Page "History of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown (1648–1867)" Paragraph 8

But in response to pressures from the nobility, Joseph's successor, Leopold II ( 1790 – 1792 ), abrogated many of Joseph's edicts and restored certain feudal obligations.

( Serfdom was not completely abolished until 1848.

) Under Francis II ( 1792 – 1835 ), the aristocratic and clerical reaction gathered strength.

The war against revolutionary France and the subsequent Napoleonic wars caused a temporary interruption of the reactionary movement.

In 1804, Francis II transferred his imperial title to the Austrian domains ( Austria, Bohemian Kingdom, Hungary, Galicia, and parts of Italy ), and two years later the Holy Roman Empire was formally dissolved.

The Austrian Empire came into existence and was to play a leading role in the newly established German Confederation.

From 1815, after the conclusive defeat of Napoleon, the policy of reaction devised by Austria's foreign minister, Prince Metternich, dominated European affairs.