Levin Rauch

Baron Levin Rauch de Nyék (1819 - 1890) was a politician from the Kingdom of Hungary in the late 19th century, the viceroy of Croatia-Slavonia, and of Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia for four years (1867-1871).

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" (or viceroy) 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 ("Nagodba") was negotiated and put in effect by which Croatia reinstated some of its earlier , 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 house assumed its noble status after the daughter of General Gustav Rauch, Rosalie von Rauch (1820 - 1879), married Prince Albert of Prussia (1809 - 1872). At this time, Princess Rosalie assumed the title of Countess von Hohenau. The title of Baron von Rauch and Count von Hohenau rest presently in the hands of descendants of the von Rauch line living in Australia.