TheHabsburg myth (German:Habsburgischer Mythos orHabsburgmythos;Italian:Mito asburgico) is apolitical myth present in thehistoriography andliterature of someCentral andEastern European countries, particularly inAustria, according to which the past rule of theHabsburg monarchy led to an era of prosperity in the region to look back on.[1] The concept was coined by the ItalianGermanistClaudio Magris in his 1963 thesisIl mito asburgico nella letteratura austriaca moderna ("The Habsburg myth in modern Austrian literature").[2]
Some important novelists that helped the emergence of what is nowadays referred to as the Habsburg myth wereStefan Zweig andJoseph Roth.[3] A possible correlation has been made between the Habsburg myth and the rise offascism in parts of Europe in the 20th century.[4] It has also been related to the currentEuropean Union (EU), as some early proponents ofEuropean integration and apan-European identity were inspired in the supranational multiethnic Habsburg Monarchy.[3]
