Austria–Poland relations
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Austria–Poland relations are foreign relations between Austria and Poland. The two nations have a very long historical relationship dating back several centuries, which has been complicated throughout most of their history. At the peak of their power, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Austria's
Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
enjoyed a very strong and cordial relationship. Polish hussars under the banner of
John III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( pl, Jan III Sobieski; lt, Jonas III Sobieskis; la, Ioannes III Sobiscius; 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobie ...
helped Austrians to fend off the Turks in the
Battle of Vienna The Battle of Vienna; pl, odsiecz wiedeńska, lit=Relief of Vienna or ''bitwa pod Wiedniem''; ota, Beç Ḳalʿası Muḥāṣarası, lit=siege of Beç; tr, İkinci Viyana Kuşatması, lit=second siege of Vienna took place at Kahlenberg Mou ...
, and there were many internal and political exchanges between both states. However, Austria's participation in the
Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...
with Prussia and Russia a century later strained relations. Several Polish uprisings against Austrian rule broke out in the Austrian-occupied part of Poland, the largest of which were the
Austro-Polish War The Austro-Polish War or Polish-Austrian War was a part of the War of the Fifth Coalition in 1809 (a coalition of the Austrian Empire and the United Kingdom against Napoleon's French Empire and Bavaria). In this war, Polish forces of the N ...
of 1809 and the Kraków uprising of 1846.
Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...
also joined the insurgencies of other nations against Austria, most notably Hungarians and the Italians, during the Revolutions of 1848. However, of the three partitioning nations, Austria was the most tolerant towards the Poles. In 1867, Poles were given wide autonomy, and Polish culture flourished in the Austrian Partition. In the 20th century, after the collapse of Austria-Hungary, both Austria and Poland re-established relations, only to be interrupted by Nazi Germany's annexation of Austria and then its invasion of Poland that was helped by the Soviet Union. After World War II, both re-established relations, but the relationship between the Austria and the Polish People's Republic was strained. Poland was a communist satellite of the Soviet Union, and Austria was under the Western Bloc and closely tied to the West and the United States. Their relationship improved in 1989, after the collapse of the
Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
. Since then, the relationship between them has undergone significant progress, as Austria supported Poland to join NATO and European Union, which Poland occurred in 1999 and 2004 respectively. The relationship between both nations is now considered to be excellent. Both countries are full members of the OECD, OSCE, European Union, Three Seas Initiative,
Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...
, United Nations and World Trade Organization.


History

The first recognized relations between two states dated back from the Teutonic Order, a German-based military religious order. For several years, there had been repeated conflicts between the Kingdom of Poland and the Teutonic Order. At their height, the Order was weakened by the Polish victory at the Battle of Grunwald (1410), which paved the way for Poland to emerge as a powerful nation in Europe and one of the key players in
Central and Eastern Europe Central and Eastern Europe is a term encompassing the countries in the Baltics, Central Europe, Eastern Europe and Southeast Europe (mostly the Balkans), usually meaning former communist states from the Eastern Bloc and Warsaw Pact in Europe. ...
. In the 16th century, Bohemia (Czechia) and Hungary, both of which bordered Poland, fell under the rule of the Austrian House of Habsburg. The Habsburgs tried to take power also in Poland, as they repeatedly presented their candidacies in the Polish royal elections, starting in
1573 Year 1573 ( MDLXXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 25 – Battle of Mikatagahara in Japan: Takeda Shingen defeats Tokugaw ...
, but to no avail. After the
1587 Polish–Lithuanian royal election The free election of 1587 was the third royal election to be held in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, which took place after the death of King Stefan Batory. It began on June 30, 1587, when Election Sejm was summoned in the village of Wola n ...
, in an attempt to become King of Poland,
Maximilian III Maximilian III may refer to: * Maximilian III, Archduke of Austria (1558–1618) *Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria Maximilian III Joseph, "the much beloved", (28 March 1727 – 30 December 1777) was a Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Emp ...
involved Austria in the War of the Polish Succession, which is considered the first major Austro-Polish war. The Austrians were decisively defeated by the Poles at the Battle of Byczyna in 1588. At 1683, hearing about the Ottoman' siege of Vienna, Polish King
John III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( pl, Jan III Sobieski; lt, Jonas III Sobieskis; la, Ioannes III Sobiscius; 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobie ...
had rallied many of Polish hussars and fought in the Christian alliance. After the victory, he met with
Leopold Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name) * Leopold (surname) Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold Bloom, the protagonist o ...
, then ruler of Holy Roman Empire, but they disagreed on many issues. Despite this, Austria and Poland were allies as part of the
Holy League Commencing in 1332 the numerous Holy Leagues were a new manifestation of the Crusading movement in the form of temporary alliances between interested Christian powers. Successful campaigns included the capture of Smyrna in 1344, at the Battle of ...
formed in 1684 during the
Great Turkish War The Great Turkish War (german: Großer Türkenkrieg), also called the Wars of the Holy League ( tr, Kutsal İttifak Savaşları), was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League consisting of the Holy Roman Empire, Pola ...
of 1683–1699, and both emerged victorious in the war. In 1733, Austria involved itself in the War of the Polish Succession, which turned into a major European conflict that was fought by several European powers throughout the Continent.


Partitions of Poland

However, in the 18th century, the growing Russian influence and expansion, and the decline of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth made Austria switch its support from Poland to Russia. Russian political dominance of Poland was further enhanced by the
Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...
in which Austria was one of the main parties, along with Russia and Prussia. Austria, however, acquired the smallest partition of Poland, as it participated only in the
First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and
Third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...
of the three partitions. It lost parts of the captured territories in the
Austro–Polish War The Austro-Polish War or Polish-Austrian War was a part of the War of the Fifth Coalition in 1809 (a coalition of the Austrian Empire and the United Kingdom against Napoleon's French Empire and Bavaria). In this war, Polish forces of the N ...
in 1809. The first notable Polish uprising after the partitions, the Denisko uprising, took place in 1797 in the Austrian Partition of Poland and was suppressed by the Austrians. Of the three partitiong powers, Austria was the least suppressive of the Polish population, mainly, because of its multiethnic tradition, and its tolerance compared to the strong suppression of Polish culture in Prussia, later Germany, and in Russia. Despite such a level of tolerance, Poles were quite active demanding independence and political rights, including the notable Kraków uprising of 1846. Poles joined the Revolutions of 1848 to support other nations' fights for freedom against Austria, most notably the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 and the
First Italian War of Independence The First Italian War of Independence ( it, Prima guerra d'indipendenza italiana), part of the Italian Unification (''Risorgimento''), was fought by the Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont) and Italian volunteers against the Austrian Empire and other ...
. Polish General, Józef Bem continued the conflict against the Austrian rulers and gave great difficulty to the Austrian Army in Hungary. The Hungarian revolution stopped only after Russian reinforcement arrived and quelled it with blood. At the same time, Polish national poet Adam Mickiewicz formed the
Mickiewicz Legion The Mickiewicz Legion or the Polish Legion was a military unit formed on March 29, 1848 in Rome by one of the most notable Polish poets, Adam Mickiewicz, to take part in the liberation of Italy. Though the Polish insurrection in the Greater Pol ...
, a Polish military unit which fought against the Austrians in the First Italian War of Independence, which was unsuccessful as well. From then, Austria became increasingly harsh towards the Poles but remained the most tolerant of the partitions. In the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, which encompassed most of the Austrian-controlled Polish territories, Poles enjoyed wide autonomy since 1867, and Polish culture and science blossomed. Its two major cities ( Kraków and
Lwów Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukraine ...
) became cultural and political capitals of Polish people during the partition period. During World War I, Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Joseph I feared a mutiny if the Poles fought in one battalion. He decided to separate out Polish regiments into small parts to prevent any Polish uprising, for independence. Nonetheless, the Polish battalions had planned to work out together to use the war as a chance to resurrect Polish nation after a century being partitioned by Russia, Austria and Germany. After the war, Poland regained independence from Austria.


Interwar period and World War II

Relationship between the two nations started at 1920, but it was a tense era, and there had been no formal contact as most of Central and Eastern Europe had been razed by wars. The newly-established
Republic of Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
and
Austrian Republic Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ci ...
did not enjoy any extensive relations outside the ambassador level, like for most of Eastern Europe. However, relationship between two nations disappeared in 1938 after the Anschluss which Nazi Germany annexed Austria. Until 1945, relationship between Austria and Poland varied mostly throughout the relationship between Germany and Poland, which would become tense because of the German invasion of Poland, which sparked World War II. Austria shares a common language and culture with Germany and participated in the occupation of Poland. Many crimes against Poles were committed under the banner of Nazi Germany, also in the Mauthausen and Gusen concentration camps, which were located in German-controlled Austria.


Postwar

After the war, Poland went on to be occupied by Soviet Union, and Austria was
occupied ' (Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October 2 ...
by the United States, the United Kingdom, France and the Soviet Union. Both countries followed different political systems; Austria went on to re-establish itself as a Republic and pledged neutrality, while Poland became a satellite of the Soviet Union with a Soviet-installed communist regime. In the later political climate, the relationship between Austria and Poland was tense and cool, and there was little contact between them throughout the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
. Many Polish refugees, most of whom were escaping from communist rule, settled in Austria and formed a small community of Polish diaspora in Austria. That situation remained until 1989, when the
collapse of communism The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Natio ...
across Europe let the relationship between them improve again. Since the end of communism at 1989 in Poland, Austria has been a supporter of Poland's integration to the Western world. Both nations enjoy significant progress, as Poland joined NATO and the European Union, and Austria joined the latter. Recently, a stronger economic and democratic co-operation has occurred, such as for a mutual civil law and documents. Recently, disagreements between Poland and Austria have occurred over the Syrian refugee crisis caused by the ongoing Syrian Civil War.


Resident diplomatic missions

* Austria has an embassy in Warsaw and a consulate-general in Kraków. * Poland has an embassy in Vienna, and honorary consulates in
Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...
,
Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...
, Linz and Salzburg. File:Ambasada Austrii w Warszawie 2019.jpg, Embassy of Austria in Warsaw File:POL Kraków Krupnicza Konsulat Generalny Austrii 2.jpg, Consulate-General of Austria in Kraków File:Wien 13 Polnische Botschaft a.jpg, Embassy of Poland in Vienna


See also

* Poles in Austria * Austrians in Poland


References


External links


Austrian Embassy Warsaw

Embassy of the Republic of Poland, Vienna, Austria
{{DEFAULTSORT:Austria-Poland relations Poland Bilateral relations of Poland