A ( ) or 'Circle' was an administrative division of the Habsburg monarchy and Austrian Empire between 1748 and 1867.
After the Prussian annexation of the bulk of Silesia following the First and Second Silesian Wars, it became apparent that Frederick II's administrative structures allowed him to take much higher tax revenues from the area. Therefore, in the years following end of the War of the Austrian Succession in 1748, Maria Theresa and Joseph II enacted several administrative reforms with Prussia as a model, and the old territorial divisions were converted into new . These reforms were carried out by Maria Theresa's advisor Count Friedrich Wilhelm von Haugwitz and continued under chancellor Prince Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz-Rietberg from 1760. The bureaucratisation in the form of ('circle offices', ) lessened the influence of the estates by essentially separating them from the administration of the realms.
The origin of the as a unit of administration lay in Bohemia, where ( in German) had existed as territorial units since the 14th century (see Bohemia ç Historical administrative divisions). Through the reform the system was further developed and applied to the Habsburgs' other realms (other than Hungary). In the Archduchy of Austria and Duchy of Styria the old quarters () served as a basis for the new (Waldviertel, Mostviertel, Industrieviertel and Weinviertel in Lower Austria; Innviertel, Hausruckviertel, Mühlviertel, and Traunviertel in Upper Austria; ).
The Hungarian counterparts were the ( or , formerly spelled ; ), which had existed for much longer and were dominated by the nobility.
In Lombardy–Venetia (1815–1859/66) there were "delegations", which gave rise to the later Provinces.
The ('office districts'), or more precisely the ('district offices'), created in the reforms which followed the Revolutions of 1848 (specifically those of 1849 and 1853), largely took over the responsibilities of the . 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 administrations were thereby subdivided into subordinate . Some smaller were abolished or merged. The system was also expanded to the Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar (formerly part of southern Hungary) and the Grand Principality of Transylvania in the course of these reforms.
The statutory cities were also excluded from administration, much like they are excluded from the modern districts ().
With the creation of the political districts () in 1868, which go back to the December Constitution of 1867, the divisions were abolished and replaced with much more finely divided divisions; however, the newly created district commissions () were strongly influenced by the former administrations.
With the there was for the first time a level of administration between the manors and free cities and the (in the crown lands the gubernatorial administration). At the head of every was a (roughly 'circle/district captain/head'; see ), whose officials were entrusted with clearly defined tasks, which significantly disempowered the estates in financial matters. The 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 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 were subordinate to the (the administrative bodies of the crown lands, roughly governorates).
Despite numerous reforms, the borders of the are still roughly visible in the 39 Austrian electoral districts. Also the divisions () of the district courts (; now regional courts â ) are essentially equivalent to those of the former . The 35 NUTS 3 regions are loosely aligned with the former divisions.
The following is a list of the and statutory cities in the non-Hungarian lands of the Austrian Empire (Cisleithania in later terminology) ; pre-1848 are also listed where applicable.
The in Bohemia were abolished in 1862 (enacted 23 October, effective 31 October).
In the 1849 administrative reforms which followed the Revolutions of 1848 and introduced the first political districts (), the of Bohemia were reduced to seven:
These lasted until the reforms of 1853/54.
Until 1848 part of the joint of Moravia and Silesia ( or ; ).
The traditional Moravian were abolished in 1849 (see below) but were reconstituted (with some border changes and with / replacing /) in 1854 and divided into (76 in total, excluding the cities of Brünn and Olmütz). Changes included:
The Moravian were dissolved in 1860 and their (and ) subordinated directly to the in Brünn/Brno.
In the 1849 administrative reforms which followed the Revolutions of 1848 and introduced the first political districts (), the of Moravia were reduced to two:
The six pre-revolution were reconstituted, with various changes, in the reforms of 1853/54.
Formally the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia (). Until 1848 part of the joint of Moravia and Silesia ( or ). Although administratively separate Silesia was judicially subordinate to Brünn (Moravia) thereafter. Austrian Silesia had no after the 1849 or 1853 reforms, but the separate remained for judicial matters.
From 1860 Silesia was administered once again from the Moravian in Brünn/Brno but remained a formally separate crown land.
Corresponds with modern Lower Austria.
Corresponds with modern Upper Austria. The in Austria above the Enns were from 1749 subdivided into district commissions and regional courts.
Formerly the or of Austria above the Enns, the Duchy of Salzburg became a crown land in its own right (with a single ) on 26 June 1849 (formally constituted 30 December). The Duchy of Salzburg had no after 1853.
The Duchy of Styria (, contemporary spelling ), although administered as a single /, was divided into upper and lower parts â () and (). The upper part, which comprised the and , 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 . The lower part, which comprised the , and , included all of Slovene Styria and the modern Austrian .
The Kingdom of Illyria was a crown land formed as a successor to the Napoleonic Illyrian Provinces after the 1815 Congress of Vienna returned its territory to Austria. It was divided into two : Laibach and Triest. It was disbanded in 1849 and replaced with the separate Duchy of Carinthia, Duchy of Carniola and Austrian Littoral crown lands. The listed below are grouped by these post-1849 crown lands; internally within the Kingdom they were grouped as such, 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 , as well as part of the eastern coast of the peninsula and a northern coastal exclave around Duino-Aurisina were part of the Carniolan . 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 . The Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca included several exclaves in Venetian territory and within the Carniolan ; by the 1805 Peace of Pressburg and 1807 Treaty of Fontainebleau, the parts of the county west of the SoÃÂa/Isonzo were ceded to the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy.
The Duchy of Carinthia () was 1815âÂÂ49 part of Laibach of the Kingdom of Illyria; separate crown land thereafter. Carinthia had no after 1853.
The Duchy of Carniola () was 1815âÂÂ49 part of Laibach of the Kingdom of Illyria. Carniola had no after 1853.
Formally the Princely County of Gorizia and Gradisca, the Margraviate of Istria and the City of Triest with its Territory (). 1815âÂÂ49 Triest of the Kingdom of Illyria; separate crown land thereafter.
Judicially the Gorizian districts of Comen (Komen) and Sessana (Seà ¾ana) and the Istrian districts of Capo d'Istria (Koper, Kopar), Pirano (Piran), Castel-Nuovo (Podgrad) and Volosca (Volosko) were subordinate to the in Trieste ().
In addition to the of Carinthia, Carniola and the Littoral listed above, until the 1820s the Kingdom of Illyria also included the former 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 under Hungary. This was organised into:
Like the Littoral, these belonged to 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 until 1809), was organised as the , which was distinct from the city of Triest.
Formally the Princely County of Tyrol with Vorarlberg () until 1861.
Formally the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria with the Grand Duchy of Kraków (after 1846) and the Duchies of Auschwitz and Zator (). The Grand Duchy of Kraków, which was annexed in 1846 (previously the Free City of Cracow) corresponded with the ; Auschwitz and Zator had no administrative status, with both forming part of the , although nominally they were part of the German Confederation while the rest was not.
The in Galicia and Lodomeria were abolished in 1865 (enacted 23 September, effective 31 October).
In 1850 Galicia and Lodomeria was divided into three ('government districts'), named after their capitals: and . The were abolished and replaced with political districts ().
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. In April 1854 Galicia and Lodomeria was divided into two () and its formally restored:
The cities of Lemberg and Krakau remained directly subordinate to the crown land. Bukovina was not part of Galicia and Lodomeria at this time.
A list detailing the of each from 1853 can be found at
In 1860 and Bukovina were dissolved and re-subordinated to Lemberg.
West or New Galicia () comprised the Habsburgs' gains in the Third Partition of Poland in 1795. The first-partition and were also attached to it. It was incorporated into Galicia and Lodomeria 1803âÂÂ09 as a separate . Other than the first-partition it was ceded to the Duchy of Warsaw in 1809 by the Treaty of Schönbrunn (Congress Poland and Free City of Cracow after 1815).
The in Dalmatia were abolished in 1865 (enacted 5 December, effective 31 December).
In the years following the revolutions of 1848 the system was extended to some additional crown lands:
The Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar, a short-lived crown land which existed 1849âÂÂ60, was formally divided into in 1854. Before the revolutions of 1848 it had been the Bács-Bodrog, Torontál, Temes, and Krassó Counties of Hungary and part of the Syrmia County of Slavonia
The traditional subdivisions of Transylvania (and the ) were restored in the 1860s.