Duchy of Carniola

For the principality with the same name in the early Middle Ages, seeCarniola (Early Middle Ages).

Duchy of Carniola Vojvodina Kranjska(Slovene) Herzogtum Krain(German) Ducatus Carnioliae(Latin)
1364–1918
Flag Coat of arms
The Duchy of Carniola withinAustria-Hungary
Capital	Laibach(Ljubljana)
Common languages	Slovene
Government	Principality
Historical era	Middle Ages
•March of Carniolabequeathed toHouse of Habsburg	1335
• Raised toDuchy	1364
• Part ofInner Austria	1379
• JoinedAustrian Circle	1512
•CededtoIllyrian Provinces	1809
•RestoredtoAustria	1815
• Part of theState of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs	29 October 1918
Currency	Florin
Preceded by Succeeded by March of Carniola State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs Kingdom of Italy
Today part of	Slovenia

TheDuchy of Carniola(Slovene:Vojvodina Kranjska,German:Herzogtum Krain,Hungarian:Krajna) was animperial estateof theHoly Roman Empire,established underHabsburgrule on the territory of the former East FrankishMarch of Carniolain 1364. A hereditary land of theHabsburg monarchy,it became a constituent land of theAustrian Empirein 1804 and part of theKingdom of Illyriauntil 1849. A separatecrown landfrom 1849, it was incorporated into theCisleithanianterritories ofAustria-Hungaryfrom 1867 until the state's dissolution in 1918. Its capital wasGerman:Laibach,todayLjubljana.

Geography

The borders of the historicCarniolaregion had varied over the centuries. From the time of the duchy's establishment, it was located in the southeastern periphery of the Holy Roman Empire, where theGorjanci Mountainsand theKolpaRiver formed the border with theKingdom of Croatia.

In the north, it bordered the ImperialDuchy of Carinthia,from thePredil PassandFusine(Fužine) along the main ridge of theKarawanksrange up toJezersko.In the northeast and east, it bordered on theDuchy of Styria,i.e., the present-dayŠtajerskaor Lower Styrian lands beyond theSavaRiver, which until 1456 were held by theCounts of Celje.In the west, the peaks of theJulian Alpshigh aboveLake Bohinjmarked the border with the historicFriulianregion, initially held by thePatriarchs of Aquileia,but gradually conquered by theRepublic of Veniceand incorporated into theDomini di Terrafermaby 1433. In the southwest, beyond theDinaric Alps,theCounts of Görzheld the remaining Friulian territory, which in 1754 became the Austrian crown land ofGorizia and Gradisca(part of the present-daySlovenian Littoral). The remains of theMargraviate of Istriasouth of theKarst Plateauand theBrkini Hillswere also administered from Carniola.

In its final extent, re-established in 1815,the duchy had an area of 9,904 square kilometres (3,824 sq mi).In 1914, before the beginning ofWorld War I,it had a population of a little under 530,000 inhabitants.

Historic map of the Carniolan duchy: Upper (pink), Lower (green) and Inner Carniola (yellow) with adjacent Istrian march (orange),Johann Homann,1714

Administrative divisions

According to the topographyThe Glory of the Duchy of Carniolawritten by the scholarJohann Weikhard von Valvasor(1641–1693), the territory was traditionally divided into three sub-regions:

• Upper Carniola(Gorenjska), the mountainous part in the north, with the towns ofKranjandKamnik
• Lower Carniola(Dolenjska), in the southeast, withNovo Mesto,Kočevje(Gottschee) andKrško,includingWhite Carniolaand the formerWindic March
• Inner Carniola(Notranjska), in the southwest, around the towns ofIdrijaandPostojna.

Until 1860, these sub-regions coincided with the districts (Kreise) ofLjubljana,Novo MestoandPostojna.They were later divided into smaller units, called political (or administrative) districts (German:Bezirkshauptmannshaft,Slovene:okrajno glavarstvo). Between 1861 and 1918, Carniola was divided into eleven districts consisting of 359 municipalities (German:Ortsgemeinde,Slovene:občina), with the provincial capital serving as the residence of the imperial governor (Landeshauptmann). The districts were:Kamnik,Kranj,Radovljica,the neighbourhood of Ljubljana,Logatec,Postojna,Litija,Krško,Novo Mesto,Črnomelj,andKočevje.The political districts were in turn divided into 31 judicial circuits (German:Gerichtsbezirk,Slovene:sodnijski okraj).

History and administration

See also:Carniola

The formerMarch of Carniola,i.e., Upper Carniola and theWindic March,had been separated from theDuchy of Carinthiain 1040 by KingHenry III of Germany.It was nevertheless temporarily still held by the Carinthian rulers inpersonal union,like theMeinhardinerDukeHenry VI,who died in 1335 without a male heir. His daughterMargaretwas able to keep theCounty of Tyrol,while the Wittelsbach EmperorLouis IVpassed Carinthia and Carniolan march to the Habsburg DukeAlbert II of Austria,whose mother,Elisabeth of Carinthiais a sister of the late DukeHenry of Gorizia.

Carniola and Istria (pink) as part of Inner Austria, 1379–1457 and 1564–1619

Albert's sonRudolf IV of Austria,"the Founder", in the course of hisPrivilegium Maius,awarded himself the title of a "Duke of Carniola" in 1364—though without consent by theHoly Roman Emperor.Rudolph also founded the town ofNovo Mestoin Lower Carniola, then namedRudolphswerth.After his death, as a result of the quarrels between his younger brothersAlbert IIIandLeopold,Carniola by the 1379Treaty of Neubergbecame part ofInner Austriaruled fromGrazby Leopold, ancestor of the HabsburgLeopoldian line.In 1457, the Inner Austrian territories were re-united with theArchduchy of Austriaunder the rule of the Habsburg EmperorFrederick III.When Frederick's descendant, EmperorFerdinand I,died in 1564, Carniola was separated again as part of Inner Austria under the rule of Ferdinand's son ArchdukeCharles II.Charles' son, EmperorFerdinand II,inherited all the dynasty's lands in 1619 and the duchy formed a constituent part of theHabsburg monarchyever since.

In the late 15th century, as part of the Habsburg westward expansion, the Duchy of Carniola acquired many new territories:Idrija(previously part of Friuli),Duinoand the surrounding parts of theKarst Plateau,Kastav,Opatija,and the interior areas ofIstria,centered aroundPazin.It also had nominal control over the port ofRijeka,which however de facto remained an autonomous city; in 1717 it was officially placed under direct imperial rule and in 1776 it was transferred to Hungary. In the 19th century, these areas (with the exception of Idrija) were incorporated in theAustrian Littoral,and Carniola thus became a landlocked region once again.

With theTreaty of Schönbrunnin 1809,Napoleonformed the short-livedIllyrian Provincesfrom the annexed territories in Carniola, Carinthia, Croatia,Gorizia and Gradisca,andTrieste.The Final Act of the 1815Congress of Viennarestored the Illyrian Provinces to theAustrian Empire.Carniola then formed the central part of the territory of the AustrianKingdom of Illyria,whose capital was also Ljubljana, including the Carniolan and Carinthian duchies as well as the Austrian Littoral with Gorizia and Gradisca, the Margraviate of Istria and theImperial Free City of Trieste.

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 (February Patent), modified by legislation of 21 December 1867, granting power to the CarniolanLandtag(or Carniolan Diet - estates' assembly) to enact all laws not reserved to theImperial CouncilinVienna,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 had the right to vote. The home legislature consisted of a single chamber of thirty-seven members, among whom the prince-bishop sat ex-officio. The emperor convened the legislature, and it was presided over by thek. k.Landeshauptmann(president of the Carniolan Diet –Landtagand its executive board –Landesausschuss). 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).

The AustrianImperial-Royalgovernment was represented by theImperial-Royalpresident (k. k. Landespräsidentor governor), appointed by the emperor, and theImperial-RoyalGovernment (k. k. Landesregierung) in Ljubljana. In the majority of other Austrian crown lands these were known as Imperial-Royal Lieutenant (k. k. Statthalter) and Imperial-Royal Lieutenancy (k. k. Statthalterei).

In 1918, the duchy ceased to exist and its territory became part of the newly formedState of Slovenes, Croats and Serbsand subsequently part of theKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes(from 1929 called Kingdom of Yugoslavia). The western part of the duchy, with the towns ofPostojna,Ilirska Bistrica,Idrija,Vipava,andŠturje,was annexed toItalyin 1920, but was subsequently also included into Yugoslavia in 1945 except for the town ofFusine in Valromana(Weissenfels, before 1919), which remained in Italy.

Demographics

The vast majority of the population wereSlovene-speaking.AGerman-speaking minority existed among the local nobles and those craftsmen, who had settled here as citizens of the major towns. Germanlanguage islandswere found in Lower CarniolanGottschee County,where the rural population spokeGottscheerish(Granish), aSouthern Bavariandialect, as well as around the Upper Carniolan villages ofZgornja Sorica(Oberzarz),Spodnja Sorica(Unterzarz) andNemški Rovt(Deutschgereuth) in theBohinjBasin.

In 1846, the population of Carniola included:

• 428,000Slovenes
• 38,000Germans

In 1910, the population of Carniola included:

• 520,000Slovenes
• 28,000Germans

Coat of arms and flag

The coat of arms of the Carniolan crown land witharchducal hat,
as drawn byHugo Gerard Ströhl(1851–1919)

The coat of arms of Carniola dates back to the 13th century, when it most probably evolved as a combination of the coats of arms of the Bavariancounts of Andechsin theDuchy of Merania(eagle) and the RhenishHouse of Sponheimin Carinthia (red-white checkerboard). The eagle is also featured in the seal of KingOttokar II of Bohemiain his capacity as ruler of the Carniolan march in 1269. In 1463 EmperorFrederick III,having prevailed against the claims raised by his brotherAlbert VI of Austria,added the Imperial crown to the eagle and replaced the white in the shield and the checkered crescent with gold. In 1836 EmperorFerdinand I of Austriarestored 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 otherSlovene Lands.

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, theSlovene Home Guard.It was also used in the YugoslavKarađorđević dynastycoat-of-arms in the interwar period (and was replaced in the state coat-of-arms of theKingdom of Yugoslaviaby the three stars of the medievalcounts of Celje).

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 theRepublic 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 silhouette of the Slovene national symbol, MountTriglav.

Dukes

• Rudolf(1364–1365), also Duke ofAustriasince 1358, followed by his brothers
  • Albert(1365–1379), jointly with
  • Leopold(1365–1386), progenitor of the HabsburgLeopoldian line,sole Duke ofInner Austriaafter the 1379Treaty of Neuberg
• William(1386–1406), son of Leopold, followed by his brother
  • Ernest the Iron(1406–1424),Archdukefrom 1414
• Frederick(1424–1493), son of Ernest,King of the Romansfrom 1440 andHoly Roman Emperorfrom 1452, also Archduke of Austria from 1457
• Maximilian I(1493–1519), son, also Archduke of Austria, Holy Roman Emperor from 1508
• Charles I(1519–1521), grandson, also Archduke of Austria, Emperor-elect from 1520, followed by his brother
  • Ferdinand I(1521–1564), also Archduke of Austria, King of the Romans from 1531, Holy Roman Emperor from 1558
• Charles II(1564–1590), son of Ferdinand, Archduke of Inner Austria upon second partition of the Habsburg lands
• Ferdinand II(1590–1637), son, also Archduke of Austria and Holy Roman Emperor from 1619

Heir of all Habsburg lines in 1619. SeeList of rulers of Austriafor details.

See also

• Carniola
• Slovene dialects
• Gottschee County
• Flag of Slovenia
• History of Slovenia

External links

• Map – Duchy of Carniola in 1849
• Slovenian National Insignia