Habsburg Monarchy[1] Habsburgermonarchie
←   ←   ←   ← 1526–1804 →
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem None Imperial anthem Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser "God Save Emperor Francis"
The Habsburg Monarchy in 1700 (yellow area).
Capital	Vienna Prague (1583–1611)
Language(s)	Official languages: Latin, German, Hungarian, Czech, Croatian Other languages: Romanian, Slovak, Slovene, Dutch, Italian, Polish, Ruthenian
Religion	Official religion: Roman Catholicism Recognized religions: Calvinism, Lutheranism, Orthodox Christianity, Utraquism (main Czech Church, in Kingdom of Bohemia recognized until 1627 when it was forbidden), Judaism
Government	Monarchy
Emperor, King, & Archduke
- 1526–1564	Ferdinand I (first)
- 1792–1804	Francis II (last)
Historical era	Middle Ages, Napoleonic Wars
- Established	1526
- Proclamation of Empire	1804
Today part of	Austria  Belgium  Bosnia and Herzegovina  Croatia  Czech Republic  France  Germany  Hungary  Italy  Luxembourg  Netherlands  Poland  Romania  Serbia  Slovakia  Slovenia  Switzerland  Ukraine

The Habsburg Monarchy (or Habsburg Empire) covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg (1278–1780), and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine (from 1780), between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611,^[2] when it was moved to Prague. From 1804 to 1867 the Habsburgs ruled the Austrian Empire and from 1867 to 1918 Austria-Hungary.

The head of the House of Habsburg was usually also the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1440 until its dissolution in 1806. However, the two entities should not be considered coterminous, as the Habsburg Empire covered many lands beyond the Holy Roman Empire, and not all of the Holy Roman Empire was de facto under direct Habsburg control at any given time. In some contexts, the term "Habsburg Empire" might also refer to extended Habsburg family possessions once ruled solely by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, or to the Spanish Empire ruled by the senior Spanish branch of the house.

The Habsburg family originated with the Habsburg Castle in modern Switzerland and after 1278 came to rule in Austria ("the Habsburg Hereditary Lands"). The Habsburg family grew to European prominence with the marriage and adoption treaty by Emperor Maximilian I at the First Congress of Vienna in 1515, and the subsequent death of adopted Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia in 1526.^[2]

Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, the younger brother of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, was elected the next King of Bohemia and Hungary^[3] following the death of Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia, in the Battle of Mohács against the Turks.

Terminology[link]

Names of the territory that (with some exceptions) finally became Austria-Hungary:

• Habsburg monarchy or Austrian monarchy (1526–1867): This was an unofficial, but very frequent name – even at that time. The entity had no official name. Note that technically the term "Habsburg monarchy" can also refer to the period 1276–1918 when the Habsburgs ruled in the monarchy (archduchy) centred in present-day Austria and "Austrian monarchy" can refer to the monarchy centered in present-day Austria 1156–1867, but both terms are usually not used this way.
• Austrian Empire (1804–1867): This was the official name. Note that the German version is Kaisertum Österreich, i.e. the English translation empire refers to a territory ruled by an emperor, not just to a "widespreading domain", more accurately the "Emperordom of Austria".
• Austria-Hungary or Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867–1918): This was the official name^{[citation needed]}. An unofficial popular name was the Danubian Monarchy (German: Donaumonarchie) also often used was the term Doppel-Monarchie ("Double Monarchy") meaning two states under one crowned ruler.
• Crownlands or crown lands (Kronländer) (1849–1918): This is the name of all the individual parts of the Austrian Empire (since 1849) and then of Austria-Hungary. The Kingdom of Hungary (more exactly the Lands of the Hungarian Crown) was not considered a "crownland" after the establishment of Austria-Hungary 1867, so that the "crownlands" became identical with what was called the Kingdoms and Lands represented in the Imperial Council (Die im Reichsrate vertretenen Königreiche und Länder).