Austria

Austria (, ; german: Österreich ), officially the Republic of Austria (german: Republik Österreich, links=no, ), is a landlocked East Alpine country in the southern part of

Central Europe

. It is composed of nine federated states (''Bundesländer''), one of which is

Vienna

, Austria's capital and largest city. It is bordered by

Germany

to the northwest, the Czech Republic to the north,

Slovakia

to the northeast,

Hungary

to the east,

Slovenia

and

Italy

to the south, and

Switzerland

and

Liechtenstein

to the west. Austria occupies an area of and has a population of nearly 9 million people. While

German

is the country's

official language

, many Austrians communicate informally in a variety of Bavarian dialects.

Austria initially emerged as a margraviate around 976 and developed into a duchy and archduchy. In the 16th century, Austria started serving as the heart of the

Habsburg Monarchy

and the junior branch of the House of Habsburg – one of the most influential royal dynasties in history. As an archduchy, it was a major component and administrative centre of the Holy Roman Empire. Early in the 19th century, Austria established its own empire, which became a great power and the leading force of the

German Confederation

, but pursued its own course independently of the other German states following its defeat in the Austro-Prussian War in 1866. In 1867, in compromise with

Hungary

, the

Austria-Hungary Dual Monarchy

was established.

Austria was involved in

World War I

under Emperor

Franz Joseph

following the assassination of

Archduke Ferdinand

, the presumptive successor to the Austro-Hungarian throne. After the defeat and the dissolution of the Monarchy, the Republic of German-Austria was proclaimed with the intent of union with Germany, but the Allied Powers did not support the new state and it remained unrecognized. In 1919 the First Austrian Republic became the legal successor of Austria. In 1938, the Austrian-born

Adolf Hitler

, who became the Chancellor of the German Reich, achieved the annexation of

Austria

by the

Anschluss

. Following the defeat of

Nazi Germany

in 1945 and an extended period of Allied occupation, Austria was re-established as a sovereign and self-governing democratic nation known as the Second Republic.

Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy with a directly elected Federal President as head of state and a Chancellor as head of the federal government. Major urban areas of Austria include

Vienna

,

Graz

, Linz,

Salzburg

and

Innsbruck

. Austria is consistently ranked in the top 20 richest countries in the world by GDP per capita terms. The country has achieved a high standard of living and in 2018 was ranked 20th in the world for its Human Development Index. Vienna consistently ranks in the top internationally on quality-of-life indicators.

The Second Republic declared its perpetual

neutrality

in foreign political affairs in 1955. Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955 and joined the European Union in 1995. It plays host to the OSCE and

OPEC

and is a founding member of the

OECD

and

Interpol

. Austria also signed the Schengen Agreement in 1995, and adopted the

euro

currency in 1999.

Etymology

The German name for Austria, , derives from the Old High German , which meant "eastern realm" and which first appeared in the "Ostarrîchi document" of 996. This word is probably a translation of Medieval Latin into a local (Bavarian) dialect.

Austria was a prefecture of Bavaria created in 976. The word "Austria" is a Latinisation of the German name and was first recorded in the 12th century.
At the time, the Danube basin of Austria ( Upper and Lower Austria) was the easternmost extent of Bavaria.

History

The Central European land that is now Austria was settled in pre-Roman times by various

Celt

ic tribes. The Celtic kingdom of Noricum was later claimed by the

Roman Empire

and made a province. Present-day Petronell-

Carnuntum

in eastern Austria was an important army camp turned capital city in what became known as the Upper Pannonia province. Carnuntum was home for 50,000 people for nearly 400 years.

Middle Ages

After the fall of the Roman Empire, the area was invaded by

Bavarians

,

Slavs

and Avars.

Charlemagne

, King of the Franks, conquered the area in AD 788, encouraged colonization, and introduced Christianity.Johnson 19 As part of Eastern Francia, the core areas that now encompass Austria were bequeathed to the house of Babenberg. The area was known as the '' marchia Orientalis'' and was given to Leopold of Babenberg in 976.Johnson 20–21

The first record showing the name Austria is from 996, where it is written as '' Ostarrîchi'', referring to the territory of the Babenberg March. In 1156, the Privilegium Minus elevated Austria to the status of a duchy. In 1192, the Babenbergs also acquired the Duchy of Styria. With the death of Frederick II in 1246, the line of the Babenbergs was extinguished.Johnson 21

As a result,

Ottokar II of Bohemia

effectively assumed control of the duchies of Austria, Styria, and Carinthia. His reign came to an end with his defeat at

Dürnkrut

at the hands of Rudolph I of Germany in 1278. Thereafter, until World War I, Austria's history was largely that of its ruling dynasty, the Habsburgs.

In the 14th and 15th centuries, the

Habsburgs

began to accumulate other provinces in the vicinity of the Duchy of Austria. In 1438, Duke Albert V of Austria was chosen as the successor to his father-in-law, Emperor Sigismund. Although Albert himself only reigned for a year, henceforth every emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was a Habsburg, with only one exception.

The Habsburgs began also to accumulate territory far from the hereditary lands. In 1477,

Archduke Maximilian

, only son of

Emperor Frederick III

, married the heiress Maria of Burgundy, thus acquiring most of the

Netherlands

for the family.Lonnie Johnson 25Brook-Shepherd 11 In 1496, his son

Philip the Fair

married Joanna the Mad, the heiress of

Castile

and Aragon, thus acquiring Spain and its Italian, African,

Asian

and New World appendages for the Habsburgs.

In 1526, following the Battle of Mohács">6c: from ...