The
Duchy of Carniola was an administrative unit of the
Holy Roman EmpireThe Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
and the
Habsburg MonarchyThe Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
from 1364 to 1918. Its capital was
LjubljanaLjubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
. The duchy had an area of 3857 square miles (9,989.6 km²) and population of 510,000.
History
After Duke
Henry of CarinthiaHenry VI of Carinthia from the House of Meinhardin was King of Bohemia in 1306 and again from 1307 until 1310 as well as Count of Tyrol and Duke of Carinthia and Carniola from 1295 until his death.-Life:...
had died in 1335 without a male heir, his daughter Margaret only was able to keep the
County of TyrolThe County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...
, while Emperor
Louis IV of WittelsbachLouis IV , called the Bavarian, of the house of Wittelsbach, was the King of Germany from 1314, the King of Italy from 1327 and the Holy Roman Emperor from 1328....
passed the
Duchy of CarinthiaThe Duchy of Carinthia was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, then the first newly created Imperial State beside the original German stem duchies....
together with the Carniolian march to the
AustrianThe Archduchy of Austria , one of the most important states within the Holy Roman Empire, was the nucleus of the Habsburg Monarchy and the predecessor of the Austrian Empire...
duke
Albert II von HabsburgAlbert II of Austria , known as the Wise or the Lame, was Duke of Austria.-Life:Albert II was born at Habsburg, the son of Albert I of Germany, Rex Romanorum, and Elisabeth of Tirol...
. His son
Rudolf IVRudolf IV der Stifter was a scion of the House of Habsburg and Duke of Austria and Duke of Styria and Carinthia from 1358, as well as Count of Tyrol from 1363 and first Duke of Carniola from 1364 until his death...
awarded himself the title of a "Duke of Carniola" in 1364. After his death as a result of the quarrels between his younger brothers
Albert IIIAlbert III of Austria , known as Albert with the Pigtail , was a duke of Austria and a member of the House of Habsburg.-Life:...
and
LeopoldDuke Leopold III of Austria from the Habsburg family, was Duke of Austria from 1365 to 1379, and Duke of Styria and Carinthia in 1365–1386.-Life:...
, Carniola by the 1379
Treaty of NeubergIn the Treaty of Neuberg, concluded between the Habsburg Dukes Albert III and Leopold III on September 9, 1379 in Neuberg an der Mürz, the Habsburg lands were divided between the two brothers...
became part of
Inner AustriaInner Austria was a term used from the late 14th to the early 17th century for the Habsburg hereditary lands south of the Semmering Pass, referring to the duchies of Styria, Carinthia, Carniola and the Windic March, the County of Gorizia , the city of Trieste and assorted smaller possessions...
ruled from
GrazThe more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
by Leopold, ancestor of the Habsburg
Leopoldian lineThe Leopoldian line was a line of the Habsburg dynasty. It was begun by Leopold III, duke of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola .The division of the Habsburg territories between the Albertinian line and the Leopoldian line was a result of the early death of Rudolf IV...
. In 1457 the Inner Austrian territories were re-united with the Archduchy of Austria under the rule of
Emperor Frederick IIIFrederick the Peaceful KG was Duke of Austria as Frederick V from 1424, the successor of Albert II as German King as Frederick IV from 1440, and Holy Roman Emperor as Frederick III from 1452...
. When Frederick's descendant,
Emperor Ferdinand IFerdinand I was Holy Roman Emperor from 1558 and king of Bohemia and Hungary from 1526 until his death. Before his accession, he ruled the Austrian hereditary lands of the Habsburgs in the name of his elder brother, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.The key events during his reign were the contest...
, died in 1564, Carniola was separated again as part of Inner Austria under the rule of Ferdinand's son Archduke
Charles IICharles II Francis of Austria was an Archduke of Austria and ruler of Inner Austria from 1564...
. Charles' son,
Emperor Ferdinand IIFerdinand II , a member of the House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Bohemia , and King of Hungary . His rule coincided with the Thirty Years' War.- Life :...
, inherited all the dynasty's lands in 1619 and the duchy formed a constituent part of the
Habsburg MonarchyThe Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
ever since.
NapoleonNapoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
subsequent to the 1809
Treaty of SchönbrunnThe Treaty of Schönbrunn , sometimes known as the Treaty of Vienna, was signed between France and Austria at the Schönbrunn Palace of Vienna on 14 October 1809. This treaty ended the Fifth Coalition during the Napoleonic Wars...
formed the short-lived
Illyrian ProvincesThe Illyrian Provinces was an autonomous province of the Napoleonic French Empire on the north and east coasts of the Adriatic Sea between 1809 and 1816. Its capital was established at Laybach...
from the annexed territories in Carniola, Carinthia, Croatia,
Gorizia and GradiscaThe County of Gorizia and Gradisca was a Habsburg county in Central Europe, in what is now a multilingual border area of Italy and Slovenia. It was named for its two major urban centers, Gorizia and Gradisca d'Isonzo.-Province of the Habsburg Empire:...
, and
TriesteTrieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
. The Final Act of the 1815
Congress of ViennaThe Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
restored the Illyrian Provinces to the
Austrian EmpireThe Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
. Carniola then formed the central part of the territory of the Habsburg
Kingdom of IllyriaThe Kingdom of Illyria was an administrative unit of the Austrian Empire from 1816 to 1849. Its administrative centre was Ljubljana and it included the western and central part of present-day Slovenia, the present Austrian state of Carinthia, as well as some territories in north-western Croatia ...
whose capital was also Ljubljana. It was bounded on the north by the Duchy of Carinthia, on the north-east by the Duchy of Styria, on the south-east and south by Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia, and on the west by the County of Gorizia and Gradisca and
IstriaIstria , formerly Histria , is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner...
.
After the disestablishment of the Illyrian Kingdom in 1849, the Duchy of Carniola was constituted by rescript of 20 December 1860, and by imperial patent of 26 February 1861, modified by legislation of 21 December 1867, granting power to the home parliament to enact all laws not reserved to the imperial diet, at which it was represented by eleven delegates, of whom two elected by the landowners, three by the cities, towns, commercial and industrial boards, five by the village communes, and one by a fifth curia by secret ballot, every duly registered male twenty-four years of age has the right to vote. The home legislature consisted of a single chamber of thirty-seven members, among whom the prince-bishop sits ex-officio. The emperor convened the legislature, and it is presided over by the governor. The landed interests elected ten members, the cities and towns eight, the commercial and industrial boards two, the village communes sixteen. The business of the chamber was restricted to legislating on agriculture, public and charitable institutions, administration of communes, church and school affairs, the transportation and housing of soldiers in war and during manoeuvres, and other local matters. The land budget of 1901 amounted to 3,573,280 crowns ($714,656).
In 1918, the duchy ceased to exist and its territory became part of the newly formed
State of Slovenes, Croats and SerbsThe State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs was a short-lived state formed from the southernmost parts of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy after its dissolution at the end of the World War I by the resident population of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs...
and subsequently part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (from 1929 called
Kingdom of YugoslaviaThe Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
). The western part of the duchy, with the towns of
PostojnaPostojna is a town and a municipality in the traditional region of Inner Carniola, from Trieste, in southwestern Slovenia. Population 14,581 .-History:...
,
Ilirska BistricaIlirska Bistrica is a town and a municipality in Slovenia. It belongs to the traditional region of Primorska.The town of Ilirska Bistrica is the major economic centre of the district of the same name...
,
IdrijaIdrija is a small town and municipality in the Goriška region of Slovenia. It is known for its mercury mine and lace....
,
VipavaVipava is a small town in western Slovenia with 1500 inhabitants. It is the center of a municipality with 5,185 people. Vipava is built near the numerous sources of the Vipava River, in the upper Vipava Valley, 102 m above sea level...
and
ŠturjeAjdovščina is a small town and a municipality with the same name and a population of 7000 , located in the Vipava Valley , Slovenia....
was annexed to Italy in 1920, but was subsequently also included into Yugoslavia in 1945.
Administrative divisions
Carniola was traditionally divided into three sub-regions:
Upper CarniolaUpper Carniola is a traditional region of Slovenia, the northern mountainous part of the larger Carniola region. The centre of the region is Kranj, while other urban centers include Jesenice, Tržič, Škofja Loka, Kamnik, and Domžale.- Historical background :...
(Slovenian name:
Gorenjska, German:
Oberkrain),
Lower CarniolaLower Carniola was a kreis of the historical Habsburg crown land of Carniola from 1849 till 1919 and is nowadays a traditional region of Slovenia. Its center is Novo Mesto, while other urban centers include Kočevje, Grosuplje, Krško, Trebnje, Mirna, Črnomelj, Semič, and Metlika.-See also:* Upper...
(Slovenian:
Dolenjska, German:
Unterkrain), and
Inner Carniola (Slovenian:
Notranjska, German:
Innerkrain). Until 1860, these sub-regions coincided with the districts (
Kreise) of
LjubljanaLjubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
,
Novo MestoNovo Mesto is a city and municipality in southeastern Slovenia, close to the border with Croatia. The town is traditionally considered the economic and cultural centre of the historic Lower Carniola region.-Geography:...
and
PostojnaPostojna is a town and a municipality in the traditional region of Inner Carniola, from Trieste, in southwestern Slovenia. Population 14,581 .-History:...
. They were later divided into smaller units, called political (or administrative) districts. Between 1861 and 1918, Carniola was divided into eleven districts consisting of 359 municipalities, with the provincial capital serving as the residence of the imperial governor (
Landeshauptmann). The districts were:
KamnikKamnik is the name of a municipality in Slovenia as well as the town that serves as its administrative, cultural, economic, and educational center. The municipality is in north central Slovenia. It encompasses a large part of the Kamnik Alps and the surrounding area...
,
Kranj' is the third largest municipality and fourth largest city in Slovenia, with a population of 54,500 . It is located approximately 20 km north-west of Ljubljana...
,
RadovljicaRadovljica is a town and a municipality in in the Upper Carniola region of northern Slovenia. The municipality has around 18,000 inhabitants and an area of 118 km²...
, the neighbourhood of Ljubljana,
LogatecLogatec is a town and a municipality in Slovenia. It is located roughly in the centre of Inner Carniola between capital Ljubljana and Postojna. The area is mostly covered by forests and is known for biking and hiking routes. The town of Logatec has seen rapid industrial development and immigration...
,
PostojnaPostojna is a town and a municipality in the traditional region of Inner Carniola, from Trieste, in southwestern Slovenia. Population 14,581 .-History:...
,
LitijaLitija is a town and a municipality in central Slovenia. It is located in the valley of the river Sava, to the east of the capital Ljubljana. Traditionally, the area was situated on the border between the historical provinces of Carniola and Styria. Most of the municipality belonged to the...
,
KrškoKrško is a town and municipality in eastern Slovenia. The town lies on the Sava River. The area is traditionally divided between Lower Styria and Lower Carniola...
,
Novo MestoNovo Mesto is a city and municipality in southeastern Slovenia, close to the border with Croatia. The town is traditionally considered the economic and cultural centre of the historic Lower Carniola region.-Geography:...
,
ČrnomeljČrnomelj is a town and municipality in southeastern Slovenia. It lies on the left bank of the Lahinja and Dobličica rivers. The municipality is at the heart of the area of White Carniola, the southeastern part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola...
, and
KočevjeKočevje is a city and a municipality in southern Slovenia. In terms of area it is the largest municipality in Slovenia. It is located between the rivers Krka and Kolpa and is part of the traditional region of Lower Carniola. It is now included in the Jugovzhodna Slovenija statistical region...
. The political districts were in turn divided into 31 judicial circuits.
Coat of arms and flag
The coat of arms of the Duchy of Carniola dates back to the 13th century, when it most probably evolved as a combination of the coats of arms of the noble houses of
Andechs-MeraniaThe House of Andechs was a feudal line of German princes in 12th and 13th century. The Counts of Dießen-Andechs obtained territiories in northern Dalmatia on the Adriatic seacoast, where they became Margraves of Istria and ultimately Dukes of a short-lived Imperial State named Merania from 1180 to...
(eagle) and
SponheimThe House of Sponheim or Spanheim was a noble family of the Holy Roman Empire in the High Middle Ages. They were Dukes of Carinthia from 1122 until 1269 and Counts of Sponheim until 1437...
(red-white checkerboard). In 1463 Emperor
Frederick IIIFrederick the Peaceful KG was Duke of Austria as Frederick V from 1424, the successor of Albert II as German King as Frederick IV from 1440, and Holy Roman Emperor as Frederick III from 1452...
added the golden crown to the eagle and replaced the white in the shield and the checkered crescent with gold. In 1836 Emperor
Ferdinand I of AustriaFerdinand I was Emperor of Austria, President of the German Confederation, King of Hungary and Bohemia , as well as associated dominions from the death of his father, Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, until his abdication after the Revolutions of 1848.He married Maria Anna of Savoy, the sixth child...
restored the original white color to the shield and recognized the white-blue-red combination as the official Carniolan color scheme.
Under the Habsburg rule the white, blue and red from the Carniolan coat of arms (the shield, the eagle and the crescent) were confirmed as the official flag colors of the crownland in 1848. Since the Duchy of Carniola was the main Slovene-populated region of the Austrian Empire, the color scheme was subsequently accepted as the generic Slovene national tricolor by the inhabitants of other
Slovene LandsSlovene Lands or Slovenian Lands is the historical denomination for the whole of the Slovene-inhabited territories in Central Europe. It more or less corresponds to modern Slovenia and the adjacent territories in Italy, Austria and Hungary in which autochthonous Slovene minorities live.-...
.
As for the coat of arms, it was abandoned after 1918 with the passing of the Duchy of Carniola. The blue eagle of Carniola was, however, briefly resurrected from 1943 to 1945 as the symbol of the Slovenian auxiliary Axis forces, the Slovene Home Guard. It was also used in the Yugoslav House of Karađorđević coat-of-arms in the interwar period (and was replaced in the state coat-of-arms of the
Kingdom of YugoslaviaThe Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
by the three stars of the medieval
Counts of CeljeThe Counts of Cilli or Celje represent the most important medieval aristocratic and ruling house with roots and territory in present-day Slovenia....
).
The insignia of the Duchy of Carniola have had an important and lasting impact on Slovene national symbols. Thus, the white-blue-red combination of the flag of the Duchy of Carniola is in use today as the official color scheme of the flag of the Republic of Slovenia. The Slovenian coat of arms is also a heraldic composite, incorporating the stars of the Counts of Celje, the Carniolan colors and the image of the Slovene holy mountain
TriglavTriglav is the highest mountain in Slovenia and the highest peak of the Julian Alps. While its name, meaning "three-headed", can describe its shape as seen from the Bohinj area, the mountain was most probably named after the Slavic god Triglav. The mountain is the preeminent symbol of the Slovene...
.
Dukes of Carniola
- Rudolph (1364–1365), also Duke of Austria
The Archduchy of Austria , one of the most important states within the Holy Roman Empire, was the nucleus of the Habsburg Monarchy and the predecessor of the Austrian Empire...
since 1358, followed by his brothers
- Albert
Albert III of Austria , known as Albert with the Pigtail , was a duke of Austria and a member of the House of Habsburg.-Life:...
(1365–1379), jointly with
- Leopold
Duke Leopold III of Austria from the Habsburg family, was Duke of Austria from 1365 to 1379, and Duke of Styria and Carinthia in 1365–1386.-Life:...
(1365–1386), progenitor of the Habsburg Leopoldian lineThe Leopoldian line was a line of the Habsburg dynasty. It was begun by Leopold III, duke of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola .The division of the Habsburg territories between the Albertinian line and the Leopoldian line was a result of the early death of Rudolf IV...
, sole Duke of Inner AustriaInner Austria was a term used from the late 14th to the early 17th century for the Habsburg hereditary lands south of the Semmering Pass, referring to the duchies of Styria, Carinthia, Carniola and the Windic March, the County of Gorizia , the city of Trieste and assorted smaller possessions...
after the 1379 Treaty of NeubergIn the Treaty of Neuberg, concluded between the Habsburg Dukes Albert III and Leopold III on September 9, 1379 in Neuberg an der Mürz, the Habsburg lands were divided between the two brothers...
- William
William the Courteous was a member and head of the Leopoldinian Line, ruler of Carinthia, Styria and Carniola.Born in Vienna, he was the oldest son of Duke Leopold the Just and his wife, Viridis Visconti, and ruled in Carinthia, Styria and Carniola.His engagement with Hedwig of Hungary, youngest...
(1386–1406), son of Leopold, followed by his brother
- Ernest the Iron
Ernest the Iron was Duke of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola from 1406 until his death. He was a member of the Habsburg dynasty, of the Leopoldian line, whose head of the family he was from 1411 to 1424.-Biography:...
(1406–1424), ArchdukeThe title of Archduke denotes a noble rank above Duke and below King, used only by princes of the Houses of Habsburg and Habsburg-Lorraine....
from 1414
- Frederick
Frederick the Peaceful KG was Duke of Austria as Frederick V from 1424, the successor of Albert II as German King as Frederick IV from 1440, and Holy Roman Emperor as Frederick III from 1452...
(1424–1493), son of Ernest, King of the RomansKing of the Romans was the title used by the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire following his election to the office by the princes of the Kingdom of Germany...
from 1440 and Holy Roman EmperorThe Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
from 1452, also Archduke of Austria from 1457
- Maximilian I
Maximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...
(1493–1519), son, also Archduke of Austria, Holy Roman Emperor from 1508
- Charles I
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
(1519–1521), grandson, also Archduke of Austria, Emperor-elect from 1520, followed by his brother
- Ferdinand I
Ferdinand I was Holy Roman Emperor from 1558 and king of Bohemia and Hungary from 1526 until his death. Before his accession, he ruled the Austrian hereditary lands of the Habsburgs in the name of his elder brother, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.The key events during his reign were the contest...
(1521–1564), also Archduke of Austria, King of the Romans from 1531, Holy Roman Emperor from 1558
- Charles II
Charles II Francis of Austria was an Archduke of Austria and ruler of Inner Austria from 1564...
(1564–1590), son of Ferdinand, Archduke of Inner Austria upon second partition of the Habsburg lands
- Ferdinand II
Ferdinand II , a member of the House of Habsburg, was Holy Roman Emperor , King of Bohemia , and King of Hungary . His rule coincided with the Thirty Years' War.- Life :...
(1590–1637), son, also Archduke of Austria and Holy Roman Emperor from 1619
Heir of all Habsburg lines in 1619. See
List of rulers of Austria
External links