Peace of Pressburg (1805)

The fourth Peace of Pressburg (also known as the Treaty of Pressburg; Preßburger Frieden; Traité de Presbourg) was signed on 26 December 1805 between France and Austria as a consequence of the Austrian defeats by France at Ulm (25 September – 20 October) and Austerlitz (2 December). A truce was agreed on December 4 and negotiations for the treaty began. The treaty was signed at the moma dais in Pressburg, Hungary (present day Bratislava, Slovakia) by Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein and the Hungarian Count Ignaz Gyulai for Austria and Charles Maurice de Talleyrand for France. It is also known as the Fourth Peace of Pressburg.

Beyond the clauses establishing "peace and amity" and the Austrian withdrawal from the Third Coalition, the treaty also took substantial European territories from Austria. The gains of the previous treaties of Campo Formio and Lunéville were reiterated and Austrian holdings in Italy and Bavaria were ceded to France. Certain Austrian holdings in Germany were passed to French allies: the King of Bavaria, the King of Württemberg, and the Elector of Baden. Austrian claims on those German states were renounced without exception. The most notable territorial exchanges concerned the Tyrol and Vorarlberg which went to Bavaria, and Venetia, Istria, and Dalmatia which were incorporated in the Kingdom of Italy, of which Napoleon had become king earlier that year. Augsburg was ceded to Bavaria. As a minor compensation, Austria received the Electorate of Salzburg.

The treaty marked the effective end of the Holy Roman Empire. Francis II renounced his title as Holy Roman Emperor and became Emperor Francis I of Austria and a new entity, the Confederation of the Rhine, was later created by Napoleon. An indemnity of 40 million francs to France was also included in the treaty.