Austria's Historical Formation: A Complex History

The formation of Austria as we know it today was a centuries-long process, with the country's history stretching back to the Stone Age and the Paleolithic era. The region was occupied by Celtic tribes for much of its early history, who settled in the Danube Valley and established the kingdom of Noricum around 400 BCE. The Romans arrived around 200 BCE, and by 15 BCE they had established the provinces of Raetia, Noricum, and Pannonia. The Romans ruled the region for almost 500 years, and the population became Romanized. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the region was invaded by waves of Germanic tribes and Slavs, until it was conquered by Charlemagne in 788 CE, becoming known as Ostmark or the Carolingian East March. In 976, Leopold I of Babenberg became margrave of Austria, and the distinct political entity that would become the country of Austria emerged.

Celtic settlement and the kingdom of Noricum

The area that is now Austria was settled by the Celts around 400 BC. The Celtic kingdom of Noricum was formed in the region in the second century BC, developing around the area's ironworks. Noricum was a kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. It was founded around 400 BC and had its capital at Virunum on the Magdalensberg.

The Celtic settlement of the region was preceded by the people of the Hallstatt culture, who inhabited the area around 800 BC. Around 450 BC, they merged with the people of other areas in the south-western regions of Germany and eastern France. The Hallstatt period, 750 - c.450 BC, is named after this region.

In the second century BC, the Noric tribe led the unification of 13 tribes into the kingdom of Noricum. This was the first political "state structure" on Austrian soil. Eight of the 13 tribes of Noricum have been identified through excavations on the Magdalensberg: Ambidraven, Ambilines, Ambitious, Helvetian ("Elveti"), Laianken, Noriker, Saevaten, and Uperaken.

Noricum became a key ally of the Roman Republic, providing high-quality weapons and tools in exchange for military protection. The kingdom reached its greatest extent in the first century BC. In 16 BC, Noricum was incorporated into the Roman Empire.

Roman conquest and rule

The Roman conquest of the region that is now Austria began in 200 BC and by 15 BC, they dominated the entire area. The Romans conquered the region as far north as the River Danube, and in 45 AD they created the province of Noricum. The Romans also built towns, such as Vindobona (Vienna), and introduced the Roman way of life.

The most important Roman settlement in Austria was Carnuntum, the capital of the Roman province of Pannonia in what is now Lower Austria. Carnuntum became the centre of Roman fortifications along the Danube. The Romans ruled the region for nearly 500 years, until the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century CE.

After the Romans left, Austria became a centre of migration. Various Germanic tribes and the Slavs entered the region from the west, while the Avars and Hunnic horsemen came in from the east. By the mid-500s, the Bavarians controlled the territory between the eastern Alps and the Wienerwald region.

In the late 8th century, Charlemagne, the king of the Franks and eventually Holy Roman Emperor, established a territory in the Danube valley known as the Ostmark (Eastern March). This was done to stop invading armies from entering the region.

Charlemagne's conquest

Charlemagne, also known as Charles the Great, was a medieval emperor who ruled much of Western Europe from 768 to 814. He was born around 742 and became king of the Franks, a Germanic tribe in present-day Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and western Germany, in 771. Charlemagne was a skilled military strategist and spent much of his reign engaged in warfare to unite all Germanic peoples into one kingdom and convert his subjects to Christianity.

In 774, Charlemagne conquered the Lombards in present-day northern Italy, and his conquests also included Bavaria, Saxony, and northern Spain. He also waged a bloody, three-decade-long series of battles against the Saxons, a Germanic tribe of pagans, and forced their conversion to Christianity.

In 800, Charlemagne was crowned emperor in Rome by Pope Leo III, becoming the first recognised emperor in the West since the fall of the Western Roman Empire three centuries earlier. He united most of Western and Central Europe and is often referred to as the "Father of Europe". Charlemagne's reign was marked by political and social changes that had a lasting influence on Europe throughout the Middle Ages.

In 796, Charlemagne launched another campaign against the Avars, this time allying with the Slavs, who had previously been subjugated by the Avars. Charlemagne's forces were again victorious, and the Avars were pushed out of the eastern Alps, allowing Charlemagne to extend his influence further east.

The House of Babenberg

The Elder House of Babenberg, also known as the Popponids, was related to the Frankish Robertian dynasty. They were descendants of Count Poppo of Grapfeld, first mentioned in 819 as a ruler in the gau of Grabfeld, a historic region in northeastern Franconia bordering Thuringia. One of Poppo's sons, Henry, served as a military leader under King Louis the Younger, while another son, Poppo II, was margrave in Thuringia from 880 to 892. The rivalry between the Babenberg and Conradine families, known as the "Babenberg feud", intensified in the 10th century during the reign of King Louis the Child, with clashes of arms occurring in 902.

The Younger House of Babenberg, or the House of Babenberg, were the descendants of Margrave Leopold I, who ruled Austria from 976 onwards. Leopold I of Babenberg became margrave of Austria in 976, and the Babenbergs ruled the Margraviate of Austria until it became a duchy in 1156. Leopold was succeeded by his son Henry I in 994, who continued his father's policies. Henry I was followed by his brother Adalbert in 1018, whose loyalty to Emperor Henry II and his successor Henry III was rewarded with various tokens of favour. Adalbert expanded the Austrian territory to its present borders on the Leitha, March, and Thaya rivers.

Leopold II, margrave from 1075, quarrelled with Emperor Henry IV during the Investiture Controversy when he supported the papal side of Bishop Altmann of Passau. Leopold III supported Henry V, the son of Emperor Henry IV, in his uprising against his father but later switched sides. Leopold III was canonized in 1485 and is regarded as the patron saint of Lower and Upper Austria.

Leopold's eldest son Leopold IV became margrave in 1136 and received the Duchy of Bavaria from King Conrad III in 1139. Leopold's brother Henry Jasomirgott became Count Palatine of the Rhine in 1140 and Margrave of Austria in 1141. In 1143, he was invested with the Duchy of Bavaria and resigned his office as count palatine. In 1155, the capital of Austria was transferred to Vienna, and in 1156, Austria was elevated to a duchy.

The second duke was Henry's son Leopold V, who succeeded him in 1177 and participated in several crusades. Leopold increased the territories of the Babenbergs by acquiring the Duchy of Styria under the will of his kinsman Duke Ottokar IV. Leopold VI, or Leopold the Glorious, united the Duchies of Austria and Styria upon the death of his brother Frederick in 1198. Leopold VI fought in the crusades in Spain, Egypt, and Palestine, but he is better known as a lawgiver, patron of letters, and founder of many towns. Under him, Vienna became the centre of culture in Germany.

Frederick II, Leopold VI's son, succeeded his father as duke in 1230. He earned the epithet "the Quarrelsome" due to his ongoing disputes with the kings of Hungary and Bohemia and with Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. Frederick deprived his mother and sisters of their possessions and was hated by his subjects because of his oppressive rule. He was placed under the imperial ban and driven from Austria in 1236 but was later restored to his duchy.

With the death of Duke Frederick II in 1246, the male line of the Babenbergs became extinct, and their 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 ruled Austria until 1918.

The Habsburg Dynasty

In 1273, Rudolf I of Habsburg was elected King of the Romans and received the Duchy of Austria in 1282, which he bestowed upon his two sons, thus establishing the Austrian hereditary lands. From this moment, the Habsburg dynasty was also known as the House of Austria.

The Habsburgs expanded their influence through strategic marriages and political privileges. In 1482, Maximilian I acquired the Netherlands through marriage, and his grandson and successor, Charles V, also inherited the Spanish throne and its colonial possessions. The abdication of Charles V in 1556 led to a division within the dynasty between his son Philip II of Spain and his brother Ferdinand I, who became ruler of Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, and the Austrian Empire.

The Habsburgs were frequently drawn into conflicts, particularly with the Ottoman Empire during the 16th and 17th centuries. The failed sieges of Vienna in 1529 and 1683 prompted Poland, Venice, and Russia to join the Habsburg Empire in repelling the Turks.

Under the Habsburg Dynasty, much of the legendary history of Austria was made. They oversaw the building of St. Stephen's Cathedral in the 12th century, which remains a landmark of Vienna to this day. Many other Viennese icons were also established during this period, including the Imperial Palace, known as the Hofburg.

The Austrian Empire under the Habsburgs expanded its territory across Europe, ruling over Burgundy, the Netherlands, Spain, Bohemia, and Hungary at various points. They also anointed the Holy Roman Emperor. The Napoleonic Wars brought about the end of the Habsburg-controlled Holy Roman Empire in 1806 and the emergence of the Austrian Empire.

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