Generallandtag

General Provincial Diet: 1518 Emperor Maximilian I assembled a diet in Innsbruck, in session from January to May and attended by the Estates of the hereditary lands (domains west and east of the River Enns, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, Tirol and the "Forelands" - Austrian possessions, what is now Germany and Switzerland). After the Diets of Mürzzuschlag 1508 and Augsburg 1510, it was the Emperor´s third attempt at establishing a centralised administration with a common government, common defence and common finance for Austria and the Empire. 70 participants attended the Diet, presided over by the governor of Tyrol. On May 18 the results of the debates on court order, armaments and general complaints were summarised in 3 documents. The Emperor promised that monies would be put to reasonable use, the Estates were granted better status. This general diet was the first all-Austrian parliament and marked an important step toward a centralised state.

Literature: A. Nagl, Der Innsbrucker Generallandtag vom Jahre 1518, Jahrbuch für Landeskunde von Niederösterreich 18/19, 1919; H. Wiesflecker, Kaiser Maximilian I., vol. 4, 1981; G. Burkert, Die österreichischen Ausschußlandtage, Bericht des 18. Historikertags Linz, 1990; A. Widowitsch-Ziegerhofer, Die österreichischen Ausschußlandtage, master´s thesis, Graz 1989.