Austria and France sign the Treaty of Pressburg.

The fourth Peace of Pressburg  was signed on 26 December 1805 between Napoleon and Holy Roman Emperor Francis II as a consequence of the French victories over the Austrians at Ulm  and Austerlitz. A truce was agreed on 4 December, and negotiations for the treaty began. The treaty was signed in Pressburg, at that time in Hungary, by Johann I Josef, Prince of Liechtenstein, and the Hungarian Count Ignaz Gyulai for Austria and Charles Maurice de Talleyrand for France.

Beyond the clauses establishing “peace and amity” and the Austrian withdrawal from the Third Coalition, the treaty also mandated substantial European territorial concessions 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 into the Kingdom of Italy, of which Napoleon had become king earlier that year. Augsburg, previously an independent Free Imperial City, was ceded to Bavaria. As a minor compensation, Austria received the Electorate of Salzburg.

The Primate’s Palace, where the Peace of Pressburg was signed
Emperor Francis II also recognized the kingly titles assumed by the Electors of Bavaria and Württemberg, which foreshadowed the end of the Holy Roman Empire. Within months of the signing of the treaty and after a new entity, the Confederation of the Rhine, had been created by Napoleon, Francis II renounced his title as Holy Roman Emperor and became Emperor Francis I of Austria. An indemnity of 40 million francs to France was also provided for in the treaty.