Kakanien

Ironic, but tender name for the former Habsburg Empire Austria-Hungary, derived from the two “K”-initials (pronounced “Kah” in German) of “königlich-kaiserlich” (royal-imperial), an adjective describing the different status of Habsburg rule in the Austrian (imperial) and Hungarian (royal) part of the Empire, respectively. Used by writers such as Roth or Musil to describe the mentality and climate of the Habsburg cultural sphere.