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Duchy of Carinthia

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Duchy of Carinthia
Ducatus Carinthiae(Latin)
Herzogtum Kärnten(German)
Vojvodina Koroška(Slovene)
976–1918
Flag of Carinthia
Flag
of Carinthia
Coat of arms
Carinthia (yellow) within Inner Austria, c. 1790
Carinthia (yellow) withinInner Austria,c. 1790
StatusStateof theHoly Roman Empire(until 1806),
Part of theHabsburg monarchy(from 1526),
constituent land of theAustrian Empire(1804–67),
Cisleithaniancrown land ofAustria-Hungary(from 1867)
CapitalSankt Veit an der Glan(Šentvid ob Glini) until 1518, thenKlagenfurt(Celovec)
Common languages
GovernmentDuchy
Duke
• 976–978
Henry I(first)
• 1916–1918
Charles I(last)
Historical eraMiddle Ages
• CreatedDuchy
976
• ToHabsburgdukes ofAustria
1335
1379
• JoinedAustrian Circle
1512
• Upper CarinthiacededtoIllyrian Provinces
1809
1815
• Disestablished
1918
1920
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
March of Carinthia
Republic of German-Austria
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
Kingdom of Italy
Today part of

TheDuchy of Carinthia(Latin:Ducatus Carinthiae;‹See Tfd›German:Herzogtum Kärnten;Slovene:Vojvodina Koroška) was aduchylocated in southernAustriaand parts of northernSlovenia.It was separated from theDuchy of Bavariain 976, and was the first newly createdImperial Stateafter the original Germanstem duchies.

Carinthia remained a State of theHoly Roman Empireuntil its dissolution in 1806, though from 1335 it was ruled within theAustriandominions of theHabsburgdynasty. A constituent part of theHabsburg monarchyand of theAustrian Empire,it remained aCisleithaniancrown land ofAustria-Hungaryuntil 1918. By the1920 Carinthian plebiscitein October 1920, the main area of the duchy formed the Austrian state ofCarinthia.

History

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In the seventh century the area was part of the Slavic principality ofCarantania,which fell under the suzerainty of DukeOdilo of Bavariain about 743. TheBavarianstem duchy was incorporated into theCarolingian EmpirewhenCharlemagnedeposed Odilo's son DukeTassilo IIIin 788. In the 843 partition by theTreaty of Verdun,Carinthia became part ofEast Franciaunder KingLouis the German.From 889 to 976 it was theCarinthian Marchof the renewed Bavarian duchy, though in 927 the local CountBertholdof theLuitpolding dynastywas vested with ducal rights by theGermankingHenry the Fowler.After Berthold became Duke of Bavaria in 938, both territories were ruled by him. Upon his death in 948 the Luitpoldings, though heirs of the royalOttonian dynasty,were not able to retain their possessions, as KingOtto Ibought the loyalty of his younger brotherHenry Iwith the Bavarian lands.

Establishment

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Carinthia with the Bavarian Duchy

Duke Henry's sonHenry II"the Quarreller" from 974 onwards, revolted against his cousin EmperorOtto II,whereupon he was deposed as Duke of Bavaria in favour of Otto's nephew DukeOtto I of Swabia.At the same time Emperor Otto II created a sixth duchy in addition to the originalstem duchies,the new Duchy of Carinthia. He reverted the possession of the territories to the Luitpoldings, when he split Carinthia from the Bavarian lands and installed the former Duke Berthold's sonHenry the Youngeras duke in 976.

Over the centuries, the name 'Carinthia' (Kärnten) gradually replaced former 'Carantania'. The realm of the Carinthian dukes initially comprised a vast territory including the marches ofStyria(marchia Carantana),CarniolaandIstria;they also ruled over the ItalianMarch of Veronain the south. Nevertheless, Henry the Younger was the first and also the last Luitpolding duke; as he chose to join the unsuccessfulWar of the Three HenriesagainstEmperor Otto II,he lost Carinthia two years later and was succeeded by the Emperor's nephewOtto I,a scion of theSalian dynasty.Though Henry once again managed to regain the ducal title in 985, Carinthia upon his death in 989 fell back to the Imperial Ottonian dynasty in Bavaria.

Eppensteins and Sponheims

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The Duchy of Carinthia within the Holy Roman Empire at its maximum expansion

Carinthia, however, remained a separate entity, and in 1012 CountAdalbero I of Eppenstein,Margrave of the Carinthian March (later Styria) since about 1000, was vested with the duchy by the last Ottonian emperorHenry II,while the Istrian march was separated and given to CountPoppo of Weimar.Adalbero was removed from office in 1035 after he had fallen out of favour with the Salian EmperorConrad II.In 1039 Carinthia was inherited by EmperorHenry IIIhimself, who split off the Carniolan march the following year and granted it to Margrave Poppo of Istria. In 1077, the duchy was given toLuitpold,again a member of theEppensteinerfamily, which, however, became extinct with the death of Luitpold's younger brotherHenry III of Carinthiain 1122. Upon his death the duchy was further reduced in area: a large part of the Eppenstein lands in what is todayUpper Styriapassed to MargraveOttokar II of Styria.

The remainder of Carinthia passed from Duke Henry III to his godchild Henry from theHouse of Sponheim,who ruled as Henry IV, from 1122 to his early death the following year.[1]The most outstanding of the Spanheim dukes wasBernhard,the first Carinthian duke who was actually described and honoured in documents as "prince of the land".[1]The last Spanheim duke wasUlrich III;he signed an inheritance treaty with his brother ArchbishopPhilip of SpanheimofSalzburg,who, however, could not prevail against theBohemiankingOttokar II Přemysl.In spite of being supported by the Habsburg kingRudolf I of Germany,who defeated Ottokar II at theBattle on the Marchfeldin 1278, Philip never gained actual power. The duchy was seized by Rudolph and Philip died a year later in 1279.

Habsburgs

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Rudolf, after being electedKing of the Romansand defeating King Ottokar II, at first gave Carinthia to CountMeinhard II of Gorizia-Tyrol.In 1335, after the death ofHenry,the last male of this line, EmperorLouis the Bavariangave Carinthia and the southern part of theTyrolas an imperialfiefto theHabsburgfamily on 2 May inLinz.The Habsburgs would continue to rule Carinthia until 1918. As with the other component parts of theHabsburg monarchy,Carinthia remained a semi-autonomous state with its own constitutional structure for a long time. The Habsburgs divided up their territories within the family twice, according to the 1379Treaty of Neubergand again in 1564. Each time, the Duchy of Carinthia became part ofInner Austriaand was ruled jointly with the adjacent duchies ofStyriaandCarniola.

Early 18th century map of Carinthia showing fiefs owned by Salzburg (in pink) and Bamberg (in yellow)

EmpressMaria Theresa of Austriaand her sonJoseph IIattempted to create a moreunitaryHabsburg state, and in 1804 Carinthia was integrated into the newly establishedAustrian EmpireunderFrancis II/I.According to the 1809Treaty of Schönbrunn,the Upper Carinthian territories aroundVillachformed part of the short-lived NapoleonicIllyrian Provinces;Carinthia as a whole remained a part of theHabsburg Kingdom of Illyriauntil its dissolution in 1849.

In 1867, the duchy became a crown land ofCisleithania,the western part ofAustria-Hungary(seeHistory of Austria).

The Cisleithanian crown land of Carinthia within Austria-Hungary

Over the centuries, theGerman language,which carried more prestige, expanded at the expense ofSlovene,but the fact that in the 16th century the Estates of Carinthia could still point out that Carinthia was "aWindicArchduchy",i.e. a sovereign Slovene principality, shows that the Carinthian people were aware of their ancient and pre-German roots.

World War I and Carinthian Plebiscite

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Main article:Carinthian Plebiscite

DuringWorld War I,Carinthia experienced a relatively high number of war deaths: thirty-seven for every 1,000 inhabitants. This was higher than in most other German-speaking areas ofAustria-Hungary(exceptGerman South Moravia).[2]

Following the end of the war and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, the 1919Treaty of Saint-Germainstipulated theCarinthian Canal Valleystretching fromTarvisioas far asPontafel(187 square miles)[3]go toItalyand that the Slovene-speaking areas of the Meža Valley, the Drava Valley area aroundUnterdrauburg,which was afterwards renamedDravograd,and theJezerskoarea (128 square miles of territory)[3]be ceded to the new SHS State. TheKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes,however, was not satisfied with these parts of the former duchy and also occupied land north of the Karawanks mountain range, including the capital city of Klagenfurt. TheEntentepowers decided on a two-stage referendum, of which the first stage, theCarinthian Plebiscitewas held on 10 October 1920 to determine the fate of Carinthia. The outcome in favour of Austria did not change the borders as decided upon in the Treaty of Saint-Germain.

KlagenfurtLandhaus
Prince's Stone(Knežji kamen)
Duke's Chair(Vojvodski prestol)

The Austrian part of the former duchy today forms thefederal stateofCarinthia(‹See Tfd›German:Land Kärnten), while the area that was ceded to Italy as a part of the claimed "Julian March"belongs to the autonomousregionofFriuli–Venezia Giulia.Most of the area awarded to Yugoslavia (cf.Slovenian Carinthia) now forms part of the largerCarinthia Statistical RegioninSlovenia.

Area and population

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Area:

  • Total: 10,327 km2(3,987 sq mi)

Population(1910 Census):

  • Total: 396,228

Linguistic composition

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According to the last Austrian Imperial census of 1910, the Duchy of Carinthia was composed of the following linguistic communities:

Total: 396,228

  • German:304,315 (76.80%)
  • Slovene:82,212 (20.75%)
  • Italian:82 (0.02%)
  • Other languages or foreigners: 9,619 (2.43%)

The Austrian censuses did not countethnic groups,nor themother tongue,but the "language of daily interaction" (Umgangssprache).

Religious composition

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Total: 396,228

Dukes of Carinthia

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Various dynasties

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Luitpoldings

Salian dynasty

Luitpoldings

Ottonian dynasty

Salian dynasty

  • Otto I (1002–1004), again
  • Conrad I(1004–1011)

House of Eppenstein

Salian dynasty

Elder House of Welf

Ezzonids

House of Zähringen

House of Eppenstein

House of Sponheim

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The Carinthianducal coat of armsuntil 1246
The Carinthian coat of arms from 1246

Various dynasties

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Přemyslid dynasty

House of Habsburg

Gorizia-Tyrol

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House of Habsburg

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Leopoldian line

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Habsburg territories reunified in 1458

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Inner Austrian Habsburgs

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Carinthia was unified with the rest of the Habsburg territories again in 1619. SeeList of rulers of Austria

See also

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Notes and references

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  1. ^abMediaeval GenealogyArchivedDecember 14, 2007, at theWayback Machine
  2. ^Rothenburg, G.The Army of Francis Joseph.West Lafayette: Purdue University Press, 1976. p 218.
  3. ^ab”Kärnten.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Ultimate Reference Suite. Chicago 2010.
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Wikisourcehas the text of the1911Encyclopædia Britannicaarticle "Carinthia".

Val Canale/Canal Valley - region of Carinthia now part of Italy

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