Kingdom of Austria

Austria, formally the Kingdom of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a sovereign state and a parliamentary representative democracy with a popularly elected president as head of state and a chancellor as head of government and chief executive. It is also a constitutional monarchy, with the Habsburg Emperor also serving a head of state.

The country occupies an area of 97,477 km2 (37,636 sq mi) and it has a population of more than 12.9 million inhabitants. It is comprised of 9 crown lands, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous city and territory.

Austria emerged from the remnants of the Eastern and Hungarian March at the end of the first millennium. Originally a margraviate of Bavaria, it developed into a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire in 1156 and was later made an archduchy in 1453. In the 16th century, Vienna began serving as the empire's administrative capital and Austria thus became the heartland of the Habsburg monarchy. After the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, Austria established its empire, which became a great power and the dominant member of the German Confederation. The empire's defeat in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 led to the end of the Confederation and paved the way for the establishment of Austria-Hungary a year later.