Editing Brenner Pass (section)

=== Austrian Empire ===
Modernisation further took place under the [[Austrian Empire]] and the [[Brenner Railway]], which was completed in stages from 1853 to 1867. It became the first trans-Alpine railway without a major tunnel and at high altitude (crossing the Brenner Pass at 1,371 m). Completion of the railway enabled the Austrians to move their troops more efficiently; they had hoped to secure their territories of [[Veneto|Venetia]] and [[Lombardy]] (south of the Alps), but lost them to Italy following the [[Second Italian War of Independence]] in 1859 and [[Austro-Prussian War]] in 1866.{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}