The Rise and Fall of Austria or the Habsburg Empire / sterreich

Austria was ruled by the Habsburg dynasty from 1278/1282 to 1918. Therefore, historical Austria is also known as the Habsburg Empire or the Habsburg Monarchy. The Habsburgs made Austria a great power in 1477, when they inherited much of what is now the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. Soon afterwards they inherited many more lands by their marriage policies. During the 16th century, the Habsburgs ruled over large parts of Europe. Charles V reigned over perhaps a quarter of the European population (not t