Kreis (Habsburg monarchy)

Creation 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 § 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", 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 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. == Organisation ==

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). == Legacy ==

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 – ) are essentially equivalent to those of the former . The 35 NUTS 3 regions are loosely aligned with the former divisions. == List of ==

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. Lands of the Bohemian Crown Kingdom of Bohemia The in Bohemia were abolished in 1862 (enacted 23 October, effective 31 October). 1849–54 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. Margraviate of Moravia Until 1848 part of the joint of Moravia and Silesia ( or ; ). 1849–54 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. Austrian Silesia Formally the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia (). Until 1848 part of the joint of Moravia and Silesia ( or ). Austrian Silesia had no after the 1849 (traditionally part of the • ('Circle above the Vienna Woods'), seat at Sankt Pölten. Austria above the Enns Corresponds with modern Upper Austria. The in Austria above the Enns were from 1749 subdivided into district commissions and regional courts. • from 1850: the city of Linz (previously part of the ; • after 1779: ; annexed from the Electorate of Bavaria by the 1779 Treaty of Teschen; 1810–16 to Bavarian . Seat at Ried. (traditionally part of the (formally constituted 30 December). The Duchy of Salzburg had no after 1853. • or (also spelled Gratz(er), Grätz(er)) • or (Bruck an der Mur); ('circle/district court') in 1854 in Leoben. • until 1848: or (; merged into 1848; also spelled Zilli(er)) • until 1848: or (Judenburg; merged into 1848) Kingdom of Illyria (until 1849) 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, Other 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: • (Karlovac) • (Fiume/Rijeka, which also included the eastern parts of the Istrian peninsula which would later become part of 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. Tyrol and Vorarlberg Formally the Princely County of Tyrol with Vorarlberg () until 1861. • City of Innsbruck • (Upper /Inn Valley) or • (Lower ); also or • City of Bozen • , centred on Bozen. Broadly coextensive with modern South and East Tyrol. Formed in 1849 from: • City of Rovereto • City of Trient () • . After 1849 it was broadly coextensive with modern Trentino. • until 1849: (or Roveredo); merged into 1849. • City of Lemberg (, ) • or • or ; merged with 1860 • or (Berezhany) • , , or ; military district before 1786; separate crown land – the Duchy of Bukovina – from 1849; the Duchy had no from 1853; (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. The cities of Lemberg and Krakau remained directly subordinate to the crown land. Other crown lands In the years following the revolutions of 1848 the system was extended to some additional crown lands: Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar The Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar, a short-lived crown land which existed 1849–60, 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 • . Corresponded with Temes County. • . Corresponded with Krassó County. • . Corresponded with Torontál County. • . Corresponded with the northern parts of Bács-Bodrog County. • . Corresponded with the southern parts of Bács-Bodrog County and eastern parts of Syrmia County. Grand Principality of Transylvania • 1851–54 (5 or ): • or (the ""; , ) • or (, ) • or (, ) • or (; modern ; ) • (modern , , ) • 1854 (10 ): • • (, ) • (, , ) • • (, ) • • Szilágy-Somlyó (, , modern ) • • • (, ) The traditional subdivisions of Transylvania (and the ) were restored in the 1860s. == Notes ==