Sažetak knjige

Habsburg Empire is the second volume in the Extinguished Countries series, a collection of travel guides dedicated to countries that no longer exist. The largest free trade area in Europe. An expanse of nearly 700,000 square kilometers governed by common institutions and home to dozens of different peoples. A multilingual, multiethnic, and multireligious state where transactions were made in a single currency. The European Union? No: the Habsburg Empire on the eve of World War I. From Trieste to Lviv, from Prague to Sarajevo—passing, of course, through Vienna and Budapest—get ready for a journey to the roots of European identity. We’ll visit cities that were among the most modern of their time and meet artists and intellectuals who shaped an era. We’ll linger in historic cafés, savor iconic dishes and desserts, and travel along railway lines still in use across Europe today. As in the first volume in this series, dedicated to the Republic of Venice, we trace the story of the Habsburg Empire by seeking out what remains of it in the countries that succeeded it. Dozens of historians, linguists, anthropologists, and other experts answer our questions and guide us on a journey full of surprises—between past and present. Who were the Habsburgs, this Swiss-born dynasty that ruled much of Europe for centuries? What was their empire—and why did it disappear? And what do people living in its former lands think of it today? Hop aboard—our journey begins.