Imperial Free City of Trieste

Imperial Free City of Trieste
Libera Città imperiale di Trieste (Italian)
Reichsunmittelbare Freistadt Triest (German)
1382–1809
1849–1922
Flag of Trieste, Imperial Free City
Coat of arms of Trieste (1850–1918) of Trieste, Imperial Free City
Coat of arms of Trieste (1850–1918)
Map of the Austrian Littoral
  Imperial Free City of Trieste
Location of Trieste, Imperial Free City
CapitalTrieste
45°38′N 13°48′E / 45.633°N 13.800°E / 45.633; 13.800
GovernmentFree city
Emperor 
LegislatureDiet of Trieste
Historical era
• Occupied by Venice
1369–72
• Ceded to Austria
October 1382
14 October 1809
• Austrian reconquest
1813
1816–49
4 November 1918
12 November 1920
28 October 1922
Area
191095 km2 (37 sq mi)
Population
• 1910
229,995
Preceded by
Succeeded by
County of Gorizia
Kingdom of Illyria
Illyrian Provinces
Kingdom of Italy
Today part of

The Imperial Free City of Trieste and its Territory (German: Reichsunmittelbare Stadt Triest und ihr Gebiet, Italian: Città Imperiale di Trieste e Dintorni) was a possession of the Habsburg monarchy in the Holy Roman Empire from the 14th century to 1806, a constituent part of the German Confederation and the Austrian Littoral from 1849 to 1920, and part of the Italian Julian March until 1922. In 1719 it was declared a free port by Emperor Charles VI; the construction of the Austrian Southern Railway (1841–57) turned it into a bustling seaport, through which much of the exports and imports of the Austrian Lands were channelled. The city administration and economy were dominated by the city's Italian population element; Italian was the language of administration and jurisdiction. In the later 19th and early 20th century, the city attracted the immigration of workers from the city's hinterlands, many of whom were speakers of Slovene.