Duchy of Carniola Vojvodina Kranjska (sl) Herzogtum Krain (de) |
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State of the Holy Roman Empire (until 1806), constituent land of the Austrian Empire (from 1804) and Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary (from 1867) |
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Duchy of Carniola within Austria-Hungary | ||||||
Capital | Ljubljana | |||||
Government | Principality | |||||
Historical era | Middle Ages | |||||
• | March of Carniola bequeathed to House of Habsburg | 1335 | ||||
• | Raised to Duchy | 1364 | ||||
• | Part of Inner Austria | 1379 | ||||
• | Joined Austrian Circle | 1512 | ||||
• | Ceded to Illyrian Provinces | 1809 | ||||
• | Restored to Austria | 1815 | ||||
• | Part of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs | 1918 |
The Duchy of Carniola (Slovene: Vojvodina Kranjska, German: Herzogtum Krain) was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, established under Habsburg rule on the territory of the former East Frankish March of Carniola in 1364. A hereditary land of the Habsburg Monarchy, it became a constituent land of the Austrian Empire in 1804 and part of the Kingdom of Illyria until 1849. A separate crown land from 1849, it was incorporated into the Cisleithanian territories of Austria-Hungary from 1867 until the state's dissolution in 1918. Its capital was Ljubljana.
The borders of the historic Carniola region had varied over the centuries. From the time of the duchy's establishment, it was located in the southeastern periphery of the Holy Roman Empire, where the Gorjanci Mountains and the Kolpa River formed the border with Croatia, then part of the Hungarian kingdom.
In the north, it bordered the Imperial Duchy of Carinthia, from the Predil Pass and Fusine (Fužine) along the main ridge of the Karawanks range up to Jezersko. In the northeast and east, it bordered on the Duchy of Styria, i.e., the present-day Štajerska or Lower Styrian lands beyond the Sava River, which until 1456 were held by the Counts of Celje. In the west, the peaks of the Julian Alps high above Lake Bohinj marked the border with the historic Friulian region, initially held by the Patriarchs of Aquileia, but gradually conquered by the Republic of Venice and incorporated into the Domini di Terraferma by 1433. In the southwest, beyond the Dinaric Alps, the Counts of Görz held the remaining Friulian territory, which in 1754 became the Austrian crown land of Gorizia and Gradisca (part of the present-day Slovenian Littoral). The remains of the Margraviate of Istria south of the Kras Plateau and the Brkini Hills were also administered from Carniola.