Austrian+Empire

Matt Schofield Austrian Empire

The Austrian Empire, reigning from 1804 to 1867, was one of the grandest empires of its time. The Austrian Empire was the 2nd largest and most populous empire in all of Europe after the Russian empire. Also, it was the the largest and strongest empire in all of the German Confederation. The Austrian Empire was the leading member of the German Confederation from 1815, in which they lead the war against Denmark. Holy Roman Emperor, Francis II, who ruled until 1835, didn’t live to see the end of his truly impressive empire. It was then converted into the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1867, which then lasted until 1918. Francis II was later followed by his predecessors, Ferdinand I, followed by Franz Joseph I. Ruling this area for more than 60 years, the Austrian Empire surely was an empire to both fear and admire. Although the creation of the Austrian Empire was a time of celebration, it was also a time of agony. Around the same time, the mighty Holy Roman Empire was seeing it’s last days. Francis II looked to make a new empire from the ruins of the previous one, inheriting most of the Holy Roman Empire’s land. Their Austrian Empire stretched from Present-Day Poland to Present-Day northern Italy. These borders were determined during the conferences Rastatt and Resensburg which took place from 1797-1803. Not long after the origins of Austrian Empire, the Empire’s economy plummeted after having to deal with the main hardship of the war with Napoleon. They had to deal with this responsibility because they were forced to under the peace treaty between France and Prussia. This caused Austria to not join any wars, especially ones with France for decades to come. The Austrian Empire is surely an Empire that was marveled at. Although the Empire’s lifespan wasn’t as long as other empire’s, that doesn’t earn it to right to be frowned upon. The Austrian Empire wasn’t an individual empire all by itself, it was apart of a combined set of other empires such as its previous empire, the Holy Roman Empire, and its future empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Also, the Austrian Empire gave the Habsburg Monarchy a place to continue for many more years by having Emperors Francis II, Ferdinand I, and Francis Joseph I. In conclusion, the Austrian Empire was and still is an empire to respect and should always be remembered as a positive addition to the history of the world.