Austria's Discovery: A Historical Overview

The history of Austria dates back to the Paleolithic period, when the area was settled by various tribes. In the 6th century BC, the Celts arrived and established the kingdom of Noricum, which was conquered by the Romans in 16 BC. The Romans ruled the area until the 5th century AD, when Germanic tribes invaded the region. In the 8th century, Charlemagne, the king of the Franks, conquered the area and established a territory in the Danube valley known as the Ostmark. In 996, the Ostmark was first referred to as Ostarrichi, the forerunner of the modern German word Österreich. In the 11th century, the Babenberg family took control of the region, and in 1156, Austria was elevated to the status of a duchy. In the 13th century, the Habsburgs began to accumulate territories in the vicinity of the Duchy of Austria, and in 1453, Austria was made an archduchy of the Holy Roman Empire. In the 16th century, the Habsburgs began to expand their influence through strategic alliances, and in the 17th century, they became a major imperial power in Central Europe. In the 18th century, Austria became a great power, and in the 19th century, it played a significant role in the German Confederation. However, in the 20th century, Austria experienced political turmoil, including the rise of nationalism and the Anschluss with Germany in 1938. After World War II, Austria regained its independence and declared its perpetual neutrality in 1955.

The first mention of the name 'Austria'

The name 'Austria' was first mentioned in 796 in Paolo Diacono's work, 'Historia Langobardorum'. However, the Latinized name 'Austria' first appeared in the 12th century in the time of Leopold III (1095–1136).

The first recorded instance of the name 'Austria' was written as 'Ostarrîchi' in 996, referring to the territory of the Babenberg March. The name is mentioned in a document issued by Emperor Otto III on 1 November 996 in Bruchsal to Gottschalk von Hagenau, Bishop of Freising. The document concerns a donation of the "territory which is known in the vernacular as Ostarrîchi" (regione vulgari vocabulo Ostarrichi), specified as the region of Neuhofen an der Ybbs (in loco Niuuanhova dicto). The name 'Ostarrîchi' is the linguistic ancestor of 'Österreich', the German name for Austria.

The German name 'Österreich' derives from the Old High German word 'Ostarrîchi', meaning "eastern realm". The name was recorded in the so-called 'Ostarrîchi Document' of 996, applied to the Margraviate of Austria, a borderland of the Duchy of Bavaria created in 976. The Old High German name has similarities with the Middle Latin name 'Marchia Orientalis' ("eastern borderland"), alternatively called 'Marchia austriaca'.

The shorter Latinized name 'Austria' first appeared in the 12th century. The name was occasionally a source of confusion because, while it is derived from the Germanic word for "east", it is similar to the Latin term for "south", 'auster'. This is also why the name is similar to 'Australia', which is derived from the Latin 'Terra Australis' ("southern land").

The rise of the Babenberg dynasty

The Babenbergs were a noble dynasty of Austrian Dukes and Margraves, descending from the Popponids and originally from Bamberg in the Duchy of Franconia (present-day Bavaria). The Babenbergs ruled the imperial Margraviate of Austria from its creation in 976 AD until its elevation to a duchy in 1156, and from then until the extinction of the line in 1246.

The Babenberg family can be divided into two distinct groups: the Elder or Franconian House of Babenberg, and the Younger or Austrian House of Babenberg, or simply the House of Babenberg. The former group's name refers to Babenburg Castle, the present site of Bamberg Cathedral, and they were also called Popponids after their progenitor Count Poppo of Grapfeld (d. 839-41). The Babenbergs were related to the Frankish Robertian dynasty and were the ancestors of the Franconian Counts of Henneberg and the House of Schweinfurt.

The Younger House of Babenberg claimed to have originated from the first group, but scholars have not been able to verify this claim. Margrave Leopold I, who ruled Austria from 976 onwards, was a descendant of Margrave Leopold I and led the second group.

Leopold I of Babenberg became margrave of Austria in 976, and the Babenbergs’ power was modest until the 12th century, when they came to dominate the Austrian nobility. The Babenbergs pursued a policy of settling the country, clearing forests and founding towns and monasteries. They ruled the March from Pöchlarn initially, and later from Melk, continually expanding the territory eastward along the Danube valley, so that by 1002 it reached Vienna.

In the 12th century, Henry II moved his residence to Vienna, which has remained the capital of the country ever since. Henry II also founded the Schottenstift monastery in Vienna, where a statue of him can be found today. In the same century, St. Stephen's Cathedral was completed, becoming a visible landmark of the city and showing its prominence.

The Babenberg line ended in 1246 with the death of Duke Frederick II, and the family’s power declined rapidly. After some years of struggle known as the Austrian Interregnum or War of the Babenberg Succession (1246–1256/78/82), the Duchies of Austria and Styria fell to Ottokar II of Bohemia, and subsequently to Rudolph I of Habsburg, whose descendants were to rule Austria until 1918.

The Habsburgs take over

The Habsburgs, a Swiss noble family, first came to rule in the Duchy of Austria in 1282 when Rudolf I of Germany, who was elected King of the Romans in 1273, acquired the territory for the Habsburgs. Rudolf I's victory over Ottokar II of Bohemia at the Battle of the Marchfeld in 1278 led to the Habsburgs taking possession of the area formerly ruled by the Babenbergs.

Rudolf I enfeoffed his two sons, Albrecht and Rudolf, with the Duchies of Austria, Styria, Carinthia, and the Wendish March. The Treaty of Rheinfeld, which contained the first regulations for the House of Habsburg, appointed Albrecht sole ruler. This triggered disagreements within the family that, 15 years later, led to the murder of Albrecht by his nephew Johann Parricida.

Rudolf I spent several years establishing his authority in Austria, finding some difficulty in establishing his family as successors to the rule of the province. At length, the hostility of the princes was overcome and he was able to bequeath Austria to his two sons. In December 1282, at the Diet of Augsburg, Rudolf invested the Duchies of Austria and Styria on his sons, Albert I and Rudolf II, as co-rulers. Thus, the foundation of the House of Habsburg was laid.

Rudolf continued his campaigns, subduing and subjugating and adding to his domains. He died in 1291 without being able to secure the succession for his son Albrecht, who only became Roman-German King after the interim reign of Adolf of Nassau.

The Ottoman threat

The Ottoman-Habsburg wars were fought from the 16th to the 18th centuries between the Ottoman Empire and the Austrian Habsburgs, along with their allies, including the Kingdom of Hungary and the Holy Roman Empire. The Ottoman conquests in Europe proved successful, with a decisive victory at Mohacs reducing the Kingdom of Hungary to the status of an Ottoman tributary. By the 16th century, the Ottomans had become an existential threat to Europe, with Ottoman ships sweeping away Venetian possessions in the Aegean and Ionia.

The Ottoman-Habsburg wars were dominated by land campaigns in Hungary, including Transylvania, Vojvodina, Croatia, and central Serbia. The Ottoman-Habsburg rivalry took place in two areas: in the western Mediterranean against Charles V and in Hungary against Ferdinand I.

The Counter-Reformation

• The foundation of seminaries for the proper training of priests in the spiritual life and the theological traditions of the Church.
• The reform of religious life by returning orders to their spiritual foundations.
• New spiritual movements focusing on the devotional life and a personal relationship with Christ, including the Spanish mystics and the French school of spirituality.
• Political activities and the use of the regional Inquisitions.
• A primary emphasis on the mission to reach parts of the world that had been colonized as predominantly Catholic and also try to reconvert nations such as Sweden and England that once were Catholic from the time of the Christianisation of Europe, but had been lost to the Reformation.
• Various Counter-Reformation theologians focused only on defending doctrinal positions such as the sacraments and pious practices that were attacked by the Protestant reformers, up to the Second Vatican Council in 1962-1965.

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