to the at least once per year or allow the inspectors to visit. For this the captains received a state salary, but were not allowed to hold any other lordly or stately offices and were bound to their instructions.

The were subordinate to the (the administrative bodies of the crown lands, roughly governorates).

Legacy

Despite numerous reforms, the borders of the are still roughly visible in the 39 Austrian electoral districts. Also the divisions () of the district courts (; now regional courts – ) are essentially equivalent to those of the former . The 35 NUTS 3 regions are loosely aligned with the former divisions.

List of

The following is a list of the and statutory cities in the non-Hungarian lands of the Austrian Empire (Cisleithania in later terminology) ; pre-1848 are also listed where applicable.

Lands of the Bohemian Crown

Kingdom of Bohemia

The in Bohemia were abolished in 1862 (enacted 23 October, effective 31 October).

= 1849–54

=
In the 1849 administrative reforms which followed the Revolutions of 1848 and introduced the first political districts (), the of Bohemia were reduced to seven:

These lasted until the reforms of 1853/54.Gesetz vom 9. October 1854, RGBl. 274/1854:

Margraviate of Moravia

Until 1848 part of the joint of Moravia and Silesia ( or ; ).
* City of Brünn ()
* or (); in the late 18th century included the area around Saar/ Žďár, Neustadtl/ Nové Město and Bystrzitz/ Bystřice, which later became part of the .
* or (; )
* (; ); until 1848: or (; ); Prerau/Přerov itself became part of in 1854.
* or (; )
** City of Olmütz ( subordinate to )
* or (; )
* or (; )

The traditional Moravian were abolished in 1849 ( see below) but were reconstituted (with some border changes and with / replacing /) in 1854 and divided into (76 in total, excluding the cities of Brünn and Olmütz). Changes included:
* the assignment of the upper (southern) Bečva valley (/Vsetín) to (formerly part of the )
* the assignment of (Přerov) to (formerly the nominal seat of the ).
* the assignment of (Hodonín) and (Kroměříž) to (formerly of the and the respectively; / Kvasice, which was part of the new had already been part of the pre-1848)
* the assignment of the and (Jevíčko, Moravská Třebová and Svitavy), as well as part of the new around ( Knínice) to (formerly of the ).
* the assignment of (Mikulov) to (formerly of the ).
* several settlements along the borders of , and , as well as several exclaves, changed hands, including (Velká Bíteš; from Znaim to Iglau) and (Ivančice; from Znaim to Brünn).

The Moravian were dissolved in 1860 and their (and ) subordinated directly to the in Brünn/Brno.Gesetz vom 5. Juni 1860, RGBl. 142/1860:

= 1849–54

=
In the 1849 administrative reforms which followed the Revolutions of 1848 and introduced the first political districts (), the of Moravia were reduced to two:Gesetz vom 9. August 1849, RGBl. 355/1849:

The six pre-revolution were reconstituted, with various changes, in the reforms of 1853/54.Gesetz vom 21. April 1854, RGBl. 103/1854:

Austrian Silesia

Formally the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia (). Until 1848 part of the joint of Moravia and Silesia ( or ). Although administratively separate Silesia was judicially subordinate to Brünn (Moravia) thereafter.Gesetz vom 21. April 1854, RGBl. 104/1854: Austrian Silesia had no after the 1849 or 1853 reforms, but the separate remained for judicial matters.
* City of Troppau ()
* or ()
* or (; ; seat at , , ; similar to Cieszyn Silesia but with an exclave on the far side of the Oder)

From 1860 Silesia was administered once again from the Moravian in Brünn/Brno but remained a formally separate crown land.

Archduchy of Austria

Austria below the Enns

Corresponds with modern Lower Austria.
* from 1850: the city of Vienna () (traditionally part of the )
* ('Circle above the Manhartsberg'); seat at Krems.Gesetz vom 25. November 1853, RGBl. 249/1853:
* ('Circle above the Vienna Woods'), seat at Sankt Pölten.
* ('Circle below the Manhartsberg'); seat at Korneuburg.
* ('Circle below the Vienna Woods'); seat at Wiener Neustadt from 1853; administered from Vienna, Baden and Wiener Neustadt; earlier Traiskirchen.
* from 1866: the city of Wiener Neustadt

Austria above the Enns

Corresponds with modern Upper Austria. The in Austria above the Enns were from 1749 subdivided into district commissions and regional courts.
* from 1850: the city of Linz (previously part of the ; part of the until the early 19th century)
* ; 1810–16 partially annexed to Bavarian . Seat at Wels.Gesetz vom 25. November 1853, RGBl. 250/1853:
* after 1779: ; annexed from the Electorate of Bavaria by the 1779 Treaty of Teschen; 1810–16 to Bavarian . Seat at Ried.
* ; seat at Linz (from the early 19th century). Comprised the areas north of the Danube and, from the early 19th century, the immediate area around Linz. Initially divided into and , corresponding to the pre-1779 (upper, western) and / (lower, eastern).
* from 1867: the city of Steyr (traditionally part of the )
* ; seat at Steyer. Traditionally bounded by the Traun river. In the early 19th century expanded to include part of the western Traun basin, roughly up to the boundaries of the modern Gmunden District (excluding St. Wolfgang im Salzkammergut). Upon the re-establishment of the in 1853 roughly the western third of the previous , including Ischl, Gmunden and Hallstatt (roughly corresponding to the modern Gmunden District and some parts of the Wels-Land District south of the Traun), became part of the .
* 1816–1849: or (see below); the Electorate of Salzburg was mediatised to Austria in the 1805 Peace of Pressburg; 1810–16 to Bavarian ; integrated into Austria above the Enns as a in 1816. Seat at Salzburg.

Duchy of Salzburg (from 1849)

Formerly the or of Austria above the Enns, the Duchy of Salzburg became a crown land in its own right (with a single ) on 26 June 1849Gesetz vom 26. Juni 1849, RGBl. 289/1849: (formally constituted 30 December). The Duchy of Salzburg had no after 1853.
* City of Salzburg
* or (1849 to 1853)

Duchy of Styria

The Duchy of Styria (, contemporary spelling ), although administered as a single /, was divided into upper and lower parts – () and (). The upper part, which comprised the and , corresponds with the modern Austrian use of the term Upper Styria, i.e. the modern districts of Bruck-Mürzzuschlag, Leoben, Liezen, Murau and Murtal in the north-west of the modern Austrian state of Styria; from 1848 it was synonymous with the now-expanded . The lower part, which comprised the , and , included all of Slovene Styria and the modern Austrian .

* City of Graz (from 1850)
* or (also spelled ''Gratz(er), Grätz(er)'')
* or (Bruck an der Mur); ('circle/district court') in 1854 in Leoben.
* or (, ); in 1848 northwestern parts merged into ; ('circle/district court') in 1854 in Cilli.Gesetz vom 31. Jänner 1854, RGBl. 27/1854:
* until 1848: or (; merged into 1848; also spelled ''Zilli(er)'')
* until 1848: or (Judenburg; merged into 1848)

Kingdom of Illyria (until 1849)

The Kingdom of Illyria was a crown land formed as a successor to the Napoleonic Illyrian Provinces after the 1815 Congress of Vienna returned its territory to Austria. It was divided into two : Laibach and Triest. It was disbanded in 1849 and replaced with the separate Duchy of Carinthia, Duchy of Carniola and Austrian Littoral crown lands. The listed below are grouped by these post-1849 crown lands; internally within the Kingdom they were grouped as such, and the duchies and subdivisions of the Littoral correspond with Habsburg states which existed before the 1809 Treaty of Schönbrunn by which they were annexed by Napoleon.

Until 1809 the area (excluding those parts of Croatia and the Military Frontier which were Illyrian until the 1820s) was organised as part of Inner Austria, an informal region which comprised the Duchies of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola, the County of Gorizia and Gradisca, the March/Margraviate of Istria and the Free City of Trieste. During this period the Habsburg March of Istria only included a small interior part of the peninsula centred on Mitterburg (Pazin, Pisino) and was administered from Carniola; the north-eastern mostly inland part of the later Istrian , as well as part of the eastern coast of the peninsula and a northern coastal exclave around Duino-Aurisina were part of the Carniolan . The Republic of Venice held most of the peninsula itself, including all of the western coast and around half of the eastern coast, as well as the islands in the Kvarner Gulf including Krk and Cres; the Venetian territories were annexed by Austria (as the Venetian Province) in the 1797 Treaty of Campo Formio, but lost again to the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in the 1805 Peace of Pressburg. The mercury-mining area around Idrija had a special status apart from the Carniolan . The Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca included several exclaves in Venetian territory and within the Carniolan ; by the 1805 Peace of Pressburg and 1807 Treaty of Fontainebleau, the parts of the county west of the Soča/Isonzo were ceded to the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy.

Duchy of Carinthia

The Duchy of Carinthia () was 1815–49 part of Laibach of the Kingdom of Illyria; separate crown land thereafter. Carinthia had no after 1853.
* from 1850: City of Klagenfurt
* or (comprised until 1848)
* until 1848: or (Villach; )

Duchy of Carniola

The Duchy of Carniola () was 1815–49 part of Laibach of the Kingdom of Illyria. Carniola had no after 1853.
* from 1850: City of Laibach ()
* or (comprising Upper Carniola until 1848; all of Carniola thereafter. Sometimes spelled Laybach.)
* until 1848: or (; Inner Carniola).
* until 1848: or (; Lower Carniola)

Littoral

Formally the Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca, the Margraviate of Istria and the City of Triest with its Territory (). 1815–49 Triest of the Kingdom of Illyria; separate crown land thereafter.
* City of Triest (, )
* City of Görz (, )
* ; also (Austrian Friuli)
* (, ); also . Seat in (, ); in Rovigno.
* City of Rovigno ()

Judicially the Gorizian districts of Comen (Komen) and Sessana (Sežana) and the Istrian districts of Capo d'Istria (Koper, Kopar), Pirano (Piran), Castel-Nuovo ( Podgrad) and Volosca (Volosko) were subordinate to the in Trieste ().Gesetz vom 6. December 1853, RGBl.261/1853:

Other

In addition to the of Carinthia, Carniola and the Littoral listed above, until the 1820s the Kingdom of Illyria also included the former province of the Napoleonic Illyrian Provinces. This territory was transferred to the re-established Kingdom of Croatia, except for Fiume (Rijeka), which returned to its previous status as a under Hungary. This was organised into:

* (Karlovac)
* ( Fiume/Rijeka, which also included the eastern parts of the Istrian peninsula which would later become part of

Like the Littoral, these belonged to Triest. During this time the remainder of Istria and the southern part of what was later Görz, including all of its coastline (much of which had been part of the Carniolan until 1809), was organised as the , which was distinct from the city of Triest.

Tyrol and Vorarlberg

Formally the Princely County of Tyrol with Vorarlberg ()Gesetz vom 6. Mai 1854, RGBl.117/1854: until 1861.
* City of Innsbruck
* . Broadly coextensive with modern North Tyrol. Formed in 1849 from:
*Gesetz vom 26. Juni 1849, RGBl. 292/1849:
*Gesetz vom 9. August 1849, 356/1849:
** (Upper /Inn Valley) or
** (Lower ); also or
* City of Bozen
* , centred on Bozen. Broadly coextensive with modern South and East Tyrol. Formed in 1849 from:
** or
** or
** The district of Glurns, formerly belonging to
* until 1861: , , or ; detached as a separate crown land – – in the 1861 February Patent.Patent vom 28. Februar 1861, RGBl. 20/1861:
* City of Rovereto
* City of Trient ()
* . After 1849 it was broadly coextensive with modern Trentino.
* until 1849: (or ''Roveredo''); merged into 1849. A of Roveredo covering the former territory of (the of Ala, Arco, Condino, Mori, Nogaredo, Riva, Roveredo, Stenico and Tione) existed within as of 1854.

Galicia and Lodomeria; Bukovina

Formally the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria with the Grand Duchy of Kraków (after 1846) and the Duchies of Auschwitz and Zator (). The Grand Duchy of Kraków, which was annexed in 1846 (previously the Free City of Cracow) corresponded with the ; Auschwitz and Zator had no administrative status, with both forming part of the , although nominally they were part of the German Confederation while the rest was not.

The in Galicia and Lodomeria were abolished in 1865 (enacted 23 September, effective 31 October).

* City of Lemberg (, )
* or
* or ; merged with 1860Gesetz vom 6. August 1860, RGBl. 198/1860:
* or (Berezhany)
* , , or ; military district before 1786; separate crown land – the Duchy of Bukovina – from 1849;Gesetz vom 13. März 1849, RGBl. 163/1849: the Duchy had no from 1853; reincorporated (as ) into Galicia and Lodomeria in 1860; re-separated in the 1861 February Patent.
* City of Czernowitz ( ); part of Bukovina when a separate crown land.
* or (Chortkiv) – former Russian part of Kreis Zaleszczyki restored to Austria by the Congress of Vienna 1815.
* or ; disbanded and split between the ( and ), ( and ), ( ) and ( and ) in 1860
* or ( Kolomyja) – created in 1809 out of the rump of and part of .
* City of Krakau ()
* after 1846: (see Grand Duchy of Kraków)
* or (Przemyśl; , )
* or (Rzeszów)
* or (Sambir)
* or (; )
* or (Sanok)
* or , , (, contemporary ; modern )
* or , (Stryi)
* or (, ). Ceded to Russia in the 1809 Treaty of Schönbrunn – . Restored to Austria by the Congress of Vienna 1815.
* or ()
* or (Wadowice); until 1819; merged with 1860
* until 1809: ; ceded to Duchy of Warsaw in the 1809 Treaty of Schönbrunn (to Congress Poland after 1815)
* or (; , )
* or (; , )
* until 1809: or . Bulk of the (the part bounded by the Dniester and Strypa rivers) ceded to Russia in the 1809 Treaty of Schönbrunn – Tarnopolsky Krai; remainder becomes part of . Restored to Austria by the Congress of Vienna 1815 as .

(1850–53)

In 1850 Galicia and Lodomeria was divided into three ('government districts'), named after their capitals: and . The were abolished and replaced with political districts ().

(1854–60)

The 1850 changes to the administrative structure of the empire were reversed in Bach's January 1853 reforms, although the precise divisions remained to be determined. In April 1854 Galicia and Lodomeria was divided into two () and its formally restored:

The cities of Lemberg and Krakau remained directly subordinate to the crown land. Bukovina was not part of Galicia and Lodomeria at this time.

A list detailing the of each from 1853 can be found at

In 1860 and Bukovina were dissolved and re-subordinated to Lemberg.

West or New Galicia (1795–1803/09)

West or New Galicia () comprised the Habsburgs' gains in the Third Partition of Poland in 1795. The first-partition and were also attached to it. It was incorporated into Galicia and Lodomeria 1803–09 as a separate . Other than the first-partition it was ceded to the Duchy of Warsaw in 1809 by the Treaty of Schönbrunn (Congress Poland and Free City of Cracow after 1815).
* (Kraków)
* (first partition)
* (first partition)
* (first partition)
*
*
* (before 1789: )
* (Końskie)
* (Radom)
* (Józefów)
* (Lublin)
* or (Chełm)
* (Biała Podlaska)
* (Siedlce)
* or (earlier: )

Kingdom of Dalmatia

* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()

The in Dalmatia were abolished in 1865 (enacted 5 December, effective 31 December).Gesetz vom 5. December 1865, RGBl. 129/1865:

Other crown lands

In the years following the revolutions of 1848 the system was extended to some additional crown lands:

Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar

The Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar, a short-lived crown land which existed 1849–60, was formally divided into in 1854. Before the revolutions of 1848 it had been the Bács-Bodrog, Torontál, Temes, and Krassó Counties of Hungary and part of the Syrmia County of Slavonia
* . Corresponded with Temes County.
* . Corresponded with Krassó County.
* . Corresponded with Torontál County.
* . Corresponded with the northern parts of Bács-Bodrog County.
* . Corresponded with the southern parts of Bács-Bodrog County and eastern parts of Syrmia County.

Grand Principality of Transylvania

* 1851–54 (5 or ):
** or (the ""; , )
** or (, )
** or (, )
** or (; modern ; )
** (modern , , )
* 1854 (10 ):
**
** (, )
** (, , )
**
** (, )
**
** Szilágy-Somlyó (, , modern )
**
**
** (, )
The traditional subdivisions of Transylvania (and the ) were restored in the 1860s.

Notes

References

{{reflist

Subdivisions of the Habsburg monarchy
Subdivisions of the Austrian Empire (1804–1867)