Foreign relations exist between

Austria 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 ...

and

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

and their predecessor states. Austria has an embassy in Belgrade. Serbia has an embassy in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and a general consulate in

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

. Austria is a European Union member and Serbia is a European Union candidate.

History

The history of relations between the two countries goes back to the Great Turkish War,

Habsburg-occupied Serbia (1686–91) Habsburg Serbia may refer to several periods and territories in the history of Serbia: * Habsburg-occupied Serbia (1686–91), temporary Habsburg occupation of central Serbia (1686–1691) * Kingdom of Serbia (1718–39), crown land of the Habsbu ...

and

Great Serb Migrations The Great Migrations of the Serbs ( sr, Велике сеобе Срба), also known as the Great Exoduses of the Serbs, refers mainly to two Human migrations, large migrations of Serbs from various territories under the rule of the Ottoman Em ...

(formation of

Military Frontier The Military Frontier (german: Militärgrenze, sh-Latn, Vojna krajina/Vojna granica, Војна крајина/Војна граница; hu, Katonai határőrvidék; ro, Graniță militară) was a borderland of the Habsburg monarchy and ...

and building of

Petrovaradin Fortress Petrovaradin Fortress ( sr, Петроварадинска тврђава, Petrovaradinska tvrđava, ; hu, Péterváradi vár), nicknamed "Gibraltar on/of the Danube", is a fortress in the town of Petrovaradin, itself part of the City of Novi Sad ...

), to the era when the

Kingdom of Serbia (1718–1739) The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr, Краљевина Србија, translit=Kraljevina Srbija, german: Königreich Serbien, la, Regnum Serviae) was a province (crownland) of the Habsburg monarchy from 1718 to 1739. It was formed from the territories ...

had been a province of the Habsburg monarchy, and the last Austro-Turkish War (1787–91) at the time of

Habsburg-occupied Serbia (1788–92) Habsburg Serbia may refer to several periods and territories in the history of Serbia: * Habsburg-occupied Serbia (1686–91), temporary Habsburg occupation of central Serbia (1686–1691) * Kingdom of Serbia (1718–39), crown land of the Habsbu ...

Foreign relations, as such, date from the proclamation of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence ...

in 1804 and the formation in 1817 of the

Principality of Serbia The Principality of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Књажество Србија, Knjažestvo Srbija) was an autonomous state in the Balkans that came into existence as a result of the Serbian Revolution, which lasted between 1804 and 1817. Its creation wa ...

, an autonomous state within the Ottoman Empire. The Habsburg recognized the independence of Serbia and established diplomatic relations in 1874, supported by the

Treaty of Berlin (1878) The Treaty of Berlin (formally the Treaty between Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Great Britain and Ireland, Italy, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire for the Settlement of Affairs in the East) was signed on 13 July 1878. In the aftermath of the ...

. Hungarian suppression of Serbian revolts during the

1848 Revolutions The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europe ...

were not opposed by the Habsburg rulers. Serbian claims were not recognized by Hungary was eventually placated with the

Austro-Hungarian Compromise The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (german: Ausgleich, hu, Kiegyezés) established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereignty and status of the Kingdom of Hungary ...

of 1867, further angering Serbian nationalists. One notable flare-up between the two countries was the 1906-1909 economic conflict known as the Pig War followed with the diplomatic and military crisis over the Austrian annexation of Bosnia which contributed to inflame pan-Serb sentiment and helped lay the grounds for

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Ultimately, the tensions between the two countries could not withstand the strain of the Assassination of the Austrian Archduke, by a young Bosnian Serb, an opportunity for the Austro-Hungarian government to solve Slav nationalism. Following the

July Crisis The July Crisis was a series of interrelated diplomatic and military escalations among the major powers of Europe in the summer of 1914, which led to the outbreak of World War I (1914–1918). The crisis began on 28 June 1914, when Gavrilo Pri ...

, Austro-Hungary launched three unsuccessful offensives to punish Serbia for allegedly supporting the assassins. In October 1915 with the help of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

forces, Serbia was finally conquered and divided into separate occupation zones. The northern three-quarters of Serbia was placed under a harsh Austro-Hungarian occupational regime until its liberation by allied forces in 1918. The First World War eventually destroyed the Austro-Hungarian Empire, leaving a shrunken First Austrian Republic as a rump state. Serbia annexed much of the former Austrian holdings in the Balkans to become the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

, later the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Austria was eventually annexed by Germany in 1938, ending its separate foreign relations. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Serbian prisoners of war were among Allied POWs held in the Stalag XVII-A, Stalag XVII-B,

Stalag XVIII-A Stalag XVIII-A was a World War II German Army (Wehrmacht) prisoner-of-war camp located to the south of the town of Wolfsberg, in the southern Austrian state of Carinthia, then a part of Nazi Germany. A sub-camp Stalag XVIII-A/Z was later opened i ...

, Stalag XVIII-B, Stalag 317/XVIII-C and Stalag 398 German POW camps and forced labour subcamps in German-annexed Austria. A number of Serb medical doctors and veterinarians got educated in Austria during the interwar period and earlier as well.

Population

There are between 200,000 and 300,000 people of Serbian descent living in Austria. 20 Minuten Online
''Serben-Demo eskaliert in Wien''
/ref> There are also 3,000 Austrian expats in Serbia, making it home to the largest Austrian population in the Eastern European region (besides Romania).

Diplomacy

* Serbia has an embassy in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and a consulate-general in

* Austria has an embassy in Belgrade and a consulate-general in

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...

File:Austrian Embassy in Belgrade (Ambasada Austrije u Beogradu).jpg, Austrian Embassy in Belgrade File:Oelzeltgasse3.JPG, Serbian embassy in Vienna

References

External links

* ttp://www.bmeia.gv.at/index.php?id=70175&L=0 Austrian embassy in Belgrade (in German and Serbian only)
Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs about relations with Austria

Serbian embassy in Vienna (in German and Serbian only)

Serbian general consulate in Salzburg (in German and Serbian only)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Austria-Serbia Relations

Bilateral relations of Serbia

History

Population

Diplomacy

See also

References

Further reading

External links