The founding of Hernals as the 17th district of Vienna came during the end of the 19th century. After the suburb cities ("Vorstädte") of Vienna were annexed in 1850, discussions began in the 1870s to annex more of the surrounding areas. Although the areas were against such an annexation, Emperor Franz Joseph I declared in 1888 that it would be so. The decree took effect on January 1, 1892 and united Hernals, Dornbach, and Neuwaldegg together as the 17th district. At that time, the Hernals township was the most significant of the three and was the most populous township of Lower Austria beside Vienna.