Illyrien

Illyria, ancient name of the countries on the eastern shores of the Adriatic (named after the Illyrians). When the French victory of 1809 (Peace of Schönbrunn) compelled Austria to cede its South Slav lands to France, Napoleon combined eastern Tirol, eastern Carinthia, Carniola, Gorizia-Gradisca, Trieste and Croatia south of River Savus (Sava) with Istria, Dalmatia and Ragusa (now Dubrovnik) to form the Illyrian Provinces. After the Congress of Vienna the French were forced to return the Illyrian Provinces to the Austrian Empire and in 1816 the Illyrian kingdom was formed (capital Laibach/Ljubljana); Carinthia was fully integrated into the kingdom in 1825; the kingdom was finally dissolved into Carinthia, Krain/Carniola and the coastal areas in 1849.

Literature: H. Braumüller, Geschichte Kärntens, 1949.