Archduchy of Austria

The Archduchy of Austria (Latin: Archiducatus Austriae; German: Erzherzogtum Österreich) was a major principality and later transformed into one of the most important states of the Holy Roman Empire and the nucleus of the Habsburg monarchy. Throughout the Renaissance and early modern era, rulers of the Archduchy of Austria ruled as the Holy Roman Emperors and also ruled as the sole rulers of various states like Hungary, Bohemia, Moravia and many others. It was the center of the Holy Roman Empire and of central Europe and its capital Vienna acted as the de facto capital of the empire and the seat of Holy Roman Emperors. With its capital at Vienna, the archduchy was centered at the Empire's southeastern periphery. From Frederick III to Charles I, the last ruler of the state until 1918, the state was ruled by the Habsburg Dynasty.

Its present name originates from the Frankish term Oustrich – Eastern Kingdom (east of the Frankish kingdom). The archduchy developed out of the Bavarian Margraviate of Austria, elevated to the Duchy of Austria according to the 1156 Privilegium Minus by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. The House of Habsburg came to the Austrian throne in Vienna in 1282 and in 1453 Emperor Frederick III, also the ruler of Austria, officially adopted the archducal title. From the 15th century onward, all Holy Roman Emperors but one were Austrian archdukes and with the acquisition of the Bohemian and Hungarian crown lands in 1526, the Habsburg hereditary lands became the centre of a major European power.

The archduchy's history as an imperial state ended with the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806. It was replaced with the Lower and Upper Austria crown lands of the Austrian Empire.