agreement between Austria and Prussia reached on Aug. 20, 1865, after their seizure of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein from Denmark in 1864; it temporarily postponed the final struggle between them for hegemony over Germany. The pact provided that both the emperor of Austria and the king of Prussia were to be sovereign over the duchies, Prussia administering Schleswig and Austria administering Holstein (which was sandwiched between Schleswig to the north and Prussian territory to the south). Both duchies were to be admitted to the Zollverein (German Customs Union), headed by Prussia, though Austria was not a member.

This joint administration led to disputes between the two powers that ended with Austria's defeat and exclusion from Germany (1866).