History UsefulNotes / Austria

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* Writers like Franz Grillparzer, Paul Celan, Karl Kraus, Creator/RainerMariaRilke, Joseph Roth and Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Creator/FranzKafka may also count; he wrote in German, and Prague was part of the Austrian empire when he was born.

** ''UsefulNotes/NikolaTesla'' who was born in Smiljan (Austrian Empire at the time) and studied in Graz in Styria.

In 1914, [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI all hell]] broke loose over a little place called Bosnia[[note]]Famously predicted by Bismarck when he said it would come about from "some damn fool thing in the Balkans"[[/note]], then a part of the Empire. At the same time, the Austrian half of the Empire had become more and more decentralised, while the Hungarians were determined to remain top dogs over the Slovaks, Ruthenians, Transylvanians and Croats. This led to the Empire breaking down and being divided, according to the Treaty of Trianon (1920), between Italy, Poland, Romania, Yugoslavia and the new independent nations of Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Austria.

In 1278, the House of Habsburg, originally hailing from rural Switzerland, acquired rulership of the Duchy of Austria (the name ''Ostarrichi'' deriving from "Eastern Realm", being a former eastern province of the [[UsefulNotes/TheSixteenLandsOfDeutschland Margraviate of Bavaria]]), which lay at the eastern edge of the UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire and form the North of the modern republic. Through marriage, the Habsburgs spread their control over large parts of Europe, including Spain, the Netherlands and large parts of Italy, and became Holy Roman Emperors. In 1522, the sprawling and difficult-to-defend Habsburg empire was divided by Charles V, who assigned its eastern half to his younger brother, Ferdinand I. However, following the disastrous Battle of Mohács (1526), an early victory in the Ottoman Turks' Hungarian campaign which led to the occupation of most of Hungary and several sieges of Vienna, Ferdinand I would claim the kingdoms of Bohemia and Hungary for the Austrian Habsburgs. War between the Austrian and Ottoman Empires continued on and off until the end of the seventeenth century, when the Ottomans ceded most of Hungary.

* Empress Elisabeth of Austria, wife to Emperor Franz Joseph, also known as Sisi (''Sissi'' like in the Romy Schneider movies is a misspelling). Renowned for her beauty and fairytale romance, as well as her assassination in Geneva in 1898. [[note]]The ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'' episode The Sign of Three featured two people being nearly-murdered in the same manner: a small, thin weapon that bled the victim out under their clothing, with them none the wiser until it's too late.[[/note]] Similar to Mozart, visitors to Vienna are bombarded with her image in the famous Star Dress (Sternkleid) on merchandise and sweets everywhere they go. The "fairytale" story that the tourism industry of Austria relies on was thoroughly debunked in one of Austria's international cultural export, ''Theatre/{{Elisabeth}}''. Their only son and heir Crown Prince Rudolf (who also appeared in said musical) was involved in [[MurderSuicide the Mayerling Incident]] that was, among other things, part of the reason for the outbreak of the First World War. Unlike his mother, because he was a suicide, there was a concerted effort to [[OldShame erase Rudolf]] from public memory.

Austria ('''German:''' ''Österreich''), officially known as the Republic of Austria ('''German:''' ''Republik Österreich''), is a small, Central/Western European republic ("''The Danube Republic''") shaped vaguely like a ''Schnitzel'' that was once one of the leading Empires of Europe.

In 1278, the House of Habsburg, originally hailing from rural Switzerland, acquired rulership of the Duchy of Austria (the name, ''Ostarrichi'' deriving "Eastern Realm", being formerly eastern province of the [[UsefulNotes/TheSixteenLandsOfDeutschland Margraviate of Bavaria]]), which lay at the eastern edge of the UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire and form the North of the modern republic. Through marriage, the Habsburgs spread their control over large parts of Europe, including Spain, the Netherlands and large parts of Italy, and became Holy Roman Emperors. In 1522, the sprawling and difficult-to-defend Habsburg empire was divided by Charles V, who assigned its eastern half to his younger brother, Ferdinand I. However, following the disastrous Battle of Mohács (1526), an early victory in the Ottoman Turks' Hungarian campaign which led to the occupation of most of Hungary and several sieges of Vienna, Ferdinand I would claim the kingdoms of Bohemia and Hungary for the Austrian Habsburgs. War between the Austrian and Ottoman Empires continued on and off until the end of the seventeenth century, when the Ottomans ceded most of Hungary.

In 1278, the House of Habsburg, originally hailing from rural Switzerland, acquired rulership of the Duchy of Austria (the name, ''Ostarrichi'' deriving "Eastern Realm", being formerly eastern province of the [[UsefulNotes/SixteenLandsOfDeutschland Margraviate of Bavaria]]), which lay at the eastern edge of the UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire and form the North of the modern republic. Through marriage, the Habsburgs spread their control over large parts of Europe, including Spain, the Netherlands and large parts of Italy, and became Holy Roman Emperors. In 1522, the sprawling and difficult-to-defend Habsburg empire was divided by Charles V, who assigned its eastern half to his younger brother, Ferdinand I. However, following the disastrous Battle of Mohács (1526), an early victory in the Ottoman Turks' Hungarian campaign which led to the occupation of most of Hungary and several sieges of Vienna, Ferdinand I would claim the kingdoms of Bohemia and Hungary for the Austrian Habsburgs. War between the Austrian and Ottoman Empires continued on and off until the end of the seventeenth century, when the Ottomans ceded most of Hungary.

In 1278, the House of Habsburg, originally hailing from rural Switzerland, acquired rulership of the Duchy of Austria, which lay at the eastern edge of the UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire and form the North of the modern republic. Through marriage, the Habsburgs spread their control over large parts of Europe, including Spain, the Netherlands and large parts of Italy, and became Holy Roman Emperors. In 1522, the sprawling and difficult-to-defend Habsburg empire was divided by Charles V, who assigned its eastern half to his younger brother, Ferdinand I. However, following the disastrous Battle of Mohács (1526), an early victory in the Ottoman Turks' Hungarian campaign which led to the occupation of most of Hungary and several sieges of Vienna, Ferdinand I would claim the kingdoms of Bohemia and Hungary for the Austrian Habsburgs. War between the Austrian and Ottoman Empires continued on and off until the end of the seventeenth century, when the Ottomans ceded most of Hungary.

** Austrians are less proud of their other most known son. He was born in Austria and regarded Linz as his "home town" (he planned to endow it with massive museums and monuments once he'd done remodelling Berlin), but moved to Bavaria after being rejected for (or not wanting to serve in) the Austrian Army in World War One. After becoming [[GloriousLeader Fuehrer]], Hitler would bring the country of his birthplace into Germany. This is the main reason today's Austrians don't want to be seen as German anymore.

'''Provinces'''

The republic of Austria consists of the capital of Vienna and nine federal provinces (Bundesländer). These provinces are:
* Vienna (Wien): The capital province, whose federal borders are identical with the city borders. Even though it only consists of the city, it is still the most populated province. This should show how large Vienna is compared to the rest of Austria.
* Lower Austria (Niederösterreich): The province that covers the largest area and with the second largest population. It was the capital province, until Vienna became a province on its own in 1920. Since 1986 the local capital is St. Pölten. It is also the traditional area of the Duchy of Austria.

* Burgenland: Austria's newest province consists of a string of counties separating Lower Austria and Styria from the Hungarian border. Until separated from Hungary by a 1921 plebiscite, these were the mostly German-speaking hinterlands of the counties of Moson (Wieselburg), Sopron (Ödenburg) and Vas (Eisenburg). The region was historically associated with the Eszterházy family, whose vast estates here were not finally disposed of until after World War II. The land is mostly hilly except in the northeast area which includes the Neusiedler See. Burgenland is both the poorest province and also the one with the fastest economical growth. Its capital is Eisenstadt.

* Tyrol (Tirol): The most mountainous province, and geographically discontiguous ever since its southern part was annexed to Italy in 1919. (Over half the population of South Tyrol speaks German and still consider themselves to be Austrian. Perhaps because of this, Italy allows South Tyrol a high degree of autonomy. Nevertheless, it remains a controversial topic between Austria and Italy.)
* Vorarlberg: The westernmost province, bordering on Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Its capital, Bregenz, is located on Lake Constance. (The actual Swiss border follows the Rhine; the mountainous frontier in ''Theatre/TheSoundOfMusic'' is a product of artistic license.)

Recently, [[Film/FunnyGames several]] [[Film/TheCounterfeiters Austrian]] movies have found critical acclaim, earning a Best Foreign Movie Oscar and other titles. As usual in Austria, the films are likely to become famous after that fact. Indeed, people are more likely to know its [[Manga/AxisPowersHetalia aristocratic personification]] than those movies.

* Lower Austria (Niederösterreich): The province that covers the largest area and with the second largest population. It was the capital province, until Vienna became a province on its own in 1920. Since 1986 the local capital is St. Pölten.

After the war, the country was divided like Germany into zones, but the British, US, French and Soviet armies all agreed in 1955 to leave if the newly-reconstituted Austrian Republic swore to remain neutral. Following the end of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar, Austria joined UsefulNotes/TheEuropeanUnion in 1995.

A large portion of income in many parts of the country is tourism. Having both a rich history and beautiful nature (and skiing slopes) to show off, this is both understandable and a bit annoying for those Austrians who do not want to be associated with Dirndls and Lederhosen and Yodeling (for ''that,'' see Switzerland or Bavaria), yet are backstabbed by their own tourism board. Curiously enough, many younger Austrians in rural areas go back to wearing lederhosen when going out drinking. The reason? They are durable and it is completely accepted if you smear your dirty hands all over them. It is even said that a lederhosen is only a real lederhosen when it is dirty and grimy enough to stand up for its own...

* Carinthia (Kärnten): Nearly completely surrounded by mountain ranges, especially noticable in the western part with the highest mountain of Austria (Großglockner) at the border to Salzburg and Tyrol. Famous for its beautiful mountains and lakes, somewhat infamous for its comparatively strong right-wing tendencies (and everything surrounding Joerg Haider) and the partially related conflicts with its Slovenian minority in the southeast.

Football (Soccer for Americans), in which they are less than stellar, though they are getting better (previously quallifieing for the Euro for the first time) and Skiing.

* Composers such as Strauss (all of them, except for Richard (Bavarian)), Haydn, Bruckner, [[Music/GustavMahler Mahler]], [[Music/FranzSchubert Schubert]] and Schönberg. Vienna was ''the'' place to be a musician at many points in time, so a lot of non-Austrian composers had careers there, too.

*** Also Creator/JohannesBrahms, originally a Hamburger.[[note]]Doubly funny because Brahms was notoriously overweight.[[/note]]

* Entrepreneurs such as Dietrich Mateschitz (founder of Red Bull), the Rothschild family, Ferdinand Porsche and Gaston Glock. Also expatriate Frank Stronach, whose birth name is Franz Strohsack (which means sack of straw, so you understand his name change).
* Actors including Christoph Waltz, Creator/MaximilianSchell, Klaus Maria (sic) Brandauer and Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger (though Schwarzenegger and Austria have pretty much disowned each other. He had a bad childhood there, and has said some unflattering things about the country. His hometown originally named a stadium after him, but changed it after both an execution in California and Schwarza's request for a rename)

* Actors including Christoph Waltz, Maximilian Schell, Klaus Maria (sic) Brandauer and Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger (though Schwarzenegger and Austria have pretty much disowned each other. He had a bad childhood there, and has said some unflattering things about the country. His hometown originally named a stadium after him, but changed it after both an execution in California and Schwarza's request for a rename)

* Tyrol (Tirol): The most mountainous province, and geographically discontinuous ever since its southern part was annexed to Italy in 1919. (Some people in southern tyrol still concider themself as austrians, as do most austrians. It is a difficult topic.)

* Vienna (Wien): The capital province, whichs federal borders are identical with the city borders. Even though it only consists of the city, it is still the most populated province. This should show how large Vienna is compared to the rest of Austria.

Following the Second World War, Austrians became much more keen to distance themselves from Germany for... obvious reasons. Whether Austria was a Nazi conquest or willing ''Reichsgau'' is a sore issue, especially given UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler was originally Austrian. Many would like to present Austria as "Hitler's first victim," but when looked at historically it just doesn't hold up. There is still a certain amount of denial going on about it.

** One should note that ''Theatre/TheSoundOfMusic'' was rather unsuccessful in Austria. As such one shouldn't be shocked when most Austrians one talks to never saw the movie, or never heard of it at all.

Austria ('''German:''' ''Österreich''), officially known as the Republic of Austria ('''German:''' ''Republik Österreich''), is a small, Central European republic ("''The Danube Republic''") shaped vaguely like a ''Schnitzel'' that was once one of the leading Empires of Europe.

*** All this being said, Mozart spent most of his career in Vienna in the employ (one way or another) of the Habsburgs. In a way, he can be seen as the quintessential Viennese as seen from the rest of Austria: Of Vienna, but not of Austria.

** Few people know him nowadays, but everyone knows the {{Creator/Disney}} movie based on [[AdaptationDisplacement one of his books]]. I'm talking about Felix Salten and ''Disney/{{Bambi}}''.

*** Also Music/JohannesBrahms, originally a Hamburger.[[note]]Doubly funny because Brahms was notoriously overweight.[[/note]]

"Austria" had always been simply the name of a place, and what bound the nation together had been loyalty to the Habsburgs. As an ethnicity, the Austrians had always thought of themselves as German. Almost immediately after the war, Austria attempted to unite with Germany, even naming the newly independent state "German Austria." The Entente vetoed this, and actually forbade Austria from referring to itself as "German." Austria remained independent for 20 years, until it finally did reunite with Germany in 1938. Whether Austria was a Nazi conquest or willing ''Reichsgau'' is a sore issue, especially given UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler was originally Austrian. Many would like to present Austria as "Hitler's first victim," but when looked at historically it just doesn't hold up. There is still a certain amount of denial going on about it.

"Austria" had always been simply the name of a place, and not an ethnicity. The Austrians had always thought of themselves as German and, seeing few prospects for themselves on their own after the First World War, promptly voted to join Germany. The Entente vetoed this, and Austria remained independent for 20 years until it did finally reunite with Germany in 1938. Whether Austria was a Nazi conquest or willing ''Reichsgau'' is a sore issue, especially given UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler was originally Austrian. Many would like to present Austria as "Hitler's first victim," but when looked at historically it just doesn't hold up. There is still a certain amount of denial going on about it.

"Austria" had always been simply the name of a place, and not an ethnicity. The Austrians had always thought of themselves as German, and seeing few prospects elsewhere, they promptly voted to join Germany. The Entente vetoed this, but even as pro-independence sentiment grew and a pro-independence pseudo-fascist movement took power, Hitler decided to veto the veto. Whether Austria was a Nazi conquest or willing ''Reichsgau'' is a sore issue, especially given UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler was originally from Austria. Many would like to present Austria as "Hitler's first victim," but when looked at historically it just doesn't hold up. There is still a certain amount of denial going on about it.

"Austria" had always been simply the name of a place, and not an ethnicity. The Austrians had always thought of themselves as German, and seeing few prospects elsewhere, they promptly voted to join Germany. The Entente vetoed this, but even as pro-independence sentiment grew and a pro-independence pseudo-fascist movement took power, Hitler decided to veto the veto. Whether Austria was a Nazi conquest or willing ''Reichsgau'' is a sore issue, especially given UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler was originally from Austria. There is still a certain amount of denial going on about it. Many would like to present Austria as "Hitler's first victim," but when looked at historically it just doesn't hold up.