Austria consists of eleven German provinces and two others, each with its own provincial Diet, and a central Diet under the emperor; thus, there is a duplication of debate on political and legislative matters, just as in Germany. Originally, Austria was part of the German Confederation, but later it withdrew and formed the Austrian Confederation.

The Austro-Hungarian lands are more or less rectangular in shape. While Austria is one area of Germany, Hungary is a part of the land of the Huns, so in race and customs they are quite distinct. The topography of Austria-Hungary, put most simply, consists of mountains and valleys in Austria and plains in Hungary.

Because Austria is such a mountainous country, there is no possibility of river transportation. Furthermore, the terrain is rather steep and difficult for constructing railways, but by 1860 more than 4,800 miles of track had been laid. By 1873 this had already been substantially increased to 9,158 miles. The principal cities, such as Vienna, Pest [Budapest], Prague and Trieste, are all well connected. The Austrian and Prussian governments resolved by law to construct the main lines connecting their countries themselves and to leave branch lines to private companies, but at one time the Austrian government, suffering from financial difficulties, abrogated this law and thereafter all new lines were left to private companies to construct, and even sections due to be constructed by the government were entrusted to them.