THE MULTICULTURAL EMPIRE: “KRONPRINZENWERK” published 1885-1902 by the Habsburg Crown Prince Rudolf

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