TheMarch of Styria derived its name from the original seat of its rulingOtakar dynasty:Steyr, in today'sUpper Austria, which in turn derives its name from the namesake river of Steyr, stemming from the Celtic Stiria. In the native German the area is still called "Steiermark", while in English the Latin name "Styria" is used. Until the late 19th century however, the German name "Steyer", a slightly modernized spelling of Steyr, was also common. The ancient link between the city of Steyr and Styria is also apparent in their nearly identical coats of arms, a whitePanther on a green background. Styria is also popularly known as the "Green March", owing to it being the most forested of all the Austrian states, or as the "Iron Margraviate" for its long heritage of manufacturing and engineering.
The term "Upper Styria" (German:Obersteiermark) refers to the northern and northwestern parts of the federal state (districtsLiezen,Murau,Murtal,Leoben,Bruck-Mürzzuschlag). The districts of Leoben and Bruck-Mürzzuschlag are also called "High Styria" (Hochsteiermark).
The term "Western Styria" (Weststeiermark) is used for the districts west of Graz (Voitsberg,Deutschlandsberg, western part of the districtLeibnitz). Because of the similar landscape with hills, valleys, wine and culture, the region in western Styria is also called "Styrian Tuscany".[3]
The western and eastern parts of the districtGraz-Umgebung (literally, "Graz-surroundings") may or may not be considered parts of West and East Styria, respectively. The southern fourth of the historicDuchy of Styria, which afterWorld War I became part ofYugoslavia and laterSlovenia (except for World War II), was (and sometimes colloquially still is) referred to as "Lower Styria" (Untersteiermark;Slovene:Štajerska).
Styria was inhabited byCeltic tribes. After its conquest by theRomans, the eastern part of what is now Styria was part ofPannonia, while the western one was included inNoricum. During theBarbarian invasions, it was conquered or crossed by theVisigoths, theHuns, theOstrogoths, theRugii, and theLombards.Slavs under the domination of theAvars settled in the valleys around 600. At the same time, Bavarians underFrankish domination began to expand their area to the south and east, ultimately absorbing the Slavic population.
Under the Otakar dynasty, Styria was made into a margraviate in 1056 and in 1180, also separated from theDuchy of Carinthia to become a Duchy of its own; Per theGeorgenberg Pact, the Austrian Duke Leopold V also became Duke of Styria in 1192. After the demise of the Babenberg dynasty (to which Leopold belonged), Styria came briefly under the control of Hungary and later Bohemia. During this time, it lost vast parts of its territory, including the former capital Steyr (which would later form a significant part of the emerging "Duchy of Austria above the Enns" or Upper Austria), as well as Pitten (now the southeastern part of Lower Austria). When theHabsburgs reunified Austria in 1282, Pitten was returned to Styria until the 16th century when Austria finally annexed it. During this time, Styria formed the central part ofInner Austria.
Styria developed economically underArchduke John of Austria, the so-called "Styrian Prince", between 1809 and 1859.
In 1918, afterWorld War I, theDuchy of Styria was partitioned broadly along ethnic lines (, though where mixed, the defeated Austrian side lost the lands in question to Yugoslavia, such as the majority German-speaking Abstall basin,) into a northern part, constituting the Austrian state of Styria, as well as the continuation of the Styrian state altogether, and a southern one, traditionally calledLower Styria, though Lower Styria does not exist as any political entity and is only a traditional term. As a result of the turbulence of two world wars, theGerman-speaking population ofLower Styria, which had mainly been concentrated in the cities, particularly the so-called "Festungsdreieck" (fortress-triangle) ofMaribor (Marburg an der Drau),Celje (Cilli) andPtuj (Pettau) migrated from the region or was expelled.
The federal state'sgross domestic product (GDP) was 49.6 billion € in 2018, accounting for 12.9% of Austria's economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €35,400 or 118% of the EU27 average in the same year.[4]
In 2004, Styria had the strongesteconomic growth rate in Austria at 3.8%—mainly due to the Graz area, which saw strong economic growth that year and has continued to grow in economic and population terms since then.
Styria is home to more than 150clean technology companies of which one dozen are world technology leaders in their field. The revenue of Styrian cleantech companies totals €2.7 billion. This equals 8 percent of the gross regional product (GRP) and is one of the highest concentrations of leading clean technology companies in Europe. The companies have an average (real) growth rate of 22 percent per year—well above the worldwide cleantech market growth of 18 percent per year. The region created roughly 2,000 additional green jobs in 2008 alone.[5]
TheFormula OneAustrian Grand Prix has been held in the region, first at theZeltweg Airfield in1964 and then at theOsterreichring from 1970 to 1987. The sport returned to the circuit, now redesigned and rebranded as the A1-Ring, from 1997 to 2003. Formula One once again returned to the circuit, now renamed the Red Bull Ring, in 2014 and has been held at the track every year since. The COVID-19 pandemic saw the 2020 Formula One calendar massively revised, resulting in the Red Bull Ring becoming the first circuit to host consecutive Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, with the first round running under the Austrian Grand Prix name and the second held as the Styrian Grand Prix. This continued in 2021.[6]
The federal state had been a stronghold of theAustrian People's Party (ÖVP) since 1945. Graz is markedly moreleft-wing than the rural districts of the federal state.
The governor (Austrian political term:Landeshauptmann) of Styria was, except from 2005 until 2015 and since 2024, always a ÖVP politican.
In the 2021 municipal election in Graz, theCommunist Party of Austria (KPÖ) surprisingly took over first place from the ÖVP, thus pushing long-time mayor Siegfried Nagl (ÖVP) out of office. The result was noted internationally.Elke Kahr led the KPÖ for a third time in the2021 Graz local election. Despite opinion polling suggesting a victory for the ruling ÖVP, the KPÖ became the largest party with 28.8% of votes and 15 seats. After the election, the KPÖ entered into coalition talks withThe Greens – The Green Alternative and theSocial Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ).[10] On November 13, 2021, the KPÖ, the Greens and the SPÖ announced their coalition: Graz gets a communist mayor with Elke Kahr.
In the 2005 elections for the federal state's parliament the SPÖ under their regional chairmanFranz Voves won the majority after the ÖVP had damaged its credibility through scandals and the secession of a high-ranking party member, who took part in the 2005 elections after setting up his own party. In these elections, the KPÖ also received many votes after it had gained much popularity through its role in local politics in Graz during the preceding years. The tworight-wing populist parties, theFreedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) and theAlliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ), failed to win seats.
In subsequent elections in 2010 and 2015, the SPÖ, the ÖVP, and the KPÖ each lost between one fourth and one third of their shares of the vote relative to 2005. The FPÖ grew from 4.6 percent to 26.8 percent.[11][12]
In the laststate election in 2024, the far-right Freedom Party reached first place for the first time with 34.8 percent of the vote. The current government of Styria is a coalition of FPÖ and ÖVP. The governor,Mario Kunasek, is a representative of the FPÖ. His deputy,Manuela Khom, is a ÖVP member.
Ottokar aus der Gaal (1265–1318/22), wroteSteirische Reimchronik (Styrian Rhyming Chronicle) - the first extensive work on history in the German language
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