Politics

 The developments that took place during Emperor Franz Joseph's long rule laid the foundations for the 20th century. It was marked by a slow process of democratisation. In the revolution of 1848 the economically strengthened middle classes demanded a greater political voice. From 1849 onwards the monarchy on the Danube was a constitutional monarchy. But despite having a constitution there were few similarities to a democracy in today's sense of the word.

At first, the right to vote was only held by those who paid high taxes. Gradually this census was reduced and different voter classes were introduced. The emergence of political parties also goes back to this period. Towards the end of the monarchy almost all Austrian male citizens were entitled to vote – but women were excluded. One of the lasting achievements of the 1848 revolution was the view of local communities as one of the foundations of the free state.