The
Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, was signed on 10 September 1919 by the victorious
Allies of World War IThe Entente powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The key members of the Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire. New Zealand, Belgium, Serbia, Canada, Australia, Italy, Romania and the United States were also drawn into the war...
on the one hand and by the new
Republic of AustriaIn Austrian history, the First Republic encompasses the period following the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy at the end of World War I, up to World War II. Austria was a de-facto republic, as the constitution did not identify it directly as a republic, its official name was the Federal...
on the other. Like the
Treaty of VersaillesThe Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
with
GermanyThe German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871 to 1918, when it became a German republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of Wilhelm II .The term Second Reich...
, it contained the Covenant of the
League of NationsThe League of Nations was an inter-governmental organization founded as a result of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919–1920. At its greatest extent from 28 September 1934 to 23 February 1935, it had 58 members...
and as a result was not ratified by the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The treaty declared that the
Austro-HungarianAustria–Hungary, also known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the k.u.k. Monarchy, or Dual State, was a monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in Central Europe...
Empire was to be dissolved. The new Republic of Austria, consisting of most of the German-speaking Alpine part of the former
Austrian EmpireThe Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire founded on a remnant of the Holy Roman Empire centered on what is today's Austria that officially lasted from 1804 to 1867...
, recognized the independence of
HungaryHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
,
Czechoslovakia-Independence:The independence of Czechoslovakia was proclaimed on October 28, 1918, by the Czechoslovak National Council in Prague. Several ethnic groups and territories with different historical, political, and economic traditions had to be blended into a new state structure...
, Poland, and the
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...
.
The
Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, was signed on 10 September 1919 by the victorious
Allies of World War IThe Entente powers were the countries at war with the Central Powers during World War I. The key members of the Entente were the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire. New Zealand, Belgium, Serbia, Canada, Australia, Italy, Romania and the United States were also drawn into the war...
on the one hand and by the new
Republic of AustriaIn Austrian history, the First Republic encompasses the period following the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy at the end of World War I, up to World War II. Austria was a de-facto republic, as the constitution did not identify it directly as a republic, its official name was the Federal...
on the other. Like the
Treaty of VersaillesThe Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
with
GermanyThe German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871 to 1918, when it became a German republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of Wilhelm II .The term Second Reich...
, it contained the Covenant of the
League of NationsThe League of Nations was an inter-governmental organization founded as a result of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919–1920. At its greatest extent from 28 September 1934 to 23 February 1935, it had 58 members...
and as a result was not ratified by the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The treaty declared that the
Austro-HungarianAustria–Hungary, also known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the k.u.k. Monarchy, or Dual State, was a monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in Central Europe...
Empire was to be dissolved. The new Republic of Austria, consisting of most of the German-speaking Alpine part of the former
Austrian EmpireThe Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire founded on a remnant of the Holy Roman Empire centered on what is today's Austria that officially lasted from 1804 to 1867...
, recognized the independence of
HungaryHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
,
Czechoslovakia-Independence:The independence of Czechoslovakia was proclaimed on October 28, 1918, by the Czechoslovak National Council in Prague. Several ethnic groups and territories with different historical, political, and economic traditions had to be blended into a new state structure...
, Poland, and the
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...
. The treaty included war reparations of large sums of money, directed towards the allies, to pay for the costs of the war.
Austria was reduced not only by the loss of crownlands incorporated into the states of
CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
,
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, and
YugoslaviaYugoslavia is a term that describes three political entities that existed successively on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century.The first country to be known by this...
(the “successor states”) but by the cession of the regions
IstriaCroatian Istria , 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...
and Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, city of
TriesteTrieste is a city and seaport in north eastern 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, east and north of the city...
, and several
DalmatiaDalmatia , is a region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea and is situated in modern Croatia. It spreads between the island of Rab in the northwest and the Bay of Kotor, in Montenegro, in the southeast...
n islands to
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
and the cession of
BukovinaBukovina is a historical region on the northern slopes of the northeastern Carpathian Mountains and the adjoining plains...
to
RomaniaThe Kingdom of Romania was the old Romanian state based on a form of parliamentary monarchy between 13 March 1881 and 30 December 1947, specified by the first three Constitutions of Romania...
. In total, it lost land to Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Poland, Romania, and Italy.
BurgenlandBurgenland is the easternmost and least populous state or Land of Austria. It consists of two Statutarstädte and seven districts with in total 171 municipalities...
, then a part of Hungary, was awarded to Austria.
An important article of the treaty required Austria to refrain from directly or indirectly compromising its independence, which meant that despite the new republic of
German AustriaThe Republic of German Austria was the initial rump state successor to the Austro-Hungarian Empire following World War I for areas with a predominantly German-speaking population...
(
Deutschösterreich) already having declared to be part of Germany, it had to shorten its name and could not enter into political or economic union with Germany without the agreement of the council of the
League of NationsThe League of Nations was an inter-governmental organization founded as a result of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919–1920. At its greatest extent from 28 September 1934 to 23 February 1935, it had 58 members...
.
The Austrian Army was limited to a force of 30,000 volunteers. There were numerous provisions dealing with Danubian navigation, the transfer of railways, and other details involved in the breakup of a great empire into several small independent states.
The
Treaty of TrianonThe Treaty of Trianon was the peace treaty concluded in 1920 at the end of World War I by the Allies of World War I, on one side, and Hungary, seen as a successor of Austria-Hungary, on the other. The treaty established the borders of Hungary and regulated its international situation...
in November 1920 between
HungaryHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
and the Allies completed the disposition of the former Dual Monarchy.
The vast reduction of population, territory and resources of the new Austria relative to the old empire wreaked havoc on the economy of the new nation, most notably in
ViennaVienna is the capital of the Republic of Austria and also one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 10th largest city by...
, an imperial capital without an empire to support it.
The treaty signing ceremony took place at the
Château de Saint-Germain-en-LayeThe Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye is a French royal palace in the commune of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, in the département of Yvelines, about 19 km west of Paris. Today, it houses the Musée d'Archéologie Nationale ....
.
See also
- Aftermath of World War I
The fighting in World War I ended when the Armistice took effect at 11:00 am GMT on November 11, 1918. In the aftermath of the war the political, cultural, and social order of the world was drastically changed in many places, even outside the areas directly involved in the war...
- Minority Treaties
Minority Treaties refer to the treaties, League of Nations Mandates, and unilateral declarations made by countries applying for membership in the League of Nations and United Nations...
- Paris Peace Conference, 1919
The Paris Peace Conference was the meeting of the Allied victors in World War I to set the peace terms for Germany and other defeated nations, and to deal with the empires of the defeated powers following the Armistice of 1918. It took place in Paris in 1919 and involved diplomats from more than...
- Treaty of Trianon
The Treaty of Trianon was the peace treaty concluded in 1920 at the end of World War I by the Allies of World War I, on one side, and Hungary, seen as a successor of Austria-Hungary, on the other. The treaty established the borders of Hungary and regulated its international situation...
External links
- Text of the Treaty, from the website of the Australasian Legal Information Institute
The Australasian Legal Information Institute is an institution operated jointly by the Faculties of Law of the University of Technology Sydney and the University of New South Wales. It is notable for establishing Australia's largest on-line database on Australian legislation and case law....
, hosted by UNSWThe University of New South Wales, also known as UNSW or colloquially as New South, is a university situated in Kensington, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.The University was founded in 1949...
and UTSThe University of Technology, Sydney , is a university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The university was founded in its current form in 1988, although its origins trace back to the 1870s. UTS is notable for its central location as the only university with its main campuses within the Sydney...