Before the dramatic rise of nationalism, the monarchy officially still celebrated its ethnic and cultural diversity. One important and interesting scientific project had as its patron the crown prince Rudolf. In 1884 he asked the permission of the Emperor to carry out a comprehensive survey of the ethnic diversity of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 17 years (until 1902) all crown lands, peoples and regions of the monarchy were researched and the results were published in 24 German and 21 Hungarian volumes. Subscribers could buy the individual issues at a subsidised price of only 30 Kreuzer per issue very cheaply. The political character of the scientific project was to propagate the pride of the Empire in its ethnic and cultural diversity. Despite this propaganda attempt, the knowledge about the lands of the Habsburg monarchy in the West was marginal. Still in 1938 Neville Chamberlain spoke out against a declaration of war against Hitler by saying British solders should not be sacrificed for a conflict “in a far-away country between people of whom we know nothing.” – meaning Czechoslovakia.
Below some selected statistics from this huge scientific enterprise should illustrate the monarchy’s ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity:
Crown land | Nationalities | Religion |
Hungary (1880, religion 1830) | 46.7 % Hungarians | 57.3% Roman Catholic |
17.5 Romanians | 22.1% Protestant | |
13.6% Germans | 10.8% Greek Orthodox | |
13.5% Czechs, Moravians, Slovaks | 7.6% Greek Catholics | |
4.6% Serbs, Croats | 2.2 %Jewish | |
2.6% Ruthenians |
Crown land | Nationalities | Religion |
Siebenbürgen/Transylvania (1851, religion 1830) | 58.0% Romanians, Moldavians, Walachs | 33.2% Greek Orthodox |
28.3% Hungarians | 27.5% Protestant | |
10.5% Germans | 27.3% Greek Catholics | |
2.5% Gipsies | 9.8% Roman Catholics | |
0.4% Armenians | 2.0% Eastern Catholics | |
0.3% Jews | 0.2% Jews |
Crown land | Nationalities | Religion (both regions) |
Galicia (1880, religion 1830) | 51.5% Poles | 45.2% Roman Catholic |
42.9% Ruthenians | 43.6% Greek Catholics | |
5.5% Germans | 5.6% Jewish | |
Bukovina (1880, religion 1830) | 42.2% Ruthenians | 5.2% Greek Orthodox |
33.4% Romanians | 0.5 Protestant | |
19.1% Germans | ||
3.2% Poles | ||
1.7% Hungarians |
Crown land | Nationalities | Religion |
Military frontier (Slavonia, Banat,Varasdin,..) 1851, religion 1830 | 50.1% Croats | 50.2% Greek Orthodox |
32.4% Serbs | 40.7% Roman Catholic | |
11.9% Romanians, Moldavians, Walachs | 4.9% Greek Catholics | |
4.0% Germans | 4.1% Protestant | |
0.9% Czechs, Moravians, Slovaks | ||
0.5% Hungarians | ||
0.1% Albanians |
Crown land | Nationalities | Religion |
Bohemia (1880, religion 1830) | 62.8% Czechs, Moravians, Slovaks | 96.6% Roman Catholic |
37.1% Germans | 1.8% Jewish | |
0.02 % Poles | 1.6% Protestant | |
Moravia (1880, religion 1830) | 70.4& Czechs, Moravians, Slovaks | Moravia & Silesia |
29.3% Germans | 93.0% Roman Catholic | |
0.2% Poles | 5.4% Protestant | |
Silesia (1880, religion 1830) | 48.9% Germans | 1.6% Jewish |
28.1% Poles | ||
23.0% Czechs, Moravians, Slovaks |
Adapted from the Kronprinzenwerk, Wien 1885-1902
Literature:
Petschar, Hans, Altösterreich. Menschen, Länder und Völker in der Habsburgermonarchie, 2011