Why is Austria a Grand Duchy, and not an ordinary Duchy

After the emperor of the East Frankish Empire became extinct, the dukes and marquis of the East Frankish Empire unanimously decided that the emperor would take turns to come to my house next year, so, under the leadership of the Pope, the three archdioceses of Cologne, Mainz, and Trier, and the four secular princes of the Brandenburg Domain, the Kingdom of Bohemia, the Duchy of Saxony, and the Count of the Palatinate were the seven emperors, and the name of the country was also changed to "The Holy Roman Empire of the Germans".

Austria started as a small count near Switzerland, later became the Duke of Austria, and took advantage of the contradictions between the powerful vassal states to be elected Emperor of the HRE in succession.

Then the problem arises, the Habsburgs came from a relatively humble background, and although they were successively elected emperors, they still lacked sufficient prestige, so one of the dukes of the family (specifically forgot) forged an extremely noble family lineage for himself, and called himself the Grand Duke, in order to show that his status was higher than that of other dukes.

Later, the title of Grand Duke gradually spread, evolving into the title of head of state of some independent principalities.

The Grand Duchy is a country headed by a hereditary Grand Duke, the Grand Duke holds the supreme power of the country, and is a feudal monarchy, and the Duchy is similar to the Grand Duke, and there is no essential difference.

In Western Europe, the Grand Duke was originally a feudal rank of princes, whose status was slightly higher than that of the Duke. And the country ruled by the Grand Duke is called the Grand Duchy, which is the same as our ancient vassal states.

Any city-state or micro-state with a monarch as its head can be called a grand duchy or principality in Chinese or Japanese, and the grand duchy is larger in area and has more complete state institutions than the principality.

Austria has its origins in the Eastern Frontier of Bavaria (Mark), founded by the Holy Roman Emperor Otto II. During the struggle between the Welf and Stauffen families, Henry X of the Welf family was stripped of the Duchy of Bavaria by King Conrad III of Rome, which was placed under the rule of the Babenburgs. Around 1147, Henry II of the House of Babenburg was appointed Duke of Bavaria and Marquis of Austria.

A principality, or principality in English, refers to a country in which the monarch has the title of prince. In Chinese, the word prince is translated as prince or prince, but when it comes to being the monarch of a principality, prince is usually translated as "grand duke"; Grand Duchy, known in English as grand duke, refers to a country with the title of grand duke, which is translated as "grand duke" or "grand duke" in Chinese. Prince and Grand Duke are both titles of nobility, and although they are the same or similar in Chinese translation, there are fundamental differences between the two.

Prince usually refers to a member of the royal family, such as the king's son; The Grand Duke is a title of title that is higher than that of a prince, but it is not necessarily given to members of the royal family, and is usually awarded to high-ranking commanders who have defended their territory and achieved great military achievements. After the independence of the European "vassal states", this title gradually evolved into the title of independent monarch, such as the "Grand Duke of Luxembourg" today.

The Habsburgs, once rulers of the Holy Roman Empire, Austria-Hungary, came to an end in 1918 with the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the last ruler of the Habsburg dynasty, Karl I (known as Karl IV in Hungary), issued a declaration that he would renounce any opportunity to participate in the affairs of the Austrian state. A few days later, the same announcement was made in Hungary, and the Habsburg Empire came to an end. Although Karl I did not formally abdicate the throne, the new state cut him off, and in 1919 the new Austria passed a law expelling all members of the Habsburgs from Austria until they relinquished the throne and accepted the status of ordinary citizens.

In 1956, former Crown Prince Otto returned to Austria, relinquishing all the privileges previously enjoyed by members of the Habsburg royal family. In 2007, Otto's son Karl became the patriarch of the House of Habsburg, and Karl is currently nominally "Grand Duke of Austria, Prince of Hungary, Bohemia and Croatia, and heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary", but none of these titles are recognized by the countries of the region**.

A lowly family in Austria, called the Habsburgs, when he was emperor, in order to increase its prestige, forged an extremely noble family lineage for himself, claiming to be the Grand Duke, in order to show his status above the other dukes. Later, the title of Grand Duchy gradually spread, so Austria was called the Grand Duchy.