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Extinguished Countries is a series of travel guidebooks to countries that no longer exist.

Extinguished Countries is a project at the crossroads of history, journalism and travel literature. We don’t follow today’s borders but take you on a journey through time and space to lost kingdoms, republics and empires, looking for what unites us rather than divides us. It's a time machine for travellers!

Extinguished Countries started in 2020 with a successful crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. In 2021 we published our first guidebook: Republic of Venice, a journey through seven states and a 1000-year old republic. Now, it's time for an even bigger adventure, one that explains many of the challenges that Europe is facing today: the Habsburg Empire.

This was the Habsburg Empire in 1914, just before it disappeared from the world's map:

POLAND CZECHIA UKRAINE GERMANY SLOVAKIA AUSTRIA HUNGARY SWITZERLAND ROMANIA CROATIA BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA SERBIA ITALY BULGARIA MONTENEGRO

Why is this important?

At a time when Europe is experiencing resurgent nationalism, the Extinguished Countries guidebooks show that throughout history, countries change–and sometimes even disappear. They leave behind composite cultural legacies, which are part of the reason why, today we have many things in common, not only with our neighbours, but also with people that might live far away and were once connected to us. There are legends, traditions, dishes that we share from our common past, and that bring us closer rather than farther apart.

This is not a nostalgic or revisionist journey. Even if our guides play the game of imagining that a former country still exists, their objective is not to celebrate defunct political realities. On the contrary: by interviewing hundreds of people from Vienna to L'viv and from Budapest to Sarajevo, we show different perspectives. Besides gathering different perspectives from residents and scholars of a former empire, our guidebooks introduce a new way of traveling. You’ll be walking on today’s streets, but at the same time traveling back in time, following maps and itineraries from the past. It's a sort of augmented reality that allows you to hop on and off from the present into the past.

A great way to travel around the Habsburg Empire? By train!

The Habsburg Empire

For over six centuries, until the end of the First World War, the Habsburgs ruled over a big part of Europe. The shape of their empire varied greatly throughout history (it even included Mexico at one moment!). At the time of its downfall, the Habsburg Empire included parts of 13 contemporary countries: Austria, Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro and Italy.

Our guidebook will take you across the Alps and along the Danube. You’ll discover a dinasty both fascinating and terrible, a multilingual and multicultural society and a rich history, the legacy of which is still visible today. It's a story of epic battles and technological discoveries, social transformation and revolutions.

Is the Habsburg mustache back in fashion?

What's in the book?

Legends, recipes, maps, fun facts and much more... The book is the result of hundreds of interviews with historians, linguists, researchers, chefs and other people with very different backgrounds. You'll get their best stories and insights as well as extra book, movie and travel tips. The chapters are structured by today’s countries, preceded by a handy historical introduction. You can focus on the countries you are interested in, or read it all in one go—you’ll find it hard to put down.

The Habsburg Empire is a 320-page illustrated guidebook that spans 13 different countries and over six centuries of history. We'll go to seaside destinations, mountain villages and big metropolises, observe them as they are today and as they were a few centuries ago. The book's pocket format (21,5 x 14,5 cm) makes it a convenient read not only during your travel preparations, but also throughout your journey.

What are the characters, places, events and gastronomic specialities we'll talk about? Here's a hint!

SarajevoJoseph Roth Johann Strauss Franz Ferdinand 1914 Empire Sigmund Nordbahn Südbahn Timisoara Freud Maramures Bohemia Klagenfurt Spritz revolution Wolfgang Waltz Mozart Rijeka Habsburg Trieste Krakow Budapest Steam engine Wiener Schnitzel Galicia LinzFranz Transylvania Charles Kafka Prague Vienna Goulash

Our rewards

A one way ticket to the Habsburg Empire | Whichever reward you choose, you can download the one-way ticket to the Habsburg Empire here. It's a little gift from us: a printable PDF that you can, for example, give to your friends for Christmas while they wait for the reward you've chosen for them to arrive.

ONE WAY TICKET TO THE HABSBURG EMPIRE Thistrain will stop in Trieste, Prague, Krakow, Lviv, Zagref, Sarajevo, Nove and many more

A bookmark | Can you recognise this map? We've created an original and intriguing bookmark to help you flip through the pages of your favourite Extinguished Countries book.

Habsburg stickers | A set of cool stickers to use while you chat. You'll find Franz Joseph, Sisi, and other unexpected characters!

Habsburg Empire map | A digital version of the map of Habsburg Empire as it was in 1914 with stories and important dates. It was hand-drawn by our designer Iva Hrvatin specifically for this occasion!

Ebook | If you use an e-reader, this is the reward for you: our new book The Habsburg Empire in a digital format (mobi, epub and pdf) for all your devices!

Book | This is THE reward! Get our new guidebook to a country that no longer exists, directly to your doorstep. It's a 320-page full colour and illustrated book with dozens of maps, recipes, photos, interviews and much more. Format: 21,5 x 14,5 cm.

Republic of Venice book and eBook | Did you miss our first guidebook? Get the book or the eBook in a bundle with the Habsburg Empire! Continue your historical journey to the former Republic of Venice, a 1000-year-old state that extended from Italy to Cyprus. It's a story full of spices, naval battles, and centuries of intrigue..

House of Habsburg podcast | Our new podcast tells three mysterious crime stories from the Habsburg Empire. Who killed Sisi and why? What route did Franz Ferdinand's carriage take in Sarajevo on the day of the shooting? How did Charles V die? This podcast is an exclusive reward for supporters who choose it.