The first document containing the word "Ostarrîchi"; the word is marked with a red circle.
TheEnglish wordAustrian is a derivative of the proper name Austria, which is a Latinization ofÖsterreich, the German name for Austria. This word is derived fromOstarrîchi, which first appears in 996. This, in turn, is probably a translation of the LatinMarcha Orientalis, which means "eastern borderland" (viz. delimiting the eastern border of theHoly Roman Empire). It was amargraviate of theDuchy of Bavaria, ruled by theHouse of Babenberg from AD 976.During the 12th century, theMarcha Orientalis under the Babenbergs became independent of Bavaria. What is today known asLower Austria corresponds to theMarcha Orientalis, whileUpper Austria corresponds to the eastern half of the core territory of Bavaria (the western half forming part of theGerman state ofBavaria).
The adjectiveAustrian entered the English language in the early 17th century, at the time referring toHabsburg Austria in the sense of "members of the Austrian branch of theHouse of Habsburg" (the junior branch emerging from the dynastic split into Austrian and Spanish Habsburgs in 1521), but from the 18th century also "a native or inhabitant of Austria".[18]
The unification of the various territories of Austria outside of the March of Austria proper(i.e., parts of Bavaria, Swabia, and Carinthia) was a gradual process offeudal politics during the High and Late Middle Ages, at first in theArchduchy of Austria under theHouse of Babenberg during the 12th to 13th centuries, and under theHouse of Habsburg after 1278 and throughout the 14th and 15th centuries. The various populations of these territories were not unified under the single name of "Austrians" before theearly modern period.[citation needed]
TheHabsburg, who had ruled the territory of Austria since theLate Middle Ages, greatly increased their political prestige and power with the acquisition of the lands of the crowns ofHungary andBohemia in 1526. The Hungarian aristocracy was more successful at retaining theMagyars' cultural and political preponderance in multi-ethnic Hungary than Bohemia, on three sides surrounded by German neighbours, which underwent a period of intense German colonisation,germanizing the leading classes of theCzech people as well. The common German identity of lands such as Carinthia, Styria, or Tyrol, and the ruling dynasty made it easier for these lands to accept the central government set up in Vienna in the mid-18th century.[citation needed]
The term Austrian in these times was used for identifying subjects of the Domus Austriae, the House of Austria, as the dynasty was called in Europe, regardless of their ethnic ancestry. Although not formally a united state, the lands ruled by the Habsburgs would sometimes be known by the name "Austria". In reality, they remained a disparate range of semi-autonomous states, most of which were part of the complex network of states that was theHoly Roman Empire (the imperial institutions of which were themselves controlled for much of their later existence by the Habsburgs). However, the second half of the 18th century saw an increasingly centralised state begin to develop under the reign ofMaria Theresa of Austria and her sonJoseph II.
After theFrench Revolution and the rise ofNapoleon, the emperorFranz II formally founded theAustrian Empire in 1804 and became, asFranz I the first Austrian emperor. For the first time, the citizens of the various territories were now subjects of the same state, while most of the German states,Prussia excluded, still cultivated theirKleinstaaterei and did not succeed in forming a homogenous empire. Following Prussia's victory in theAustro-Prussian War in 1866,Otto von Bismarck successfully unified theGerman Empire in 1871, which was Prussian-dominated, without the inclusion of Austria and the German Austrians.[19]
After Austria was excluded from Germany in 1866, the following year, Austria joined Hungary as a dual empire known as theAustro-Hungarian Empire. A further major change resulted from a reorganisation of the Austrian Empire in 1867 into adual monarchy, acknowledging the Kingdom of Hungary as an independent state bound to the remaining part of the empire, as well independent, by a personal and real union, the Emperor of Austria being the Apostolic King of Hungary (with both titles on the same level). The Austrian half, a patchwork of crown-lands, broadly coterminous with the modern-day Austria, theCzech Republic, and parts ofSlovenia,Poland,Ukraine,Italy, andCroatia, was bound together by the common constitution of 1867, stating that all subjects now would carry "uniform Austrian citizenship" and have the same fundamental rights. These non-Hungarian lands were not officially called the Austrian Empire. Until 1915, they were officially called "the Kingdoms and States Represented in the Imperial Council" and politicians used the technical termCisleithania (labelling the Hungarian lands asTransleithania). The general public called them Austria, and in 1915, the non-parliamentary Cisleithanian government decreed to use this term officially, too.
The idea of grouping allGermans into one nation-state gave way to a rapid rise of German nationalism within theGerman Confederation, especially in the two most powerful German states, Austria and Prussia. The question of how a unified Germany was to be formed was a matter of debate. TheGerman Question was to be solved by either unifying all German-speaking peoples under one state as the "Greater German solution" (Großdeutsche Lösung), which was promoted by the Austrian Empire and its supporters. On the other hand, the "Lesser German solution" (Kleindeutsche Lösung) advocated only to unify the northern German states and exclude Austria; this proposal was favored by theKingdom of Prussia and its supporters. This debate became known asGerman dualism.
The lands later called Cisleithania (exceptGalicia andDalmatia) were members of the German Confederation since 1815, as they had been part of the Holy Roman Empire until 1806. Until 1848, Austria and its chancellor, PrinceMetternich, unanimously dominated the confederation. The developing sense of a German nationality had been accelerated massively as a consequence of the political turmoil and wars that engulfedCentral Europe following theFrench Revolution and the rise to power ofNapoleon Bonaparte. Although the years of peace after Napoleon's fall quickly saw German nationalism largely pushed out of the public political arena by reactionary absolutism, theRevolutions of 1848 established it as a significant political issue for a period of nearly a hundred years.
A map of the German Confederation in 1849 showing the 39 independent states
Political debate now centred on the nature of a possible future German state to replace the Confederation, and part of that debate concerned the issue of whether or not the Austrian lands had a place in the German polity. When Emperor Franz Joseph I ordered to build a monument in Vienna in 1860 toArchduke Charles, victor over Napoleon in theBattle of Aspern-Essling in 1809, it carried the dedication "To the persistent fighter for Germany's honour", to underline the German mission of the House of Austria.
The idea of uniting all ethnic Germans into one nation-state began to be challenged in Austria by the rise ofAustrian nationalism, especially within theChristian Social Party that identified Austrians based on their predominantly Catholic religious identity as opposed to the predominantly Protestant religious identity of the Prussians.[20]
Habsburg influence over the German Confederation, which was strongest in the southern member states, was rivalled by the increasingly powerfulPrussian state. Political manoeuvering by the PrussianchancellorOtto von Bismarck resulted in the military defeat of the Austrians in the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 and the collapse of the Confederation, both effectively ending any future Austrian influence on Germanpolitical events.
When asked by Edward VII to abandon Austria-Hungary's alliance with Germany for co-operation with England, Franz Joseph replied "I am a German prince."[21][22]
TheFranco-Prussian War and the establishment of aGerman Empire in 1871, headed byPrussia and pointedly excluding any of the Austrian lands, led the state to turn away from Germany and turn its gaze towards theBalkan Peninsula. Thereby, the influence ofpan-Germanism was diminished in the Habsburg territories, but as the term "Austrians" still was used supra-national, German-speaking Austrians considered themselvesGermans (and were counted as such in the censuses). After Bismarck had excluded Austria from Germany, many Austrians faced a dilemma about their identity, which prompted the Social Democratic LeaderOtto Bauer to state that the dilemma was "the conflict between our Austrian and German character."[23] The state as a whole tried to work out a sense of a distinctively Austrian identity.[citation needed]
The Austro-Hungarian Empire created ethnic conflict between the German Austrians and the other ethnic groups of the empire. Many pan-German movements in the empire desired the reinforcement of an ethnic German identity, and that the empire would collapse and allow for a quick annexation of Austria to Germany.[24][25] Although it was precisely because of Bismarck's policies that Austria and the German Austrians were excluded from Germany, many Austrian pan-Germans idolized him.[26]
While the high bureaucracy of Austria and many Austrian army officers considered themselves "black-yellow" (the Habsburg colours), i.e., loyal to the dynasty, the term "German Austria" (Deutschösterreich) was a term used in the press to mean all the Austrian districts with an ethnic German majority among the inhabitants. Austrian pan-Germans such asGeorg Ritter von Schönerer and his followers agitated against the "multi-national" Austro-Hungarian Empire and advocated for German Austria to join the German Empire.[27] Although many Austrians shared the same views, a lot of them still showed allegiance to theHabsburg monarchy and hoped for Austria to remain an independent country.[28] Although not as radical as Schönerer and his followers, populists such asKarl Lueger used anti-semitism and pan-Germanism as a form of populism to further their own political purposes.[29]
Provinces claimed by German Austria, with the subsequent border of theFirst Austrian Republic outlined in red
The last year ofWorld War I saw the collapse of Habsburg authority throughout an increasingly greater part of its empire. On October 16, 1918, Emperor Karl I invited the nations of Austria to create national councils, to instigate a restructuring of the state under Habsburg rule. The nations followed the invitation (the Czechs had founded their national council already before the invitation), but ignored the will of the emperor to keep them in a restructured Austrian state. Their goal was total independence.[citation needed]
On October 21, the German members of the Austrian parliament, elected in 1911, met in Vienna to found the Provisional National Assembly of German Austria ("Provisorische Nationalversammlung für Deutschösterreich"). On October 30, 1918, they installed the first German Austrian government, leaving the question "monarchy or republic" open. (German nationalists and social democrats favoured the republic, the Christian Socialists wanted to keep the monarchy.) This government, in the first days of November, took over the duties of the last imperial-royal government in a peaceful way. Initially, the new state adopted the name "German Austria", reflecting the republic being the German part of the old Austria and showing the popular desire to unite with the new German republic. On November 12, 1918, the provisional national assembly voted for the republic and for unification with Germany with a large majority.[citation needed]
The creation of theCzechoslovak andSouth Slav states, the dissolution of thereal union withHungary, and the post-war treaties imposed by the victorious Allies combined to see the newly established Austrian republic both with the boundaries it has today, and a largely homogeneous German-speaking population. In theTreaty of Saint-Germain, in September 1919, the union with Germany was prohibited, and the new republic's name "Deutschösterreich" was prohibited by the treaty; instead, the term "Republic of Austria" was used. The westernmost provinceVorarlberg's wish to unite with Switzerland was also ignored. On October 21, 1919, the state changed its name accordingly. Many German Austrian communities were left scattered throughout the other new states, especially in Czechoslovakia, where more than 3 millionGerman Bohemians had not been allowed to become part of the new Austrian state, as well as in the southern part of Tyrol, which now found itself part of Italy. In total, more than 3.5 million German-speaking Austrians were forced to remain outside the Austrian state.
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian German by birth who was known as theFührer in Germany and annexed his birth country, Austria, to Germany in 1938 during theAnschluss.
The collapse of the empire caused an apparent struggle for some German Austrians between an "Austrian" and a "German" character.[30] The idea of unifying Austria with Germany was motivated both by a sense of a common Germannational identity, and also by a fear that the new state, stripped of its one-time imperial possessions, and surrounded by potentially hostile nation-states, would not be economically viable. An Austrian identity emerged to some degree during the First Republic, and although Austria was still considered part of the"German nation" by most,Austrian patriotism was encouraged by the anti-Nazi/anti-Socialist clerico-authoritarianist state ideology known asAustrofascism from 1934 to 1938. TheEngelbert Dollfuss/Kurt von Schuschnigg government accepted that Austria was a "German state" and believed Austrians were "better Germans", but strongly opposed the annexing of Austria to Nazi Germany.[31]
TheAustrian resistance to the Nazi rule started with the Anschluss in 1938. Historians estimate that there were about 100,000 members of the resistance facing 700,000NSDAP members in Austria.[39]
Karl Renner andAdolf Schärf (Socialist Party of Austria [Social Democrats and Revolutionary Socialists]), Leopold Kunschak (Austria's People's Party [former Christian Social People's Party]), and Johann Koplenig (Communist Party of Austria) declared Austria's secession from the Third Reich by the Declaration of Independence on 27 April 1945 and set up aprovisional government in Vienna under state Chancellor Renner the same day, with the approval of the victoriousRed Army and backed byJoseph Stalin.[40] (The date is officially named the birthday of the second republic.) At the end of April, most of western and southern Austria was still under Nazi rule. On 1 May 1945, theFederal Constitutional Law of 1920, which had been terminated by dictator Dollfuss on 1 May 1934, was declared valid again. Though theAllied Powers treated Austria as a belligerent party in the war and maintained occupation of it after the Nazi capitulation, they accepted the Declaration of Independence and made the first national elections possible in the autumn of that year. By the end of 1945, Austria, under the supervision of the Allied Council in Vienna, had a democratic parliament and government again, acknowledged by all four Allied occupation zones.
"Red-White-Red Book" which was published by the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1946. The book describes the accepted version of the events during theAnschluss (1938-1945) by the founders of the Second Austrian Republic.
Allied occupation ended in 1955, when theAustrian State Treaty between Austria and the Allies was signed.
Immediately after 1945, the majority of Austrians still saw themselves as Germans, as a broader Austriannational identity took time to develop. In a 1956 survey, 46% of Austrians still considered themselves to be Germans.[41] Another survey carried out in 1964 revealed that only 15% of Austrians still considered themselves to be Germans.[41]
In contrast, the Austrian political elite referred to their experiences in concentration camps and in prison, which had brought out a desire for the lost independence of the Austrian state. Kreissler (1993) writes: "It was not until after the (long dark) night of the Third Reich that Austrian identity was brought back to consciousness by resistance and exile".[42]Austrians developed a self-image unambiguously separate from their German neighbour. It was based on cultural achievements of the past, theMoscow Declaration, geopolitical neutrality, language variation, theHabsburg legacy, and the separation of the two empires in the late 19th century. TheGerman Empire was formed without Austria and theAustro-Hungarian Empire in the arrangement known as theKleindeutsche Lösung or "the Little Germany Solution". It proved favourable for Austrians not to be held guilty for World War II, genocide, and war crimes, sinceAustria was considered avictim of Nazi Germany, although some historians call this a "big lie" and have challenged this statement.[43]
Unlike earlier in the 20th century, in 1987 only 6% of Austrians identified themselves as "Germans".[44] Today, over 90% of the Austrians see themselves as an independent nation.[45][46]The logic of the existence of an independent Austrian state is no longer questioned as it was in the inter-war period. Proponents who recognize Austrians as a nation claim that Austrians haveCeltic heritage, as Austria is the location of the first characteristicallyCeltic culture to exist.[47] It is said that Celtic Austria became culturally Romanized under Roman rule and later culturally Germanized after Germanic invasions.[47] Contemporary Austrians express pride in having Celtic heritage, and Austria possesses one of the largest collections of Celtic artifacts in Europe.[48]
Austrians have historically spoken the German language. The sole official language at the federal level of Austria is German, and the standard used is calledAustrian German since German is considered apluricentric language, like English. Austrian German is defined by theAustrian Dictionary (German:Österreichisches Wörterbuch), published under the authority of the AustrianFederal Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture. Thus, all websites, official announcements, and most of the media are carried out in Austrian German. In terms of native language, it is generally not Austrian German that is used, but instead local dialects of theAustro-Bavarian andAllemannic (inVorarlberg and the Tiroler Außerfern) family. The Austro-Bavarian dialects are considered to belong either to theCentral Austro-Bavarian orSouthern Austro-Bavarian subgroups, with the latter encompassing the languages of theTyrol,Carinthia, andStyria and the former including the dialects ofVienna,Burgenland,Upper Austria, andLower Austria. The vast majority of Austrians are, however, able to speak Austrian Standard German in addition to their native dialect and English, as it is taught in all schools.[citation needed]
Like most ofCentral Europe, Austria has had high levels ofimmigration since the 1970s. As withGermany, the largest immigrant group isTurks. An estimated total of 350,000 ethnic Turks lived in Austria in 2010, accounting for 3% of the Austrian population.[50]
The rate ofnaturalization has increased after 1995, since which date Turks in Austria could retain their citizenship inTurkey after naturalization in Austria (dual citizenship). After 2007, the rate of naturalizations has decreased due to a stricter nationality law enacted by the Austrian legislature.[51]During the 2000s, an average of 27,127 foreign nationals per year were naturalized as Austrian citizens, compared to an average of 67,688 children per year born with Austrian nationality.[52]
Today, the largest group of foreign nationals are Germans. As of January 2018, 186,891 Germans lived in Austria.[53]
Vienna, the capital city of Austria, has long been an important center of musical innovation. Composers of the 18th and 19th centuries were drawn to the city by the patronage of theHabsburgs, and made Vienna the European capital of classical music.Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,Franz Schubert, andJohann Strauss, Jr., among others, were associated with the city. During theBaroque period,Slavic andHungarian folk forms influenced Austrian music.
Austrian cuisine, which is often incorrectly equated with Viennese cuisine, is derived from the cuisine of theAustro-Hungarian Empire. In addition to native regional traditions it has been influenced above all by German,Hungarian,Czech,Jewish,Italian andPolish cuisines, from which both dishes and methods of food preparation have often been borrowed. Goulash is one example of this. Austrian cuisine is known primarily in the rest of the world for its pastries and sweets.
Secularism has been on the rise since the 1980s. An estimated 66% of Austrians adhered to Roman Catholicism in 2009, compared to 78% in 1991 and 89% in 1961. There is a traditionalLutheran minority, accounting for 4% of the population in 2009 (down from 6% in 1961). An estimated 17% arenonreligious (as of 2005).
Islam in Austria has grown rapidly during the 1990s and 2000s, rising from 0.8% in 1971 to an estimated 6% in 2010, overtaking the traditional size of the Lutheran community in Austria.[54] This rapid growth was due to the significantimmigration to Austria from Turkey and Yugoslavia during the 1990s to 2000s.
^Spohn, Willfried (2005), "Austria: From Habsburg Empire to a Small Nation in Europe", Entangled identities: nations and Europe, Ashgate, p. 61
^("Ich bin ein Deutscher Fürst") Walter Wiltschegg: Österreich, der "zweite deutsche Staat"?: der nationale Gedanke in der Ersten Republik, Stocker, 1992, p. 41 (German)
^Richard Bassett, For God and Kaiser: The Imperial Austrian Army, 1619-1918, p. 40
^Bauböck, Rainer (2006),Migration and Citizenship: Legal Status, Rights and Political Participation, Amsterdam University Press,ISBN90-5356-888-3 p. 58.
The rate of naturalizations was about 7,700 per year during the 1980s. It rose to 16,000 in 1997, 25,000 in 1999, peaking at 45,000 in 2003. Since 2004, the figure has shown a decreasing trend, falling back to a 1970s level (below 7,000) by 2010.
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