Levin Rauch

Who was Levin Rauch?

Baron Levin Rauch de Nyék was an Austrian-Hungarian politician and appointed Ban of Croatia-Slavonia between 1867 and 1871. He is most notable for securing victory of the Unionist Party through changing the election law and terrorising those who were able to vote.

Rauch was a member of the unionist party that advocated an integration of Croatia and Hungary. After the Revolutions of 1848, Croatia became a Habsburg crown territory separate from Hungary, but when the Austrian-Hungarian Ausgleich was signed, Austria-Hungary was created and Rauch was appointed as the acting ban of Croatia on June 27, 1867. By this, the Croatian autonomy within the Hungarian kingdom was automatically abolished.

During this time a new Croatian-Hungarian Settlement was negotiated and put in effect by which Croatia reinstated some of its earlier autonomy, but also lost some other rights. Rauch was made the official ban on December 8, 1868 and remained in office until January 26, 1871.

His heritage spawns from the noble house of “Rauch” literally meaning ‘Smoke’. The daughter of General Gustav Rauch, Rosalie von Rauch, married Prince Albert of Prussia.