Kingdom of Croatia | ||||||||||
Kraljevina Hrvatska Regnum Croatiae Horvát Királyság Königreich Kroatien |
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In Personal union with Kingdom of Hungary (within Habsburg Monarchy, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary) |
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Map of Croatia, Dalmatia, Slavonia, Bosnia, Serbia, Istria and the Republic of Ragusa in the 18th century
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Capital |
Zagreb (1557–1756) Varaždin (1756–1776) Zagreb (1776–1868) |
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Languages |
Official: Latin (until 1784; 1790–1847) German (1784–1790) Croatian (1847–1868) |
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Religion | Roman Catholic | |||||||||
Government | Monarchy | |||||||||
King | ||||||||||
• | 1527–64 | Ferdinand I (first) | ||||||||
• | 1848–68 | Francis Joseph I (last) | ||||||||
Ban (Viceroy) | ||||||||||
• | 1527–1531 | Ivan Karlović (first) | ||||||||
• | 1867–1868 | Levin Rauch (last) | ||||||||
Legislature | Sabor | |||||||||
Historical era | Early Modern period | |||||||||
• | Election of Ferdinand I | 1 January 1527 | ||||||||
• | Treaty of Karlowitz | 26 January 1699 | ||||||||
• | Revolution of 1848 | 15 March 1848 | ||||||||
• | Settlement of 1868 | 26 September 1868 | ||||||||
Area | ||||||||||
• | 1868 | 9,764 km² (3,770 sq mi) | ||||||||
• | 1848 | 19,722 km² (7,615 sq mi) | ||||||||
Population | ||||||||||
• | 1868 est. | 598,242 | ||||||||
Density | 61.3 /km² (158.7 /sq mi) | |||||||||
Currency | Gulden | |||||||||
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Today part of | Croatia |
The Kingdom of Croatia (Croatian: Kraljevina Hrvatska; Latin: Regnum Croatiae Hungarian: Horvát Királyság German: Königreich Kroatien) was an administrative division that existed between 1527 and 1868 within the Habsburg Monarchy (also known between 1804 and 1867 as the Austrian Empire). The Kingdom was a part of the Lands of the Crown of St. Stephen, but was subject to direct Imperial Austrian rule for significant periods of time, including its final years. Its capital was Zagreb.
Until the 18th century, the Habsburg Kingdom of Croatia included only a small north-western part of present-day Croatia around Zagreb, and a small strip of coastland around Rijeka that was not part of the Ottoman Empire or part of the Habsburg Military Frontier. Between 1744 and 1868 the Kingdom of Croatia included a subordinate autonomous kingdom, the Kingdom of Slavonia. The territory of the Slavonian Kingdom was recovered from the Ottoman Empire, and was subsequently part of the Habsburg Military Frontier for a period. In 1744 these territories were organized as the Kingdom of Slavonia and included within the Kingdom of Croatia as an autonomous part. In 1849, the two kingdoms were completely separated and existed as two separate administrative units. In 1868 both were merged again into the newly formed Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia.
Following the Battle of Mohács, in 1527 the Croatian and Hungarian nobles needed to decide on a new king. The bulk of the Croatian nobility convened the Croatian Parliament in Cetin and chose the suzerainty to the Austrian king Ferdinand I of Habsburg. Some of the nobles dissented and supported John Zápolya, but the Habsburg option prevailed by 1540, when John Zápolya died.