Abstract
The Habsburgs ruled Austria from 1282 until the end of the First
World War. The Habsburgs also controlled significant parts of Central
Europe, including Württemberg, Hungary, and Bohemia (1526–1918), and
they ruled Spain, the Spanish Netherlands, and the global Spanish empire
for almost two centuries (1504–06, 1516–1700). The Habsburgs reached the
height of their power in the sixteenth century under Emperor Charles V.
The Habsburgs also occupied the throne of the Holy Roman Empire from the
fifteenth until the eighteenth century. The Habsburg monarchy was a
union of crowns whose provinces were divided into three groups: The
Archduchy of Austria with its capital of Vienna; Inner Austria that
included Styria, Carinthia and Carniola; and Further Austria that
included Tyrol and the Swabian lands. The Habsburg territories shared
only partial laws and institutions and were only united by a common
monarch. This map shows the administrative divisions of the Habsburg
Empire in 1780, the year of Empress Maria Theresa’s death.