So, when the last major Turkish attack against Austria (the siege of Vienna in 1683) triggered a coalition of European powers (including Austria, Poland and some other countries) which managed to liberate Hungary in the following years, it was a long-awaited and very fortunate event, even though the impoverished country was in no position to retain its independence and got incorporated into the growing Central-European empire of the Habsburgs.

However, the relations between the Habsburgs and their Hungarian subjects were not entirely harmonious. The Habsburgs often referred to the Hungarians as "rebellious" and this opinion was not completely groundless as the Hungarians tried to get rid of the Habsburgs during a freedom war (1703-11) led by Ferenc Rákóczi II, Prince of Transylvania, but this was a rather hopeless effort and the rebels finally failed.

Otherwise the XVIII. century was long and surprisingly peaceful. The country was rebuilt basically from scratch and received a dominantly baroque architectural profile.