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Thehistory ofVienna has been long and varied, beginning when theRoman Empire created a military camp in the area now covered by Vienna'scity centre. Vienna grew from the Roman settlement known asVindobona to be an important trading site in the 11th century. It became thecapital of theBabenberg dynasty and subsequently of the AustrianHabsburgs, under whom it became one ofEurope's cultural hubs. During the 19th century as the capital of theAustrian Empire and laterAustria-Hungary, it temporarily became one of Europe's biggest cities. Since the end ofWorld War I, Vienna has been the capital of theRepublic of Austria.
The nameVindobona derives from aCeltic language, suggesting that the region must have been inhabited before Roman times. TheRomans created a military camp (occupied byLegio XGemina) during the 1st century on the site of thecity centre of present-dayVienna. The settlement was raised to the status of amunicipium in 212. Even today, the streets of theFirst District show where the encampment placed its walls and moats. The Romans stayed until the 5th century.
RomanVindobona was located in the outskirts of the empire and thus fell prey to the chaos of theMigration Period. There are some indications that a catastrophic fire occurred around the beginning of the 5th century. However, the remains of the encampment were not deserted, and a small settlement remained. The streets and houses of early medieval Vienna followed the former Roman walls, which gives rise to the conclusion that parts of the fortification were still in place and used by the settlers.[citation needed]
Byzantinecoppercoins from the 6th century have been found several times in the area of today'scity centre, indicating considerable trade activity. Graves from the 6th century were found during excavations next to the Berghof, in an area around Salvatorgasse. At that time, theLombards controlled the area, withSlavs andAvars following later. Early Vienna was centred on theBerghof.[citation needed]
The first documented mention of the city during theMiddle Ages is within theSalzburg Annals, dating to 881, when a battleapud Weniam was fought against theMagyars. However, it is unclear whether this refers to the city or theRiver Wien.
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In 976, theMargraviate of Ostarrîchi was given to theBabenberg family. Vienna lay at its border with Hungary.
Vienna was an important site of trade as early as the 11th century. In theExchange of Mautern between theBishop of Passau and MargraveLeopold IV, Vienna is mentioned as aCivitas for the first time, which indicates the existence of a well-ordered settlement. In 1155, MargraveHenry II of Austria made Vienna his capital. In 1156, Austria was raised to a duchy in thePrivilegium Minus, with Vienna becoming the seat of all futuredukes. During that time, theSchottenstift was founded.
The events surrounding theThird Crusade, during which KingRichard the Lionheart was discovered and captured by DukeLeopold V the Virtuous two days beforeChristmas of 1192 inErdberg near Vienna, brought an enormous ransom of 50,000 Silver Marks (about 10 to 12 tons of silver, about a third of the emperor's claims against the English. Richard had been extradited to him in March 1193). This allowed the creation of amint and the construction ofcity walls around the year 1200. At theU-Bahn stationStubentor, some remains of the city walls can still be seen today. Because he had abused a protected crusader, Leopold V wasexcommunicated byPope Celestine III, and died (without having been absolved) after falling from a horse in atournament.
In 1221, Vienna received the rights of acity and as astaple port (Stapelrecht). This meant that all traders passing through Vienna had to offer their goods in the city. This allowed the Viennese to act as middlemen in trade, so that Vienna soon created a network of far-reaching trade relations, particularly along theDanube basin and toVenice, and to become one of the most important cities in theHoly Roman Empire.
However, it was considered embarrassing that Vienna did not have its own bishop. It is known that DukeFrederick II negotiated about the creation of abishopric in Vienna, and the same is suspected ofOttokar Přemysl.
In 1278,Rudolf I took control over the Austrian lands after his victory overOttokar II of Bohemia and began to establishHabsburg rule. In Vienna, it took a relatively long time for the Habsburgs to establish their control, because partisans of Ottokar remained strong for a long time. There were several uprisings againstAlbert I. The family of thePaltrams vom Stephansfreithof was foremost among the insurgents.
In 1280,Jans der Enikel wrote the "Fürstenbuch", a first history of the city.
With theLuxembourg emperors,Prague became the imperial residence and Vienna stood in its shadow. The early Habsburgs attempted to extend it in order to keep up. DukeAlbert II, for example, had thegothic choir of theStephansdom built. In 1327,Frederick the Handsome published his edict allowing the city to maintain anEisenbuch (iron book) listing its privileges.
The combination of the heraldic eagle with the city coat of arms showing a white cross in a red field is found on a seal dated 1327.This heraldic emblem was in use throughout the 14th century in different variants.[1]
Rudolf IV of Austria deserves credit for his prudent economic policy, which raised the level of prosperity. His epithetthe Founder is due to two things: first, he founded theUniversity of Vienna in 1365, and second, he began the construction of the gothicnave in the Stephansdom. The latter is connected to the creation of a metropolitan chapter, as a symbolic substitute for a bishop.
There was a period of inheritance disputes among the Habsburgs resulting not only in confusion, but also in an economic decline and social unrest, with disputes between the parties ofpatricians andartisans. While the patricians supportedErnest the Iron, the artisans supportedLeopold IV. In 1408, the mayorKonrad Vorlauf, an exponent of the patrician party, was executed.
After the election of DukeAlbert V asGerman King Albert II, Vienna became thecapital of the Holy Roman Empire. Albert's name is remembered for his expulsion of theJewish population of Vienna in 1421/22.
Eventually, in 1469, Vienna was given its own bishop, and the Stephansdom became acathedral. During the upheavals of the era of EmperorFrederick III, Vienna remained on the side of his opponents (firstAlbert VI, thenMatthias Corvinus), as Frederick proved unable to maintain peace in the land vis-à-vis rampaging gangs of mercenaries (often remaining from theHussite Wars).
In 1485, the Hungarian KingMatthias Corvinus and theBlack Army of Hungary conquered the city and Vienna became the king's seat that served as the capital of Hungary until 1490.
In 1522, underFerdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor theBlood Judgment ofWiener Neustadt led to the execution of leading members of the opposition within the city, and thus a destruction of the political structures. From then on, the city stood under direct imperial control.
In 1556, Vienna became the seat of theEmperor, withBohemia having been added to the Habsburg realm in 1526.
During this time, the city was alsorecatholicised after having becomeProtestant rather quickly. In 1551, theJesuits were brought to town and soon gained a large influence in court. The leader of the Counter-Reformation here wasMelchior Khlesl, Bishop of Vienna from 1600.
In 1529, Vienna was besieged by theOttoman Turks for the first time (theFirst Turkish Siege), although unsuccessfully. The city, protected by medieval walls, only barely withstood the attacks, untilepidemics and an early winter forced the Turks to retreat. The siege had shown that new fortifications were needed. Following plans bySebastian Schrantz, Vienna was expanded to afortress in 1548. The city was furnished with elevenbastions and surrounded by amoat. Aglacis was created around Vienna, a broad strip without any buildings, which allowed defenders to fire freely. These fortifications, which accounted for the major part of building activities well into the 17th century, became decisive in theSecond Turkish Siege of 1683, as they allowed the city to maintain itself for two months, until the Turkish army was defeated by the army led by thePolish KingJohn III Sobieski. This was the turning point in the Turkish Wars, as the Ottoman Empire was pushed back more and more during the following decades.
The following period was characterised by extensive building activities. In the course of reconstruction, Vienna was largely turned into abaroque city. The most importantarchitects wereJohann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach andJohann Lukas von Hildebrandt. Most construction happened in the suburbs (Vorstädte), as thenobility began to cover the surrounding land with garden palaces, known asPalais. The best known are thePalais Liechtenstein,Palais Modena,Schönbrunn Palace,Palais Schwarzenberg, and theBelvedere (the garden palais ofPrince Eugene of Savoy). In 1704, an outer fortification, theLinienwall, was built around theVorstädte.
After the extensiveplagueepidemics of1679 and 1713, the population began to grow steadily. It is estimated that 150,000 people lived in Vienna in 1724, and 200,000 in 1790. At that time, the firstfactories were built, starting inLeopoldstadt. Leopoldstadt also became a site where many Jews lived, as they had been driven out of their 50-year-oldghetto in 1670.Hygienic problems began to become noticeable: sewers and street cleaning began to develop. Also in this time, the first house numbers (theKonskriptionsnummern) were issued, and the governmentpostal system began to develop.
Under EmperorJoseph II, the city administration was modernized in 1783: officials in charge of only the city were introduced, and theMagistrate was created (More information about the Magistrate of the City of Vienna specifically can be found in German atde:Magistrat der Stadt Wien.). At the same time, thegraveyards within the city were closed.
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During theNapoleonic Wars, Vienna was taken by the French twice, in 1805 and 1809. The first conquest happened without a battle. ThreeFrenchmarshals crossed the strongly defendedTaborbrücke (Tábor bridge), the only Danube bridge at that time, and convinced the Austrian commander that the war was already over. In the meantime, the French army easily entered the city and was greeted by the population with interest rather than rejection. Napoleon allowed 10,000 men of the Vienna national guard to remain armed and left the arsenal to them when he left, as complete as he had found it.
However, the second occupation happened only after heavy fire. Shortly after, Napoleon suffered his first large defeat atAspern, nearby. Less than two months later, his army crossed theDanube again and fought theBattle of Wagram on the same terrain as the previousBattle of Aspern. This second battle resulted in a victory for the French, and Austria soon surrendered, ending theWar of the Fifth Coalition. In 1810,Salomon Mayer Rothschild arrived in Vienna from Frankfurt and sets up a bank named "Mayer von Rothschild und Söhne". The Emperor of Austria in 1823, made the fiveRothschild brothers barons. The Rothschild family became famous as bankers in the major countries of Europe, and theRothschild banking family of Austria remained prominent until theCreditanstalt bank in Vienna was confiscated by the Nazis in 1938.[2][3]
After Napoleon's final defeat, theCongress of Vienna took place from September 18, 1814 to June 9, 1815, in which the political map of Europe was redrawn. The congress members indulged in many social events, which induced the wittyCharles Joseph, Prince de Ligne to famously say:Le congres danse beaucoup, mais il ne marche pas ("The congress dances, but does not progress"). The events cost Austria a great deal of money, which was reflected in mockery about the major participants:
The first half of the century was characterised by intensiveindustrialization, with Vienna being the center of the railway network after 1837.
TheFrench February Revolution of 1848 had an effect as far away as Vienna: on March 13, theMarch Revolution, which forced long-serving chancellorMetternich to resign.
During the 19th century, Vienna, along with Budapest, became one of the main centers of theAromanian diaspora. TheAromanian population of these cities stands out for one of the first ones to develop a strictly Aromanian identity.[4]
The city was expanded in 1850, mostly to include the area within theLinienwall. TheVorstädte thus became the 2nd to 9th districts, with the old city becoming thefirst. In 1858, the fortifications were demolished, and the broadRingstraße boulevard was built in their place. Many monumental buildings were built alongside it. TheRingstraße Style (Historicism) characterises the architecture of Vienna to this day. The period peaked in theWorld Exhibition of 1873, immediately beforethe stock market crash, which ended theGründerzeit ("foundation era").
In 1861, the Liberals won the first (relatively) free elections after the end ofneoabsolutism.
After the great flood of 1830,Regulation of the Danube was frequently considered. It was finally put into practice during the 1860s. The many branches of theDanube were removed, and a straight course was created away from the city centre. The branch near the central city was made narrower and has been known under the somewhat misleading nameDonaukanal (Danube Canal) ever since.
During that period, the population of Vienna increased sharply, mostly because of immigration. Censuses were conducted regularly from 1869 onwards, which showed an all-time high of population in 1910, with 2,031,000 inhabitants.
Around 1900, Vienna became a centre of theJugendstil (Art Nouveau), most of all withOtto Wagner and the association of artists known asVienna Secession (after which the characteristic building onKarlsplatz is named).
In 1890, the city was expanded for a second time: the (Vororte) suburbs beyond the oldLinienwall were incorporated into the town as the districts 11 to 19 (the10th district had been created in 1874 by the division of thefourth).Leopoldstadt was divided in 1900, with the northern part becoming the 20th district (Brigittenau). In 1904,Floridsdorf became part of Vienna as 21st district.
During those years,Karl Lueger was the leading figure of city politics. Neither his dedication tosocial policy can be denied, nor other works for the municipality (such as theWiener Hochquellwasserleitung, bringing fresh water from the mountains to Vienna and the creation of a belt of meadows and forests around the city). However, these positive aspects were coupled with his raving and rhetorically well presentedanti-Semitism, which enjoyed popular support.
World War I (1914–1918) did not result in an immediate threat to Vienna, but it led to a lack of supplies because of the economic embargo imposed by theEntente powers, which resulted in a shortage offood andclothes. The skyrocketing costs of the war, mostly financed by borrowing, resulted in tremendous inflation that—as in Germany—wiped out the savings of many middle-class Viennese. One interesting quirk is that the 1916Rent Control was never officially repealed; even today there are buildings where the 1916 rent—by now essentially meaningless—applies.
These food shortages led to the1918 Austro-Hungarian January Strike which started in Vienna. TheBolshevik seizure of power in Russia in November 1917 inspired the youth wing of theSocial Democratic Workers' Party of Austria to organise meetings in November 1917 opposing the war.[5]
TheFlight over Vienna propaganda flight, an air raid inspired byGabriele d'Annunzio, was carried out on August 9, 1918, with 11Ansaldo SVA. He flew undisturbed for over 1,200 km in a roundtrip to Vienna to drop about 400,000propaganda leaflets, written in Italian and German, asking the people of Vienna the end of the alliance between Austria-Hungary and Germany.
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The end of the war was also the end ofAustria-Hungary. On November 12, 1918, the Republic ofDeutsch-Österreich, or German-Austria, was proclaimed in front of theparliament. The population was concentrated in the capital, which was often called ahydrocephalus because of this;[6] articles in the international press had doubts about the viability of Vienna as a major European metropolis after the dissolution of Austria-Hungary.[7]
In 1921, Vienna was separated from surroundingLower Austria and became astate of its own, with the mayor now equivalent in rank to astate governor. However, it remained the nominal capital of Lower Austria until 1986. The left-wingSocial Democrats, who had dominated since the end of the war, were now in charge of the city administration. "Red Vienna" was considered an international model. Many notableGemeindebauten (low-cost residential estates) were built during that period.
However, the increasing economic difficulties resulted in a political radicalization and polarisation of the political parties. On the social democratic side, the left-wingRepublikanischeSchutzbund (Republican Protective Alliance) was formed in 1923/24, which was a well-organised and well-equipped paramilitary group. It was opposed by the right-wingHeimwehr ("Home Guard"), which had been formed after the end of the war from local guards and similar combat units.
In May 1923, in the presence of PresidentMichael Hainisch, theFirst World Congress of Jewish Women was inaugurated at theHofburg.[8]
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The fire of theJustizpalast (Palace of Justice) in 1927 after violent demonstrations, the collapse of theCreditanstalt, the largestbank of the country, and finally the dissolution of parliament in 1933, marked the way to theCivil War in February 1934. AfterEngelbert Dollfuß, who had beenChancellor of Austria and foreign minister since 1932, had forbidden theNazi Party, theCommunist Party and theSchutzbund in 1933, he extended the ban to the Social Democratic Party in 1934 after the February Uprising. The only legal political organization was the new movement of his own creation, theVaterländische Front. Dollfuß created an authoritarian regime calledStändestaat and ruled without parliamentary approval (also seeAustrofascism).
In March 1938Nazi Germany occupied and annexed Austria in a process known as theAnschluss.Adolf Hitler was rapturously received in Vienna by large crowds of admirers and famously gave a speech atHeldenplatz in which he welcomed his homeland into theReich. Hitler's anti-Jewish policies fell on fertile soil in Vienna, where latent anti-Semitism had increased during the early 20th century. Immediately after the Anschluss the Jews of Vienna were subject to violence from the State as well as from Antisemites acting out of their own sadism. During theReichskristallnacht on November 9, 1938, thesynagogues, the Jewish centres of not only religious, but also social life, were destroyed. In August, the KZ Oberlanzendorf Wien (Central Office for Jewish Emigration) was created. Its head wasAdolf Eichmann.[9] On the whole, and despite some instances of anti-Semitism, the city of Vienna was less supportive of the Nazi regime than was the rest of Austria. This however did not reach any extent of an organised resistance.[10] Hitler himself hated Vienna and was determined to build upLinz, his childhood hometown, and relegate Vienna to backwater status.[11]
In the course of the expansion of the city in 1938, 91 adjoining municipalities were incorporated into the city, from which the 22nd (Groß-Enzersdorf), the 23rd (Schwechat), the 24th (Mödling), the 25th (Liesing) and the 26th (Klosterneuburg) districts were created. With an area of 1,224 km2, this made Vienna the city with the largest territory in theThird Reich.
During the war, the city housed 12 sub-camps of the infamousMauthausen-Gusen concentration camp, located in various parts of the city.
Although originally out of range of Allied bombers operating from England, by 1943 the city began being attacked by bombers based in Italy. As in other major cities of Nazi Germany, largeflak towers were constructed in Vienna as defensive structures against these bombers. These structures remain in place today, as they are so thick and their foundations so deep that to destroy them would damage surrounding buildings.
The U.S. bombings of 1944 and 1945 and the vicious fighting during the subsequentconquest of Vienna bySoviet troops in April 1945 caused much destruction within the city. However, some historic buildings survived the bombardment; many more were reconstructed after the war.
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Only a few days after the war, a provisional city government and administration was created. Also, the political parties were recreated. On April 29, 1945, the parliament building passed from theoccupation force to the new Austrian government, andKarl Renner announced the reinstitution of the democratic Republic of Austria. Vienna was divided into five occupation zones between theSoviet Union, the United States, theUK, France, and with the first district (city centre) being patrolled by all four.
The first municipal elections were held in November 1945. Of the 100 seats in the municipal council, the left-wingSocial Democratic Party captured 58, the right-wingAustrian People's Party 36, and theCommunists 6. In 1946, it was decided that the expansion of city territory of 1938 should be reversed, but this law was delayed by a veto of the occupying powers and was not put into practice until 1954. Two districts remained with Vienna, namely the 22nd one (Donaustadt) north of the Danube and the 23rd one (Liesing) in the south (some other districts gained someLower Austrian territory).
On May 15, 1955, the country regained its political independence and sovereignty with the "Austrian State Treaty". The Austrian Parliament immediately amended the treaty to establish Austria's future neutrality and non-alignment (similar to that of Switzerland). This peace treaty was called a state treaty because Austria had temporarily ceased to exist in 1938.
After the war, as everywhere inWestern Europe, there was an enormous economic boom, among other things because of the economic aid resulting from theMarshall Plan.
Public transport in Vienna was improved by the introduction of the newU-Bahn network, the first part of which was opened in 1978. In 1979, the secondStrategic Arms Limitation Talks treaty was signed in Vienna. During the 1970s, Vienna became the third official seat of theUnited Nations, and theUNO-City was built. At the end of the 20th century, askyline consisting of severalskyscrapers was created with, among others, theAndromeda Tower andMillennium Tower on the left and right sides of the Danube. Furthermore, a complex of skyscrapers was planned at the site of theWien Mitte railway station, which might have endangered the position of Vienna's centre as aUNESCOWorld Heritage Site. The project has since been redesigned.
Vienna was the capital of the surroundingBundesland ofLower Austria (German:Niederösterreich) until 1986, when it was replaced bySankt Pölten. As Vienna was not a geographical part of Lower Austria it was acapital outside of the territory it served.
In the municipal elections of 2001, the Social Democrats regained an absolutemajority. With theLiberal Forum not gaining enough votes, only four parties have been represented in the municipal council since then. In the2005 elections, the Social Democrats further increased their majority.
Espionage in Austria is legal if the country itself is not the target.[12] The city has about 17,000 diplomats, many assigned to international organizations. Because of their presence and Austria's neutrality, Vienna became an important center for espionage, as depicted inThe Third Man; during theCold War the city allegedly had more spies than Austrian soldiers.[13] Despite the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, as of July 2023[update] there are more than 180 accredited Russian diplomats in Vienna, and reportedly more than one third are spies usingdiplomatic cover; Chinese, Iranian, Israeli, Saudi, American, British, and other European spies and counterspies are also in the country. Because of the tolerance of espionage the country is excluded from theClub de Berne.[12]
Media related toHistory of Vienna at Wikimedia Commons
