Reichsrat (Austria)

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Reichsrat (Imperial Council) was the Austrian Parliament from 1861 to 1918. It consisted of the Herrenhaus (House of Lords) and the Abgeordnetenhaus (House of Deputies).

Cisleithania was officially called "The kingdoms and lands represented in the Reichsrat" (German: die im Reichsrat vertretenen Königreiche und Länder). The members of the Abgeordnetenhaus were elected for a six-year term of office, but originally only by those male citizens who paid a certain amount of taxes. Starting in 1907, voting rights became independent from the amount of taxes paid, which gave stronger representation to less well-off individuals such as workers. Throughout its existence, the effectiveness of the Reichsrat suffered heavily from conflicts between the numerous constituent ethnic groups of the monarchy.

[edit] See also

• Austrian Parliament Building

[edit] External links

• AEIOU Encyclopedia
• Website of the Austrian parlament