Treaty of Vienna (1866)
The 1866 Treaty of Vienna was an agreement signed on 3 October 1866 and ratified on 12 October by the Kingdom of Italy and the Austrian Empire that concluded the hostilities of the Third War of Italian Independence,[1] a theatre of the concurrent Austro-Prussian War.
This article is about the Treaty of Vienna of 1866. For other treaties, see Treaty of Vienna (disambiguation).Type
Peace Treaty
3 October 1866
Austrian Empire
Kingdom of Italy
The treaty confirmed the terms of 12 August Armistice of Cormons,[1] resulting in the transfer of Venetia and most of Friuli to the French Empire, who then gave the region to Italy after the consent of the inhabitants through a referendum. This represented the final division of the Habsburg ruled Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia, as the Lombard half had been ceded to the Kingdom of Sardinia in the earlier 1859 Treaty of Zurich. The treaty forced the Austrian government to recognise the sovereignty of the new Italian Kingdom. This coupled with the Prussian defeat of Austria made apparent the decline of the Habsburg monarchy as a great power. The treaty also signalled the rise of Italy as the sixth great power of Europe.[1]
Consequences of the Treaty[edit]
For Austria the Treaty of Vienna and the concurrent Treaty of Prague with Prussia were national humiliations, one Austrian general remarked ‘that we [Austria] have sunk to the level of Turkey’.[1] As a result of the twin defeat to both Prussia and Italy the Austrian government incurred a massive state debt, throwing the government into turmoil. With the Empire on the brink of collapse the Viennese government was forced to partake in the 1867 Austro-Hungarian Compromise, which forced the Austrian government to grant significant autonomy to the Hungarian portion of the Empire. This resulted in the Empire being renamed as the Austro-Hungarian Empire and brought about greater equality between Hungarian and German speaking peoples of the Empire.[1] With the loss of Venetia Austrian influence on the Italian Peninsula established by the Congress of Vienna was brought to an end. All this combined reinforced the idea that Austria had become a second-rate great power.
The treaty brought the Italian state greater prestige and elevated its diplomatic position in Europe as a great power. However, due to Italy’s poor performance in the war Austria was able to retain several strategic mountains passes and mountain peaks in the Alps. This would have serious strategic implications for Italy during the First World War when fighting on the Alpine Front against Austria.[1]