 | This article includes a list ofgeneral references, butit lacks sufficient correspondinginline citations. Please help toimprove this article byintroducing more precise citations.(March 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Further Austria Austria anterior Vorderösterreich Österreichische Vorlande | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Territory ofHabsburg monarchy and theAustrian Empire | |||||||||||||||||
| 1278–1805 | |||||||||||||||||
.svg) Flag  Coat of arms | |||||||||||||||||
 Further Austrian territories, after the loss of the Sundgau in 1648 | |||||||||||||||||
| Capital | Ensisheim Freiburg im Breisgau | ||||||||||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages Napoleonic Wars | ||||||||||||||||
• Established | 1278 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1805 | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| Today part of | |||||||||||||||||
Further Austria,[1]Outer Austria orAnterior Austria (Latin:Austria anterior;German:Vorderösterreich, formerlydie Vorlande (pl.)) was the collective name for the early (and later) possessions of theHouse of Habsburg in the formerSwabianstem duchy of south-westernGermany, including territories in theAlsace region west of theRhine and inVorarlberg.[2]
While the territories of Further Austria west of the Rhine and south ofLake Constance (except Konstanz itself) were gradually lost to France and the Swiss Confederacy, those in Swabia remained under Habsburg control until the Napoleonic Era, with Vorarlberg still forming a part of modern Austria.
Further Austria mainly comprised the AlsatianCounty of Ferrette in theSundgau, including the town ofBelfort, and the adjacentBreisgau region east of theRhine, includingFreiburg im Breisgau after 1368. Also ruled from the Habsburg residence inEnsisheim nearMühlhausen were numerous scattered territories stretching fromUpper Swabia to theAllgäu region in the east, the largest being themargravate ofBurgau between the cities ofAugsburg andUlm. During theHabsburg monarchy they were humorously called "tail feathers of theImperial Eagle". Some estates inVorarlberg possessed by the Habsburgs were also considered part of Further Austria, though they were temporarily directly administered fromTyrol.
The original home territories of the Habsburgs, theAargau with Habsburg Castle and much of the other original possessions south of theHigh Rhine andLake Constance were already lost in the 14th century to the expanding Swiss Confederacy after the battles ofMorgarten (1315) andSempach (1386). These territories were never considered part of Further Austria – except for theFricktal region aroundRheinfelden andLaufenburg, which remained a Habsburg possession until 1797.
From 1406 until 1490, Further Austria together with the Habsburg County of Tyrol was included in the definition of "Upper Austria" (Oberösterreich, not to be confused with the modernAustrian state ofUpper Austria). From 1469 to 1474 ArchdukeSigismund gave large parts in pawn to theBurgundian dukeCharles the Bold. In the reign of EmperorMaximilian I, the influence of Further Austria increased, with its significance matching that of Burgundy, as the proportion of courtiers from Further Austria greatly increased.
At theTreaty of Westphalia in 1648, the Sundgau became part of France. After theOttoman wars, many inhabitants of Further Austria were encouraged to emigrate and settle in the newly acquiredTransylvania region, people that later were referred asDanube Swabians. In the 18th century, the Habsburgs acquired a few minor new Swabian territories, such asTettnang in 1780.
In the reorganization of the Holy Roman Empire in the course of theFrench Revolutionary Wars, much of Further Austria, including the Breisgau, was by the 1801Treaty of Lunéville granted as compensation toErcole III d'Este, former duke ofModena and Reggio, who however died two years later. His heir as his son-in-law was ArchdukeFerdinand of Austria-Este, the uncle of EmperorFrancis II.
After the Austrian defeat at theBattle of Austerlitz and thePeace of Pressburg in 1805, Further Austria was entirely dissolved and the former Habsburg territories were assigned to theGrand Duchy of Baden (Breisgau), theKingdom of Württemberg (Rottenburg andHorb) and theKingdom of Bavaria (Weitnau,Günzburg,Weißenhorn), as rewards for their alliance withNapoleonic France. Minor estates passed toHohenzollern-Sigmaringen and theGrand Duchy of Hesse. Fricktal had already become a Frenchprotectorate in 1799 and part of theHelvetic Republic in 1802, incorporated into theSwiss canton of Aargau the next year.
After the defeat of Napoleon, there was some discussion at theCongress of Vienna of returning part or all of theVorlande to Austria, but in the end onlyVorarlberg returned to Austrian control, as Foreign MinisterKlemens von Metternich did not want to offend the rulers of the South German states and hoped that removing Austria from its advanced position on the Rhine would reduce tensions with France.
As of 1790 Further Austria was subdivided into ten districts (Oberämter):
Politically, the Further Austrian territories were held by the Habsburg(Arch-)Dukes of Austria from 1278 onwards. Upon the 1379Treaty of Neuberg, they together withCarinthia,Styria,Carniola and Tyrol fell to theLeopoldian line:
Further divided intoInner Austria proper (Styria, Carinthia and Carniola) and Upper Austria (Tyrol and Further Austria), ruled by:
In 1490 all Habsburg possessions were re-unified under the rule of Frederick V,Holy Roman Emperor since 1452. Upon the death of EmperorFerdinand I of Habsburg in 1564, Further Austria and Tyrol was inherited by his second son:
In 1619 the Habsburg hereditary lands were re-unified under the rule of EmperorFerdinand II. He gave Further Austria to his younger brother:
In 1665 the Habsburg lands were finally re-unified under the rule of EmperorLeopold I.
 Habsburg lands |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Habsburg’svassals | ||
| Prince-Bishoprics | ||
 Teutonic bailiwicks | ||
Circles est. 1500:Bavarian,Swabian,Upper Rhenish,Lower Rhenish–Westphalian,Franconian,(Lower) Saxon Circles est. 1512:Austrian,Burgundian,Upper Saxon,Electoral Rhenish · Unencircled territories | ||
| Administrative divisions |
|   | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Language | |||||||
| Culture | |||||||
| Politics |
| ||||||
| Religion (according to the 1801Concordat in Alsace–Moselle, includingLorraine) |
| ||||||
| Sports | |||||||
| History |
| ||||||
.svg)
