ABSTRACT
One of the most important signs of multiculturalism in the cities and towns of the Dual Monarchy were the churches and synagogues of the various confessions. The prominent religious diversity at the end of the nineteenth century in Austria-Hungary was the result of multiple historical processes. The dynasty itself was Catholic, the sovereign being called “Apostolic” and having among his titles that of “King of Jerusalem.” However, the hereditary lands that became part of the monarchy from the eighteenth century on were not all exclusively Catholic; indeed, some were not Catholic at all. Very few populations can be considered mono-confessional, though the Slovenes, Croats, Italians, and Poles were in their great majority Catholics, and the Serbs belonged quasi exclusively to Greek Orthodoxy. The Habsburgs were well aware of the confessional variety of their subjects and respectful of every religious community. 1
