The Hungarian counterparts were the Comitatus (German: Gespanschaften or Komitate, formerly spelled Comitate;
Hungarian: Vármegyék), which had existed for much longer and were dominated by the nobility.
The Amtsbezirke [
de] ('office districts'), or more precisely the Bezirksämter ('district offices'), created in the reforms which followed the
Revolutions of 1848 (specifically those of 1849[2] and 1853[3]), largely took over the responsibilities of the Kreisämter. These were proposed as early as 1849 by Interior Minister
Alexander von Bach as part of a necessary reform to the administrative apparatus to deal with the increase in the number citizens interacting with the offices following the final abolition of
serfdom in 1848. The Kreis administrations were thereby subdivided into subordinate Amtsbezirke. Some smaller Kreise were abolished or merged. The Kreis system was also expanded to the
Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar[3][4] (formerly part of southern Hungary) and the
Grand Principality of Transylvania[5] in the course of these reforms.
The
statutory cities were also excluded from Kreis administration, much like they are excluded from the
modern districts (Bezirke).
Abolition
With the creation of the political districts (Bezirke) in 1868, which go back to the
December Constitution of 1867,[6] the Kreis divisions were abolished and replaced with much more finely divided Bezirk divisions; however, the newly created district commissions (Bezirkshauptmannschaften) were strongly influenced by the former Kreis administrations.
Organisation
With the Kreisämtern there was for the first time a level of administration between the
manors and free cities and the
Imperial Court [
de] (in the crown lands the gubernatorial administration). At the head of every Kreis was a Kreishauptmann [
de] (roughly 'circle/district captain/head'; see Hauptmann), whose officials were entrusted with clearly defined tasks, which significantly disempowered the estates in financial matters. The Kreisämter were the lowest level of political administration. This brought together direct oversight of taxation, as well as the conscription and recruitment system, the supervision of schools and poorhouses, the supervision of the individual municipalities and the protection of the peasants before the manor lords. The captains were obliged to travel to the Kreise at least once per year or allow the inspectors to visit. For this the captains received a state salary, but were not allowed to hold any other lordly or stately offices and were bound to their instructions.
The Kreisämtern were subordinate to the Gubernia [
de] (the administrative bodies of the crown lands, roughly
governorates).
Legacy
Despite numerous reforms, the borders of the Kreise are still roughly visible in the 39 Austrian
electoral districts. Also the divisions (Sprengel) of the district courts (Kreisgerichte; now
regional courts – Landesgerichte) are essentially equivalent to those of the former Kreisämter. The 35
NUTS 3 regions are loosely aligned with the former Kreis divisions.
List of Kreise
The following is a list of the Kreise and statutory cities in the non-Hungarian lands of the Austrian Empire (
Cisleithania in later terminology)
c. 1854;[7] pre-1848 Kreise[1] are also listed where applicable.
Lands of the Bohemian Crown
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In the 1849 administrative reforms which followed the Revolutions of 1848 and introduced the first political districts (Bezirkshaupmannschaften), the Kreise of Bohemia were reduced to seven:[9]
The traditional Moravian Kreise were abolished in 1849 (
see below) but were restored (with some border changes and with Nový Jičín/Neutitschein replacing Přerov/Prerau) in 1854 and divided into Bezirke.[10]
The Moravian Kreise were dissolved in 1860 and their Bezirke subordinated directly to the Statthalterei in Brünn/Brno.[11]
1849–54
In the 1849 administrative reforms which followed the Revolutions of 1848 and introduced the first political districts (Bezirkshaupmannschaften), the Kreise of Moravia were reduced to two:[12]
Brünner Kreis (Brněnský kraj) – 12 political districts:
Formally the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia (Herzogtum Ober- und Niederschlesien). Until 1848 part of the joint Gubernium of Moravia and Silesia (Gouvernment Mähren und Schlesien or Mährischschlesisches Landesgubernium).[1] Although administratively separate Silesia was judicially subordinate to Brünn (Moravia) thereafter.[13] Austrian Silesia had no Kreise after the 1849[12] or 1853 reforms,[3] but the separate Kreisgerichte remained for judicial matters.[13]
Corresponds with modern
Upper Austria. The Kreise in Austria above the Enns were from 1749 subdivided into district commissions and regional courts.[17]
from 1850: the city of
Linz[18] (previously part of the Mühlkreis;[1]: 317 part of the Hausruckkreis until the early 19th century)
Mühlkreis; seat at
Linz[1]: 317 [19] (from the early 19th century). Comprised the areas north of the
Danube and, from the early 19th century, the immediate area around Linz. Initially divided into
Upper [
de] and
Lower sections [
de], corresponding to the pre-1779 Mühlviertel (upper, western) and Machlandviertel [
de]/Schwarzviertel (lower, eastern).
from 1867: the city of
Steyr[20] (traditionally part of the Traunkreis[1]: 317 )
Traunkreis; seat at Steyer.[1]: 317 [19] Traditionally bounded by the
Traun river. In the early 19th century expanded to include part of the western Traun basin, roughly up to the boundaries of the modern
Gmunden District (excluding
St. Wolfgang im Salzkammergut). Upon the re-establishment of the Kreise in 1853 roughly the western third of the previous Traunkreis, including
Ischl,
Gmunden and
Hallstatt (roughly corresponding to the modern Gmunden District and some parts of the
Wels-Land District south of the Traun), became part of the Hausruckkreis.[19]
Formerly the Salzburgkreis or Salzachkreis of Austria above the Enns, the
Duchy of Salzburg became a crown land in its own right (with a single Kreis) on 26 June 1849[21] (formally constituted 30 December[22]). The Duchy of Salzburg had no Kreise after 1853.[3]
The
Duchy of Styria (German: Herzogtum Steiermark, contemporary spelling Herzogthum Steyermark), although administered as a single gubernium/Gouvernement, was divided into upper and lower parts – Obersteiermark (Obere-Steyermark) and Untersteiermark (Untere-Steyermark).[1]: 318 The upper part, which comprised the Judenburger and Brucker Kreise,[1]: 318 corresponds with the modern Austrian use of the term
Upper Styria, i.e. the modern districts of
Bruck-Mürzzuschlag,
Leoben,
Liezen,
Murau and
Murtal in the north-west of the modern Austrian state of
Styria; from 1848 it was synonymous with the now-expanded Brucker Kreis. The lower part, which comprised the Grazer, Marburger and Cillier Kreise,[1]: 318 included all of
Slovene Styria and the modern Austrian
Central Styria [
de].
Kreis Marburg [
de] or Marburger Kreis (Marburg an der Drau,
Slovene: Maribor); in 1848 northwestern parts merged into Kreis Graz; Kreisgericht ('circle/district court') in 1854 in Cilli.[24]
until 1848: Kreis Cilli [
de] or Cillier Kreis (Celje; merged into Kreis Marburg 1848; also spelled Zilli(er))
The
Kingdom of Illyria was a crown land formed as a successor to the Napoleonic
Illyrian Provinces[note 2] after the 1815
Congress of Vienna returned its territory to Austria. It was divided into two Gubernia: Gubernium Laibach[note 3] and Gubernium Triest.[note 4] It was disbanded in 1849 and replaced with the separate Duchy of Carinthia, Duchy of Carniola and Austrian Littoral crown lands. The Kreise listed below are grouped by these post-1849 crown lands; internally within the Kingdom they were grouped as such,[1] and the duchies and subdivisions of the Littoral correspond with Habsburg states which existed before the 1809
Treaty of Schönbrunn by which they were annexed by Napoleon.
Until 1809 the area (excluding those parts of
Croatia and the
Military Frontier which were Illyrian until the 1820s) was organised as part of
Inner Austria, an informal region which comprised the Duchies of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola, the County of Gorizia and Gradisca, the March/Margraviate of Istria and the Free City of Trieste. During this period the Habsburg
March of Istria only included a small interior part of the peninsula centred on
Mitterburg (Pazin, Pisino) and was administered from Carniola; the north-eastern mostly inland part of the later Istrian Kreis, as well as part of the eastern coast of the peninsula and a northern coastal exclave around
Duino-Aurisina were part of the Carniolan Adelsberger Kreis. The
Republic of Venice held most of the peninsula itself, including all of the western coast and around half of the eastern coast, as well as the islands in the
Kvarner Gulf including
Krk and
Cres; the Venetian territories were annexed by Austria (as the
Venetian Province) in the 1797
Treaty of Campo Formio, but lost again to the
Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in the
1805 Peace of Pressburg. The
mercury-mining area around
Idrija had a special status apart from the Carniolan Kreise. The
Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca included several exclaves in Venetian territory and within the Carniolan Adelsberger Kreis; by the 1805 Peace of Pressburg and 1807 Treaty of Fontainebleau, the parts of the county west of the
Soča/Isonzo were ceded to the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy.
Duchy of Carinthia
The
Duchy of Carinthia (Herzogt(h)um Kärnten) was 1815–49 part of Gubernium Laibach of the Kingdom of Illyria; separate crown land thereafter. Carinthia had no Kreise after 1853.[3]
Formally the Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca, the Margraviate of Istria and the City of Triest with its Territory (die gefürstete Grafschaft Görz und Gradiska, die Markgrafschaft Istrien und die Stadt Triest mit ihr Gebiet). 1815–49 Gubernium Triest of the Kingdom of Illyria; separate crown land thereafter.
Judicially the Gorizian districts of Comen (
Komen) and Sessana (
Sežana) and the Istrian districts of Capo d'Istria (
Koper, Kopar), Pirano (
Piran), Castel-Nuovo (
Podgrad) and Volosca (
Volosko) were subordinate to the Landesgericht in Trieste (
c. 1853).[25]
Other
In addition to the Kreise of Carinthia, Carniola and the Littoral listed above, until the 1820s the Kingdom of Illyria also included the former Croatie civile province of the Napoleonic
Illyrian Provinces. This territory was transferred to the re-established
Kingdom of Croatia, except for Fiume (Rijeka), which returned to its previous status as a Corpus separatum under Hungary. This was organised into:
Kreis Fiume/Fiumaner Kreis (
Fiume/Rijeka, which also included the eastern parts of the Istrian peninsula which would later become part of Kreis Istrien
Like the Littoral, these belonged to Gubernium Triest. During this time the remainder of Istria and the southern part of what was later Görz, including all of its coastline (much of which had been part of the Carniolan Adelsberger Kreis until 1809), was organised as the Triester Kreis, which was distinct from the city of Triest.
The district of
Glurns, formerly belonging to Kreis Oberinntal
until 1861: Kreis
Bregenz, Bregenzer Kreis, Kreis Vorarlberg or Vorarlberger Kreis; detached as a separate crown land – Land Vorarlberg – in the 1861
February Patent.[28]
Kreis Trient. After 1849 it was broadly coextensive with modern
Trentino.[note 6]
until 1849: Kreis Rovereto (or Roveredo); merged into Kreis Trient 1849.[27] A Kreisgericht of Roveredo covering the former territory of Kreis Roveredo (the Bezirke of
Ala,
Arco,
Condino,
Mori,
Nogaredo,
Riva, Roveredo,
Stenico and
Tione) existed within Kreis Trient as of 1854.[26]
Formally the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria with the
Grand Duchy of Kraków (after 1846) and the
Duchies of Auschwitz and
Zator (Königreich Galizien und Lodomerien mit dem Großherzogt(h)um Krakau und den Herzogt(h)ümern Auschwitz und Zator). The Grand Duchy of Kraków, which was annexed in 1846 (previously the
Free City of Cracow) corresponded with the Krakauer Kreis; Auschwitz and Zator had no administrative status, with both forming part of the Wadowicer Kreis, although nominally they were part of the
German Confederation while the rest was not.
Kreis Bukowina, Bukowiner Kreis, Czernowitzer Kreis or Kreis Czernowitz; military district before 1786; separate crown land – the
Duchy of Bukovina – from 1849;[30] the Duchy had no Kreise from 1853;[3] reincorporated (as Kreis Czernowitz) into Galicia and Lodomeria in 1860;[29] re-separated in the 1861
February Patent.[28]
City of
Czernowitz (Ukrainian: Чернівці́, romanized: ChernivtsiRomanian: Cernăuți); part of Bukovina when a separate crown land.
Kreis Stanislau [
uk] or Kreis Stanisławów, Stanislauer Kreis, Stanisławower Kreis (Stanisławów, contemporary
Ukrainian: Станісла́вівStanislaviv; modern Івано-ФранківськIvano-Frankivsk)
Kreis Złoczów [
uk] or Złozówer Kreis (Złoczów; German: Solotschiw, Ukrainian: Золочів, romanized: Zolochiv)
Kreis Żółkiew [
uk] or Zołkiewer Kreis (Żółkiew; German: Schowkwa, Ukrainian: Жовква, romanized: Zhovkva)
until 1809: Kreis
Zaleszczyki or Zalestschyker Kreis. Bulk of the Kreis (the part bounded by the
Dniester and
Strypa rivers) ceded to Russia in the 1809 Treaty of Schönbrunn – Tarnopolsky Krai; remainder becomes part of Kreis Kolomea. Restored to Austria by the
Congress of Vienna 1815 as Kreis Czortków.
In 1850 Galicia and Lodomeria was divided into three Regierungsbezirke ('government districts'), named after their capitals: Lemberg, Krakau and Stanislau. The Kreise were abolished and replaced with political districts (Bezirkshauptmannschaften).[31]
Verwaltungsbebiete (1854–60)
The 1850 changes to the administrative structure of the empire were reversed in
Bach's January 1853 reforms, although the precise divisions remained to be determined.[3] In April 1854 Galicia and Lodomeria was divided into two Verwaltungsgebiete (
lit.'administrative regions/territories') and its Kreise formally restored:[32]
Verwaltungsgebiet Lemberg, containing the 12 eastern Kreise:
Lemberg
Zołkiew
Przemyśl
Sanok
Złoczow
Brzezan
Stryi
Sambor
Tarnopol
Czortkow
Kolomea
Stanislau
Verwaltungsgebiet Krakau, containing the 7 western Kreise:
Krakau
Wadowice
Sandec
Jasło
Rzeszow
Tarnow
Bochnia
The cities of Lemberg and Krakau remained directly subordinate to the crown land.[32] Bukovina was not part of Galicia and Lodomeria at this time.[3]
In 1860 Verwaltungsgebiet Krakau and Bukovina were dissolved and re-subordinated to Lemberg.[29]
West or New Galicia (1795–1803/09)
Maps of the Kreise of West Galicia
c. 1803
West or New Galicia (Westgalizien/Neugalizien) comprised the Habsburgs' gains in the
Third Partition of Poland in 1795. The first-partition Myslenicer, Sandecer and Bochnier Kreise were also attached to it. It was incorporated into Galicia and Lodomeria 1803–09 as a separate gubernium. Other than the first-partition Kreise it was ceded to the
Duchy of Warsaw in 1809 by the
Treaty of Schönbrunn (
Congress Poland and
Free City of Cracow after 1815).
Kreis Gross-Becskerek(modern German: Großbetschkerek; Hungarian: Nagybecskerek, Romanian: Becicherecul, Serbian: Велики БечкерекVeliki Bečkerek; modern Serbian: ЗрењанинZrenjanin). Corresponded with
Torontál County.
^The Illyrian provinces contained some territory – eastern Tyrol around Lienz – which was not part of the Kingdom of Illyria. Likewise, eastern/"Lower" Carinthia was part of the Kingdom of Illyria but never part of the Illyrian Provinces, having remained Austrian in 1809.
^Gubernium Laibach was also known as Upper Illyria (Ober-Illyrien)[1]
^Gubernium Triest was also known as Lower Illyria (Unter-Illyrien) or as the Littoral (Küstenland),[1] a name also used for the post-1849 crown land.
^
abcdIn contemporary German the word Tal, meaning valley, was spelled Thal, as were the names of Kreise which included it, i.e.: Oberinnthal or Ober-Innthal; Unterinnthal, Unter-Innthal or Unter-Inn und Wippthal; Pusterthal.
^
abIn addition to the territory of modern Trentino, post-1849 Kreis Trient also included what is now:
The northernmost part of the
Chiese valley was part of the Austrian
Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia (specifically the Lombard province of Bergamo) at this time.
Kreis Trient gained
Truden/Trodena (previously part of the Bozener Kreis, today part of South Tyrol) in the 1854 reforms.[26]
^Rumpler, Helmut (1997), Österreichische Geschichte 1804–1914. Eine Chance für Mitteleuropa. Bürgerliche Emanzipation und Staatsverfall in der Habsburgermonarchie. [Austrian History 1804–1914. A chance for Central Europe. Citizen Emancipation and State Decline in the Habsburg Monarchy] (in German), Vienna: Ueberreuther, pp. 476–477,
ISBN978-3800039791
^Benedikt Pillwein, ed. (1830), "3: Der Hausruckkreis.", Geschichte, Geographie und Statistik des Erzherzogthums Oesterreich ob der Enns und des Herzogthums Salzburg (1 ed.), Linz, p. 167 With a register, which provides both the topographic and genealogical lexicon, and the Kreis map. Geographical-historical-statistical detail after Districts-Commissioner. (
Google eBook); (2nd edition 1843
Google Book)
^Gesetz vom 18. Jänner 1867, LGBl. 8/1850:
"Landesgesetz betreffend das Gemeinde-Statut für die Stadtgemeinde Steyr". Landes-Gesetz- und Regierungsblatt für das Erzherzogthum Oesterreich ob der Enns (in German). 1867-01-18. Retrieved 2023-11-09 – via ÖNB-ALEX - Historische Rechts- und Gesetztexte Online.
^
abPatent vom 28. Februar 1861, RGBl. 20/1861:
"February Patent". Reichs-Gesetz-Blatt für das Kaiserthum Österreich. 1861-02-28. Retrieved 2023-07-07 – via ÖNB-ALEX - Historische Rechts- und Gesetztexte Online.