Austria History

Archaeological evidence such as salt mines and a cemetery found in Hallstatt in upper Austria showed that human settlements in present-day Austria had already occurred in prehistoric times.  Later, and before the Romans came in 200 BC, the region was occupied by Celtic tribes from western Europe.  Eventually these tribes formed the Kingdom of Noricum which ruled a large area stretching from Austria to Slovenia.  As Roman influence grew, the Noricum kingdom confronted the Romans in 16 BC but was defeated and eventually absorbed into the Roman Empire.

As the Roman Empire weakened in the second century AD, various European tribes nibbled at its fringes.  Among these were Bavarians who conducted raids deep inside the empire and by the 6th century, took control of part of the territory in present-day Austria.  In 788 AD, Charlemagne, King of the Franks, conquered western and central Europe and named an area around the Danube as marchia Orientalis (Eastern March), which later became the word “Osterreich” in German.  This territory was given to Leopold of Babenberg, a Bavarian Count, and Austria became one of the largest duchies which he owned.

During the period of Babenberg rule, Vienna became home to the rulers of the dynasty becaue by then the city had become a major center of religious, cultural and political activities.  The Babenberg dynasty ended with the death of its last ruler Frederick II in 1246.  Some thirty years later, the duchy of Austria fell into the hands of Rudolf I of Germany (also called Rudolf of Hapsburg) after he defeated his rivals in 1278 during the struggle for control of Central Europe and the Holy Roman Empire.  Rudolf I was actually a Swiss noble, but in his life time, he came to own some German principalities and eventually was chosen by the Germans to push back the Slavic king from Bohemia who was trying to claim the Austrian throne.

From 1278 and for 600 years, the Habsburgs became the rulers of Austria and other territories such as Spain and its Italian, African and American territories, the Netherlands, Hungary and Bohemia which they acquired during the period either through marriage or by force.  Meanwhile, the Hapsburgs also had to contend with the Ottomans who tried to wrestle Hungary away from the Europeans and twice laid sieges of Vienna, first in 1529 and again in 1683.  Afterwards, the Hapsburgs joined forces with Venice, Russia and Poland, defeated the Ottomans and took control of most of Hungary in 1699. 

With the Ottoman threat gone, Austria’s arts and culture flourished for the next 100 year until it was disrupted by the rise of Napoleon who conquered many Austrian territories until his defeat in 1815.  Since Austria fought alongside the allies against Napoleon, it emerged from the Congress of Vienna as one of the four major European powers and tried to reconsolidate the empire. 

In 1848, the revolutions in Europe by the masses shook many countries, including Austria, whose government took strong steps to suppress the revolution.  What was harder to suppress was the movement to create a unified German state; in that year a confederation was formed but there was a dispute between Austria and Prussia as to who should rule over the German lands.  This led to the Austro-Prussian.war of 1866, the defeat of Austria and its departure from German politics.  Following this, Austria and Hungary formed a monarchy of Austria-Hungary headed by the Austrian Emperor, and this entity still ruled over many other ethnic groups, including Serbs, Czechs, Croats, Italians, Romanians, Ukrainians and Poles.  In the age of nationalism, this became the trigger which led to the assassination of the heir to the Austrian throne in 1914, World War I, defeat and break-up of the Empire, dissolution of the monarchy and formation of the first Austrian republic in 1918. 

Political events and upheavals in the next 30 years resulted in further instability in the country, including invasion and annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany during WW II.  After the war, the allied powers occupied the country.  In 1955, Austria regained full independence and declared itself permanently neutral.