other · Balkans and Hungary

Bosnia and Herzegovina (Austro-Hungarian)

1878 CE – 1918 CE · capital Sarajevo

Former Ottoman province occupied and then annexed by Austria-Hungary, whose rule modernised Sarajevo and ended with the shots that started the First World War.

Origins

After uprisings in Herzegovina and Bosnia from 1875 and the Russo-Turkish War, the Congress of Berlin in 1878 gave Austria-Hungary a mandate to occupy and administer Bosnia and Herzegovina, which remained nominally Ottoman. Austro-Hungarian troops crushed fierce Muslim and Serb resistance in the summer of 1878.

Rule and society

As neither Austria nor Hungary would let the other have it, the province was run jointly through the common finance ministry, notably by Benjamin Kállay from 1882 to 1903, who promoted a shared Bosnian identity. Railways, mines, forestry and schools developed, and Sarajevo gained European-style buildings such as the City Hall. The Ottoman landholding system with its Christian serfs was largely kept.

Decline and legacy

Austria-Hungary annexed the territory in 1908, provoking the Bosnian Crisis, and granted a diet in 1910. On 28 June 1914 Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. In 1918 Bosnia joined the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs and then the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

Lineage

Bosnia and Herzegovina (Austro-Hungarian)State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs 1918 CE – 1918 CE

Connections (2)

  • Bosnia and Herzegovina (Austro-Hungarian) was a vassal of Ottoman Empire1878 CE – 1908 CE
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina (Austro-Hungarian) was part of Austro-Hungarian Empire1878 CE – 1918 CE

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Bosnia and Herzegovina (Austro-Hungarian). In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bosnia-and-herzegovina-austro-hungarian
MLA
“Bosnia and Herzegovina (Austro-Hungarian).” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bosnia-and-herzegovina-austro-hungarian. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Bosnia and Herzegovina (Austro-Hungarian).” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bosnia-and-herzegovina-austro-hungarian.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Bosnia and Herzegovina (Austro-Hungarian)’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/bosnia-and-herzegovina-austro-hungarian (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻