Austria

G

Defense

An Austrian army was authorized by the treaty of May 15, 1955. Under the terms of this treaty, which promulgated Austria’s sovereignty and neutrality, no limitation was placed on the army size, but its equipment was restricted to conventional weapons. Austria has compulsory military service of six months plus duty in the reserves for men aged 18 to 50. In 2004 the Austrian armed forces included 39,900 members. Austria is not a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). However, it has contributed to UN and NATO peacekeeping forces.

VI

History

Very little is known about the original inhabitants of Austria. Celtic peoples had appeared by about 700 bc. They mined salt in Hallstatt in Upper Austria, which has given its name to a late Bronze Age culture. The Celts also built settlements in other parts of Austria and merged with older residents of Austria.

A

Early Period

Much of the region inhabited by the Celts south of the Danube River was known as Noricum. The western uplands region between the upper Rhine River, the lower course of the Inn River, and the Bavarian and subalpine plateau was known as Rhaetia, an area which also included parts of modern-day Germany and Switzerland. The plains region in the east and southeast was known as Pannonia and included areas in present-day Hungary and Slovenia. The Romans invaded all three regions about 15 bc and made them provinces of the Roman Empire. Under Roman control, the provinces eventually became outposts for offensive and defensive action against various Germanic tribes.

To a large extent Roman strategy was based on the fact that the region contains important passes through the Eastern Alps and thus commands vital transportation arteries between northern, southern, western, and eastern Europe. One of the first Roman military posts in the region was Vindobona (now Vienna), which was located on the site of a Celtic settlement on the edge of the Eastern Alps and on an arm of the Danube. Vindobona became an important strategic crossroads for two main trade routes and for numerous roads leading into the fertile basin of Niederösterreich. Carnuntum (now Petronell), east of present-day Vienna, was another important Roman center in the area. Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius composed part of his Meditations at Carnuntum, and he died at Vindobona in ad 180.

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As a result of periodic overpopulation and land hunger, combined with pressure from remote peoples and the attraction of the wealth of the peaceful Roman provinces, tribes of the Germanic peoples attacked the provincial frontiers at various times starting in ad 166. The frontiers completely broke down during the 4th century ad. Goths, Rugians, Lombards, Vandals, Ostrogoths, and Huns at one time or another crossed the Vienna Basin. The Alamanni advanced into Rhaetia, the Herulians captured Juvavum (now Salzburg), and the Goths advanced along the Drava (Drau) River.

The Slavs and the Avars moved into Pannonia from the east and southeast at about the same time the Germans invaded the northwest. By the mid-6th century the German Bavarians had occupied Tirol, and the Alamanni had settled to the west. The Slavic peoples were split into northern and southern groups by Asiatic Avars and Bavarians contending for control of the Danube River valley. The Avars left only superficial traces in the country, but the Slovenes built settlements in the depopulated valleys of the Eastern Alps. The Germans finally overwhelmed the Slovene settlements, which could not depend on a continuous stream of new settlers. In a few areas of what are now Kärnten and Steiermark the Slovenes managed to establish permanent settlements.

In the western regions Irish, Frankish, and English missionaries converted the Germans, and the towns of Salzburg and Passau emerged as centers of Christian work and culture. A cathedral was constructed in Salzburg about 774, and before the end of the century the archbishop of the community had obtained jurisdiction over neighboring dioceses.

B

Medieval Era

During the 8th century, after strife among the Germans, the Franks secured the throne of Bavaria. Fighting continued during that century between the Avars and the Bavarians in the Danube River valley. At the end of the century Frankish leader Charlemagne devastated the territory of the Avars and established a series of outposts (military districts) of his empire in the country between the Enns and Raab rivers to serve as buffer territories against further encroachment from the east. One of these outposts was the Ostmark (Eastern March), which later became known as Ost Reich (Eastern Country) or Österreich (Austria). Other marches (border territories) in the east and southeast were Carantania and Carniola, and later Steiermark. These marches, however, were too weak to hold back intrusions from the east.

The Magyars, a nomadic people migrating slowly from the east, advanced easily along the Danube River valley until they were finally defeated by the German king Otto I at Augsburg in 955 in the Battle of the Lechfeld. Otto I revived the Eastern March as a bulwark against aggression from the east, and he gave the more influential title of margrave to its administrator. These moves marked the emergence of Austria as a political entity. The boundary of the Eastern March was slowly extended eastward until in the early 11th century it reached what later became known as Moravia. The margrave of Austria was subordinate to the duke of Bavaria, whose domain included this march. The main function of the margrave was the defense of the march and the outlying areas, and for that purpose the margraves enjoyed exceptional power.

Between 976 and 1246 the Babenberg rulers of Austria—first as margraves and later as dukes—contributed much to the growth of the march. They built cities and roads, encouraged trade, and enhanced their prestige by participation in the Crusades. Castles were built along the Danube, and inland. One of the outstanding figures of the house of Babenberg was Leopold III, who ruled from 1095 to 1136. Later canonized as a saint, Leopold founded an Augustinian abbey at Klosterneuburg, not far from his castle on Leopoldsberg near Vienna, and a Cistercian monastery at Heiligenstadt (now part of Vienna).

Vienna was chosen in 1146 as the seat of government. It benefited handsomely from the commercial stimulus that accompanied the Crusades. Early in the 13th century the city limits were extended, and Vienna was protected by strong, new fortifications. According to tradition, the fortifications were financed with the ransom paid for the release of English King Richard the Lion Hearted, who had been captured by the duke of Austria on his return from the Crusades. The Babenberg line ended in 1246, when Duke Frederick II died in battle, leaving no heirs.

A violent struggle for control of Austria—economically attractive and of large strategic importance—followed the death of the last Babenberg duke. King Ottokar II of Bohemia was elected duke and he strengthened his claim by marrying a sister of the last Babenberg. Ottokar conquered Steiermark, and he inherited Carinthia and a portion of Carniola during his reign from 1253 to 1278. His power was opposed by Rudolf I of Habsburg, who was elected Holy Roman emperor in 1273. In 1278 Ottokar was defeated in battle by Rudolf’s forces and slain. In 1282—one of the key dates in Austrian history—Rudolf proclaimed the lands of Austria a hereditary possession of the house of Habsburg, and such they remained until 1918. By 1283 most of the former domain of Ottokar had come under the rule of Rudolf’s son Albert I.

C

Austria Under the Habsburgs

The rise of Austria is closely linked to the house of Habsburg. From the beginning the Habsburgs conceived of their holdings as a private estate, and that attitude persisted, more or less, for more than 600 years. During the 14th and 15th centuries the Habsburgs increased their holdings in the eastern part of the Holy Roman Empire. Archduke Rudolf IV proclaimed the indivisibility of Habsburg hereditary possessions, which corresponded roughly to the modern republic of Austria. From 1438 until 1806 (except for 1742-1745), the archdukes of Austria held the title of Holy Roman emperor.

High spirited and ambitious, Rudolf IV devised strategies for uniting the kingdoms of Bohemia and Hungary to his possessions, and he dreamed of winning full independence from the German empire. He sponsored the founding of the University of Vienna (1365), financed the enlargement of Saint Stephen’s Church, and energetically promoted commerce and handicrafts. Rudolf died prematurely, having ruled from 1358 to 1365, and he never fully realized his ambitious plans.

During the Renaissance trade flourished with adjacent principalities and even with faraway Russia, whenever the absence of warfare permitted. Freight carried on the Danube to Hungary, Bohemia, and Germany almost equaled the great Rhine trade, and overland trade with Venice and other northern Italian cities reached impressive dimensions. Germany was a lucrative market for Austrian wines and grain, while Hungary purchased woolens and other textiles turned out by Austrian craftsworkers or imported from western Europe. Mines in the Salzkammergut yielded large quantities of salt.

During the reign of Emperor Maximilian I from 1486 to 1519, the Habsburg empire became a great power, as its territory expanded because of several advantageous marriages. His own marriage to Mary of Burgundy brought a large part of that territory into the empire. He also arranged the marriage of his son Philip (later Philip I of Castile) to Joanna, daughter of Ferdinand V and Isabella I. In this way he established the Habsburg claim to Spain and its possessions in Italy and the Americas.

Maximilian sponsored military reforms and encouraged art, literature, and learning. The paintings he collected later became the pride of Austrian museums. After Maximilian’s death in 1519 his grandson Charles, Philip I’s son, became Holy Roman emperor as Charles V.

Charles V combined under his rule the inheritances of his grandparents; Habsburg hereditary lands in Austria; the Low Countries; and Spain and its possessions. Charles held sway over vaster dominions than any other European ruler before or since. The extent of the Habsburg empire proved impossible for one monarch to rule. In 1521 and 1522 Charles gave Ferdinand lands in Austria and part of Germany. Division of the Habsburg dynasty into Spanish and Austrian branches was completed when Charles abdicated in 1556 as king of Spain in favor of his son Philip II and, in 1558, as Holy Roman emperor in favor of his brother Ferdinand.

Ferdinand I had married into the ruling house of Bohemia and Hungary and in 1526 had become king of Bohemia (now part of the Czech Republic). Previously, the possessions of the Habsburgs had been pretty thoroughly German in language, except for enclaves of Slavs. After the addition of Hungary and Bohemia, the Habsburg realm was highly diversified. The expanded domains contained many peoples—Magyars, Slovaks, Czechs, Serbs, Germans, Ukrainians, and Romanians.

Ferdinand’s reign was marked by wars with the Ottoman Empire. In 1526 Ottoman sultan Süleyman I crushed the Hungarian army and captured the city of Buda. Ottoman troops moved steadily west along the broad valley of the Danube, and in 1529 they stood before the gates of Vienna. Austria, with Polish help, repelled the invaders, who drew back into Hungary. Warfare between Austrian and Ottoman forces continued for two generations, and almost two centuries passed before Habsburg arms completely broke the dominion of the Ottomans over Hungary.