I.

Introduction

Austria (in German, Österreich), officially Republic of Austria, republic in central Europe, bordered on the north by the Czech Republic; on the north-east by Slovakia; on the east by Hungary; on the south by Slovenia, Italy, and Switzerland; and on the west by Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Germany. Austria is about 580 km (360 mi) long and has an area of 83,858 sq km (32,378 sq mi). Vienna is the country’s capital and largest city.

II.

Land and Resources

Austria is predominantly a mountainous country, with an average elevation of about 910 m (3,000 ft). Most of the land falls within the eastern division of the Alps. In general the major mountain ranges of Austria run in an east-west direction and are separated from one another by rather broad valleys. The northernmost line of ranges includes the North Tirol Alps and the Salzburg Alps. Among the central ranges is the Hohe Tauern, which culminates in the Grossglockner, the highest elevation (3,797 m/12,457 ft) in the country; the Pasterze Glacier, one of Europe’s largest, descends from the Grossglockner peak. The southernmost ranges include the Ötztal Alps, the Zillertal Alps, the Carnic Alps, and the Karawanken Mountains. Besides these latitudinal ranges, several series of mountain spurs extend in a north-south direction. The mountain barriers of Austria are broken in many places by passes, including the Brenner Pass and the Semmering Pass.

The principal areas of Austria that are not within the Alps are the northern and eastern border sections. The northern section consists of rolling upland, and the eastern border section comprises part of the Danube Basin, including Vienna.

A.

Rivers and Lakes

The principal river is the Danube, which enters Austria at Passau on the German border; it continues its south-eastward course, past Linz and Vienna, to Bratislava on the Slovakian border. Austrian tributaries of the Danube include the Inn (forming part of Austria’s German border), Traun, Enns, and Ybbs rivers. In the south, important rivers are the Mur and the Mürz. In addition to the rivers, the hydrographic system of the country includes numerous lakes, notably Lake Constance (Bodensee), forming the western border with Germany and Switzerland, and Neusiedler Lake in Burgenland, near Hungary. Burgenland is the country’s lowest elevation point (115 m/377 ft).

B.

Climate

The Austrian climate varies with altitude; with location in relation to Atlantic, continental, and Mediterranean influences; and with certain local wind characteristics. Mountainous regions are partially subject to moderate Atlantic conditions and experience more precipitation than the eastern lowlands, which are under continental influences. Spring and autumn are usually mild throughout the country. Summers are short, with moderate temperatures. Cold and often severe winters last about three months in the valleys, where they are usually ended by the foehn, a warm, dry wind from the south that is often accompanied by damp fog and sudden thaws that precipitate avalanches. Mean annual temperatures range between about 6.7° and 8.9° C (44° and 48° F) throughout the country. Average annual rainfall is between about 1,016 and 1,270 mm (40 and 50 in). In some interior valleys, the average annual rainfall is between 1,542 and 2,032 mm (60 and 80 in).

C.

Natural Resources

Austria has sizeable deposits of iron ore, lignite, magnesite, petroleum, and natural gas and is a prime world supplier of high-grade graphite. Some small deposits of bituminous coal have been mined, as well as lead, zinc, copper, kaolin, gypsum, mica, quartz, salt, bauxite, antimony, and talc.

Rich terra rossa (red) soils predominate in Austrian valleys. At slightly higher elevations, the soil is of a brown forest type. Alpine meadow soils are usually found in high-altitude regions.

D.

Plants and Animals

Deciduous trees, mainly beech, oak, and birch, are predominant in the lower altitudes; spruce, fir, larch, and stone pine extend to the tree line. The higher altitudes have a very brief season during which alpine plants, including edelweiss, gentians, primroses, buttercups, and monkshoods, come into brilliant flower.

Wildlife is generally scarce in Austria. Chamois, deer, and marmots are still represented; bears, which were once abundant, are now almost completely absent. Hunting is strictly regulated to protect the remaining species.

E.

Environmental Concerns

Industrial emissions, a high volume of tourist traffic, and significant air pollution from other countries—principally Germany, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic—combine to make acid rain the major environmental problem in Austria. One-quarter of the forests suffer some acid damage, and tree cover may be significantly reduced in some areas. To combat this problem, the country has imposed the most stringent motor vehicle exhaust standards in Europe. Other environmental threats include agricultural expansion, damming of rivers for hydroelectric power generation, and erosion caused by loss of forest cover. Austria is blessed with many mountain watercourses, from which the country cleanly generates much of its power, and even exports some. However, this capacity is seasonal and the country must import energy from its neighbours during the winter months. A single nuclear power plant was constructed in the 1970s but, because of public opposition, was decommissioned before it began operating. Ironically, in 1986, only eight years later, Austria was heavily contaminated by fallout from the nuclear accident at Chernobyl, Ukraine. In 1991, fearing similar contamination from unsafe nuclear plants in the Czech Republic, the Austrian government distributed potassium iodine tablets to all citizens to combat the effects of thyroid radiation poisoning. The president also proposed a nuclear-free zone encompassing Austria, Italy, Hungary, Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic and Slovakia), and Yugoslavia (now Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Yugoslavia). Currently, the country is involved in arguments with the Czech Republic over that nation’s nuclear reactor at Temelin, which the Austrian government believes is a safety threat.

Austria is 47 per cent forested (1995), with most forests located in the alpine zone and consisting of fir, pine, and oak, or oak and chestnut at lower elevations. About 85 per cent of the forests are reserved for timber harvest. Wetlands have been reduced to 10 per cent of their historic extent. Austria's land protection system exists mostly as separate designations of the nine provinces. Overall, about 24 per cent of the country is under some form of protection, including three national parks and hundreds of nature reserves, nature parks, and landscape reserves. Hunting and fishing, with local restrictions, are generally allowed throughout the system. Austria contains 18 Council of Europe (CE) biogenetic reserves and six biosphere reserves under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Austria has joined with its neighbours in formulating plans to protect the Alps and is working towards transborder protected area designations with Germany and Hungary as well as signing and ratifying the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

III.

Population

The Austrian people are German-speaking, but the country has a varied ethnic mixture—a legacy from the time of the multinational Habsburg Austria. It includes significant numbers of Croats and Magyars (in Burgenland); Slovenes (in Carinthia); Czechs (in Vienna); and small numbers of Italians, Serbs, and Romanians. An influx of refugees in the post-World War II years increased their numbers and new groups—Turks, for example—were added.

A.

Population Characteristics

Austria has a population of 8,199,783 (2007 estimate). Overall population density is about 100 per sq km (258 per sq mi). About 66 per cent of the population is urban, with almost one third of the people living in the five largest cities: Vienna, Graz, Linz, Salzburg, and Innsbruck.

B.

Political Divisions

Austria is divided into nine provinces: Burgenland, Carinthia (Kärnten), Lower Austria (Niederösterreich), Salzburg, Styria (Steiermark), Tirol, Upper Austria (Oberösterreich), Vienna (Wien), and Vorarlberg.

C.

Principal Cities

Vienna, the capital and largest city, has a population of 1,651,437 (2006 estimate). Other important cities include Graz, a centre for heavy industry, with a population of 244,604 (2006 estimate); Linz, the provincial capital of Upper Austria and a port on the Danube, with 188,362 (2006 estimate); Salzburg, a cultural and tourist centre, with 148,473 (2006 estimate); and Innsbruck, the provincial capital of Tirol and a tourist attraction because of the beauty of the city and its location, with 116,851 (2006 estimate).

D.

Religion

Roman Catholicism is the religion of about 80 per cent of the population of Austria. Various Protestant denominations account for about 6 per cent. Muslims constitute 1 per cent, and a small minority of the population is Jewish.

E.

Language

The official language of Austria is Standard German, which is known by almost the entire population. Slovenian (spoken by between 20,000 and 40,000 people) is an officially recognized, regional language. As well as German, three other Germanic languages are mother tongues for certain numbers of the population: Alemannisch (300,000 speakers; known as “Alsatian” in south-east France); Walser (5,000 to 10,000 speakers); and Bavarian (no available estimate). Croatian is a first language for at least 100,000 Austrians, while Hungarian is a mother tongue for at least 20,000 people. Sinte Romani, a Yugoslav language, is used by a very small minority. Non-indigenous languages spoken in Austria include Turkish, Polish, Kurmanji, French, Greek, and Czech.

F.

Education

The basis of the Austrian educational system is the national law that requires school attendance for all children between the ages of 6 and 15. Austria’s long tradition of free education dates from the Educational Reform Act of 1774, instituted by Empress Maria Theresa. This law, which was expanded in 1867 and again in 1962, largely accounts for the fact that 99 per cent of the population is able to read and write. Educational spending accounted for 9.5 per cent of the Austrian national budget in 1993.

Although the foundations of Austria’s present educational system were laid in the 18th century, its roots can be traced to the monastic schools of the Middle Ages. One such school, the Schottengymnasium in Vienna, has been in continuous operation by the order of Benedictines since 1155. Under German occupation from 1938 to 1945, the country’s schools suffered severe restraints on their teaching programmes. Since World War II, various programmes have been inaugurated to expand and strengthen the educational system.

Austria has received international recognition for the high quality of its medical training. In the arts it has sought new approaches to the awakening of students’ creative interests, especially in the field of art education under the leadership of Franz Čizek. In many aspects, Austrian schools were among the first anywhere to be marked by a general trend towards progressive education.

All students attend elementary school (Volksschule) for four years. Children who will end their schooling at the age of 15 either enter vocational school or continue at the Volksschule. Secondary education is limited to ages 10 to 18, and is required for admission to a university. In 2000 some 392,339 students attended about 3,700 primary schools, and more than 496,400 students were enrolled in some 1,180 secondary schools.

Austria has an extensive system of special schools and adult education centres. In 1995 over 309,100 students were enrolled in vocational schools and teacher-training institutions.

The largest of Austria’s 26 university-level institutions is the University of Vienna (1365). Other major universities are the Karl Franzens University of Graz (1585), Innsbruck University (1669), and Salzburg University (1622). Austria has technical universities; colleges of mining, agriculture, veterinary medicine, and commerce; and five academies of fine arts and music, which also offer summer courses that attract foreign students. University enrolment in 2001–2002 was 223,735.

G.

Culture

Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, Vienna was a world centre of culture, particularly in music and literature. Austrian fine art is usually considered with the art of southern Germany. A distinctive Austrian style, however, is manifested in the refined Baroque architecture and sculpture of the 17th and 18th centuries, notably in Vienna and Salzburg.

The largest of the 2,400 libraries in Austria is the National Library, founded in 1526. Important research collections are housed in the various universities, in several old monasteries, and in a number of scientific libraries. The collection of the former royal house contains state papers dating from 816; collections of the Holy Roman Empire dating from 1555; and documents concerning the history of the Austrian Empire, the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, and the period since 1918.

The art and natural science museums of Vienna are internationally known, as are many individual collections. The Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Art History) is famous for its paintings by members of the Brueghel family and for the works of Dutch, Italian, and German painters. The Albertina collection of prints and drawings, the collections of jewellery and relics of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austrian Gallery, the technical museum, and the museum of folklore and ethnography are all well known. Salzburg, birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, has two museums housing collections of his manuscripts and memorabilia.

Important art contributions include early woodcarvings, tapestries, hand-carved and hand-painted chests, intricately forged grates and other ironwork, stained-glass windows, porcelain, lace, and leatherwork. Woodcarving has long been popular among the people of the Alpine valleys. Among the best-known modern painters of Austria are Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, Oskar Kokoschka, and Hundertwasser.

The Land of Music is a name often given to Austria. The composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert, Johann Strauss the Elder and Younger, Franz von Suppé, Anton Bruckner, Gustav Mahler, Alban Berg, Anton Webern, Franz Lehár, and Arnold Schoenberg, as well as the conductors Felix Weingartner, Clemens Krauss, and Herbert von Karajan, are just a few who have enriched Austrian cultural life. The Vienna Boys’ Choir and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra are celebrated institutions. Vienna has two famous opera houses, the Volksoper (People’s Opera), opened in 1904, and the Vienna State Opera, completed in 1869 and known for its magnificent architecture and the high quality of its performances. In addition, every provincial capital has its own theatre, and the summer festivals in Vienna, Salzburg, and Bregenz are outstanding musical events.

See also Austrian Literature.

IV.

Economy

The Austrian economy was based on a balance of private and public enterprise. However, the basic industries were nationalized after 1946; these include all oil production and refining; the largest commercial banks; and the principal companies in river and air transport, rail equipment, electrical machinery and appliances, mining, iron, steel, and chemical manufacturing, and natural gas and electric power production. A programme of privatization was initiated that resulted in many industries passing out of public ownership by the early 1990s. By the mid-1990s only a few enterprises, among them the postal service, parts of the banking system, and fixed-line telecommunications, remained in the public sector.

The gross national product (GNP) of Austria in 2004 was US$264 billion (World Bank estimate), or US$37,190 per capita. In the 2005 the estimated annual national budget included revenues of US$128.8 billion and expenditures of US$122.1 billion. In 2005 the estimated gross domestic product (GDP) was US$306 billion.

A.

Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing

Of the total land area, about 16.8 per cent is considered suitable for cultivation. Meadows and pastures constitute about 24 per cent of the total land area, and market gardens and vineyards account for slightly more than 1 per cent. About half of Austrian farms are under 10 hectares (25 acres) in size. Agriculture contributes about 1.5 per cent of Austrian GDP (2005, including forestry and fishing), and employs about 6 per cent of the working population (2005).

Major products and yearly yields in 2005 included sugar beet (3 million tonnes), maize (1.60 million), wheat (1.45 million), barley (1 million), and potatoes (707,911 tonnes). Livestock included 3 million pigs, 2.01 million head of cattle (of which about one quarter were dairy cows), 325,700 sheep, and 85,000 horses.

Approximately 46.8 per cent of the total land area is forest or woodland. A comprehensive reforestation and conservation programme has been in progress since the early 1950s to compensate for damage inflicted during World War II and for post-war overcutting of forest trees. Almost 80 per cent of the forests consists of conifers, mostly spruce, which are important in the paper and pulp industry as well as in building construction. In 1995 about 13.8 million cu m (488 million cu ft) of timber were felled.

Processing and consumption of fish are low, and most fish are imported. Fishing in the mountain streams is a popular sport.

B.

Mining

The average annual production of principal minerals in the late 1980s included iron ore (1.6 million tonnes), lignite (1.3 million), crude oil (1.1 million), salt (786,000), magnesite (654,000), and zinc ore (20,014). Other minerals commercially mined included copper, lead, antimony, graphite, gypsum, kaolin, and talc; there was also drilling for natural gas.

C.

Manufacturing

The Austrian manufacturing industry consists of a few large organizations, many of which operate under government auspices, and a great number of small and medium-sized production units. Manufacturing contributed almost 20 per cent of Austrian GDP in 2003, and employed almost 22 per cent of the working population. The principal industrial products by bulk are pig iron, crude steel, rolled steel, machinery, food products, chemical products, motor vehicles, cement, fertilizers, rayon, cotton, and woollen yarns and fabrics, and paper. Production of crude steel totalled just under 5 million tonnes in 1994.

D.

Tourism

Austria has a substantial tourist industry, owing to its wealth of cultural and recreational attractions. In 2005 almost 20 million tourists visited the country, spending some US$11.1 billion. Popular destinations include Vienna, Salzburg, and the Austrian Alps. Austria derives the highest proportion of its GNP, 6.3 per cent, from tourism of any of the 29 OECD member states.

E.

Energy

Austria has numerous hydroelectric installations, which together produce more than two thirds of the country’s electrical output. In 1994 Austria had an electricity-generating capacity of some 17.2 million kW, and approximately 56 billion kWh of electricity were generated in 2003. Substantial amounts of electricity were exported to other European countries.

F.

Currency and Banking

The monetary unit of Austria was formerly the schilling of 100 groschen, but in accordance with the country’s entry into the European single currency, as from January 1, 2002, Austria adopted Euro notes and coins. As at early 2007, 0.77 Euros equalled US$1. The Austrian National Bank has authority over the nation’s currency and bank credit policies. Austria has more than 1,000 commercial, savings, cooperative, and mortgage banks.

G.

Commerce and Trade

The total estimated value of imports of goods in 2004 was about US$104 billion. Construction and industrial machinery, chemicals, electrical apparatus, transport equipment, petroleum, and foodstuffs were among the chief import commodities. Austrian exports totalled about US$104 billion in the same period. The principal products exported included iron and steel, engines and engine parts, wood and timber, paper, paperboard, synthetic fibres and fabrics, electric power, machinery, embroidery, and chemicals. Austria also has an active “invisible” import/export sector, dealing with banking and other services. Germany is the largest market for and supplier to Austrian industry. Italy and the other nations of the European Union, Japan, the United States, and Switzerland are also major trade partners.

H.

Labour

About 60 per cent of the total Austrian workforce of 3,758,800 (1995) belongs to the 15 unions that make up the Austrian Trade Union Federation. Membership in unions is on a voluntary basis, but all wage earners are required by law to join their respective staff associations. These are organized on a provincial basis and represent workers on legislative matters. Women make up more than 40 per cent of the total workforce.

I.

Transport

Austria has a highly developed system of rail, air, water, and road transport. In 2005 the country had some 5,781 km (3,592 mi) of railways, about 98 per cent of which were owned by the state. As a landlocked and mountainous country, Austria depends on rail passage for a major share of its foreign trade. Motorways and roads totalled about 33,715 km (20,950 mi) in 1995. Water transport is confined largely to the Danube. The state-owned First Danube Steamship Company, the largest shipping company in Austria, provides both freight and passenger service on the river. Many international carriers serve Austrian airports, with most traffic to Schwechat, near Vienna. Austrian Airlines, the national airline, serves many European and domestic routes.

J.

Communications

Radio, television, telephone, and telegraph systems were all state monopolies until the broadcasting system was converted into a joint-stock company in December 1957. The Austrian Broadcasting Company (Österreichischer Rundfunk) provides three radio and two television services. In 1997, 6 million registered radios and 4 million television receivers were in use.

Telephone and telegraph communications are directed by the Austrian postal service. More than 3.8 million telephones are in service (1995). Over 150 daily and weekly newspapers and other periodicals are published. Daily newspaper circulation averages more than 2 million. Influential dailies include Die Presse, Der Standard (circulation 118,000), Wiener Zeitung (21,000), and Wirtschafts Blatt (47,000) published in Vienna, and the Salzburger Nachrichten, published in Salzburg.

V.

Government

Austria is a democratic, federal republic governed according to the constitution of 1920, as amended in 1929 and subsequently modified. This constitution, abrogated in 1934 by the right-wing Chancellor Englebert Dollfuss and suspended after annexation by Germany in 1938, was restored in 1945. Like the constitutions of many other Western democracies, the constitution of Austria provides for a distinct division of power between the executive, the legislative, and the judicial branches of government. Laws having their origin in 1862 and 1867 guarantee basic human rights and liberties; the rights of minorities are also guaranteed by the constitution.

A.

Executive and Legislature

Executive power is exercised by the president of the republic, who is elected by popular vote every six years, and by the Council of Ministers, which is headed by a chancellor, appointed by the president for a term not exceeding four years. Suffrage is universal for people over age 18.

Federal legislative power is vested principally in the National Council (Nationalrat), or lower house, composed of 183 members elected for four-year terms by popular vote according to proportional representation. The Cabinet may remain in office only so long as it enjoys the confidence of the National Council. The Federal Council (Bundesrat), the upper house, consists of 64 members chosen by the provincial legislatures in proportion to population for terms ranging from four to six years. Although the powers of the Federal Council are primarily advisory, the council can delay passage of bills.

B.

Political Parties

Following parliamentary elections held in 2006, the National Council consisted of 66 members of the Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP; Österreichische Volkspartei), 68 members of the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ; Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs), 21 members of the Freedom Party (FPÖ; Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs), 21 members of the Green Party (Die Grünen), and 7 members of the Alliance for the Future of Austria (Bündnis Zukunft Österreich), the new party of Jörg Haider.

C.

Judiciary

The legal system is based on the division between legislative, administrative, and judicial power. There are three supreme courts: the Supreme Constitutional Court, the Supreme Administrative Court, and the Supreme Judicial Court. The judicial courts include 4 higher provincial courts, 17 provincial and district courts, and about 200 local courts. The constitutional court deals with matters affecting the country’s constitution, and examines the legality of administration and legislation. The administrative court deals with matters affecting the legality of administration.

D.

Local Government

Each of the nine provinces has a unicameral legislature elected on the same basis as the National Council. The legislature chooses a provincial governor. All legislation must be submitted by the governor to the federal ministry for approval. The provincial legislature, however, may override a ministry veto by majority vote. Cities and villages are administered by elected communal councils, which in turn elect mayors, or burgomasters.

E.

Health and Welfare

The Austrian system of social insurance is comprehensive, including sickness, disability, accident, old-age, and unemployment benefits, allowances for families with children, and rent subsidy. The system is financed by compulsory employer and employee contributions. Health insurance and some others are voluntary for those who are self-employed. In 2004 Austria had 1 doctor per 308 people; in 2007 the infant mortality rate was 5 deaths per 1,000 live births. Just over 14 per cent of the national budget was spent on health care in 1997.

F.

Defence

An Austrian army was authorized by the treaty of May 15, 1955. Under the terms of this treaty, which promulgated Austria’s sovereignty and neutrality, no limitation was placed on the army size, but its equipment was restricted to conventional weapons. Austria has compulsory military service of seven months plus duty in the reserves for men aged 18. In 2004 the Austrian armed forces included about 39,900 members; 33,200 were members of the army, including 4,250 who were members of its integral army air force.

G.

International Organizations

Austria is a member of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the Central European Initiative, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the Schengen Agreement. Austria joined the EU in 1995. The treaty restoring Austrian sovereignty in 1955 prevented Austria from joining military alliances, but it is now a member of NATO’s Partnership for Peace and Chancellor Schüssel during his term of office outlined his intention to apply for full membership of NATO.

VI.

History

At the beginning of the Christian era, Austria was sparsely inhabited by Illyrian and Celtic peoples who from time to time advanced into the northern plains of Italy.

A.

Early Period

Much of the region south of the Danube was formerly known as Noricum. The western uplands region between the upper Rhine, the lower course of the River Inn, and the Bavarian and sub-alpine plateau was known as Rhaetia. The plains region in the east and south-east was known as Pannonia. The Romans invaded all three regions about 15 bc and made them provinces of the empire. Under Roman control, the provinces eventually became outposts for offensive and defensive action against various barbarian peoples. To a large extent Roman strategy was based on the fact that the region contains important passes through the eastern Alps and thus commands vital transport arteries between northern, southern, western, and eastern Europe. One of the first Roman military posts in the region was Vindobona (now Vienna), which was located on the site of a Celtic settlement on the edge of the eastern Alps and on an arm of the Danube. Vindobona became an important strategic crossroads for two main trade routes and for numerous roads leading into the fertile basin of Lower Austria. Carnuntum (now Petronell), built in ad 73, was another important Roman centre in the area.

As a result of periodic overpopulation and desire for land, combined with pressure from remote peoples and the attraction of the wealth of the peaceful Roman provinces, the Germanic peoples attacked the provincial frontiers at various times starting in ad 166. The frontiers completely broke down during the 4th century ad. Goths, Rugians, Lombards, Vandals, Ostrogoths, and Huns at one time or another crossed the Vienna Basin. The Alamanni advanced into Rhaetia, the Herulians captured Juvavum (now Salzburg), and the Goths advanced along the Drau River.

The Slavs and the Avars moved into Pannonia from the east and south-east at about the same time the Germans invaded the north-west. By the mid-6th century the Bavarians had occupied the Tirol, and the Alamanni had settled to the west. The Slavic peoples were split into northern and southern groups by Avars and Bavarians contending for control of the Danube valley. The Avars left only superficial traces in the country, but the Slovenes built settlements in the depopulated valleys of the eastern Alps. The Germans finally overwhelmed the Slovene settlements, which could not depend on a continuous stream of new settlers. In a few areas of what are now Carinthia and Styria the Slovenes managed to establish permanent settlements.

B.

Medieval Era

During the 8th century, after fratricidal strife among the Germans, the Franks secured the throne of Bavaria. Fighting continued during that century between the Avars and the Bavarians in the Danube valley. At the end of the century Charlemagne devastated the territory of the Avars and established a series of military outposts of the empire in the country between the Enns and Rába rivers to serve as buffer territories against further encroachment from the east. One of these outposts was the Ostmark (Eastern March), which later became known as Ost Reich (Eastern Country) or Österreich (Austria). Other marches in the east and south-east were Carantania and Carniola, later Styria. These marches, however, were too weak to hold back intrusions from the east.

The Magyars, a nomadic people migrating slowly from the east, advanced easily along the Danube valley until they were finally defeated by the German King Otto I at Augsburg in 955 in the Battle of the Lechfeld. Otto I revived the Eastern March and gave the higher-status title of margrave to its administrator; these moves marked the emergence of Austria as a political entity. The boundary of the Eastern March was slowly extended eastwards until in the early 11th century it reached what is now called Moravia. The margrave of Austria was subordinate to the Duke of Bavaria, whose domain included this march. The main function of the margrave was the defence of the march and the outlying areas, and for that purpose the margraves enjoyed exceptional power. Between 976 and 1230 the Babenberg rulers of Austria contributed much to the growth of the march. They built cities and roads, encouraged trade, and enhanced their prestige by participation in the Crusades.

The death of the last Babenberg was followed by a period of trial and unrest. King Ottokar II of Bohemia occupied Austria, Styria, and Carniola during his reign from 1253 to 1278. His power was opposed by Rudolf von Habsburg (Rudolf I), who was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 1273. In 1278 Ottokar was defeated and slain in battle by Rudolf’s forces. By 1283 most of the former domain of Ottokar had come under the rule of Rudolf’s son Albert I.

C.

Austria Under the Habsburgs

The rise of Austria is closely linked to the House of Habsburg. During the 14th and 15th centuries the Habsburgs increased their holdings in the eastern part of the Holy Roman Empire. Archduke Rudolf IV proclaimed the indivisibility of Habsburg hereditary possessions, which corresponded roughly to the modern republic of Austria. From 1438 until 1806 (except for 1742-1745), the archdukes of Austria held the title of Holy Roman Emperor.

During the reign of Emperor Maximilian I from 1486 to 1519, the Habsburg empire became a great power, as its territory expanded because of several advantageous marriages. His own marriage to Mary of Burgundy brought a large part of that territory into the empire. He also arranged the marriage of his son Philip (later Philip I of Castile) to Joanna, daughter of Ferdinand V and Isabella I, thus establishing the Habsburg claim to Spain and its possessions in Italy and the Americas. Philip’s son Ferdinand I married into the ruling House of Bohemia and Hungary and became King of Bohemia in 1524. Ferdinand’s brother Charles had become Holy Roman Emperor as Charles V after the death of Maximilian in 1519. Ferdinand’s defeat by the Ottoman Turks in the Battle of Mohács of 1526, and the first siege of Vienna, which followed in 1529, initiated the Austrian phase of the Habsburg-Ottoman Wars, which were to have a defining influence on Austrian history.

Charles V combined under his rule the inheritances of his grandparents: Habsburg hereditary lands in Austria; the Low Countries; and Spain and its possessions. The extent of the Habsburg empire proved impossible for one monarch to rule. In 1521-1522 Charles gave Ferdinand lands in Austria and part of Germany. Division of the Habsburg dynasty into Spanish and Austrian branches was completed when Charles abdicated in 1556 as King of Spain in favour of his son Philip II and, in 1558, as Holy Roman Emperor in favour of his brother Ferdinand.

D.

Civil and Foreign Wars

The Reformation quickly gained ground in the Holy Roman Empire, including Austria. Charles V had fought the Reformation on religious and political grounds. His struggle to preserve religious unity as a basis for Habsburg power led to war within the empire, which then became entwined with wars against France and the Ottoman Empire. The Peace of Augsburg (1555) brought some respite by establishing limited religious toleration in Germany for Lutherans and Roman Catholics based on the principle that each ruler had the right to determine his religion and that of his subjects. This settlement was respected by the Habsburgs until Ferdinand II, an uncompromising champion of the Counter-Reformation, attempted to reimpose Catholicism on his subjects. The Protestants in Bohemia rebelled in 1618, thus beginning the first phase of the Thirty Years’ War. After the rebels deposed Ferdinand in 1619, this internal Austrian conflict grew into a European war, fought mainly on German soil. The Habsburgs were defeated in battle, and the Peace of Westphalia (1648) weakened their control over the Holy Roman Empire by reducing it to a loose union of independent states.

A serious conflict arose in the 1680s when Turkey agreed to help Hungarian rebels against Habsburg rule. The climax came in 1682, when Vienna was besieged by the Turkish Grand Vizier Kara Mustapha Pasha. The city was rescued by an army of Poles and Germans under the Polish King John III Sobieski; one of the major Polish successes of the Polish-Turkish Wars. The imperial armies won major victories near the end of the century, led by Prince Eugene of Savoy, who drove the Turks out of Hungary.

In 1700 Charles II of Spain died without an heir. He left Spain, the Spanish Netherlands, and his possessions in Italy to Philip, Duke of Anjou, a grandson of Louis XIV, King of France. The Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, a Habsburg from the Austrian line, claimed these lands for his son Joseph I; this led to war (see Spanish Succession, War of the). At the end of the war Philip was recognized as Philip IV, King of Spain, but Austria gained control of the Spanish Netherlands and Spanish possessions in northern Italy.

In 1713 the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI promulgated a so-called Pragmatic Sanction, which declared his possessions indivisible and hereditary in both the male and female line of the House of Austria. This was the first fundamental law common to all Habsburg lands, and was intended as a foundation for their gradual integration. Its unifying character was weakened in Hungary, which accepted it only after Charles confirmed the Hungarian constitution and autonomy, in effect strengthening Hungarian separatism. Most European monarchs pledged themselves to accept the Pragmatic Sanction in return for various concessions, but repudiated their pledges in 1740 when Charles died, leaving no male heirs.

E.

Enlightened Despotism

In accordance with the Pragmatic Sanction, Charles’s eldest daughter, Maria Theresa, who in 1736 had married Francis, Duke of Lorraine, ascended the Habsburg throne. (In 1745 Francis became Holy Roman Emperor Francis I, but his wife remained the power on the throne.) Maria Theresa’s ascension and rival claims to Habsburg dominions led to war (see Austrian Succession, War of the) and culminated in the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763). As a result Austria lost most of Silesia, economically the best-developed province of Bohemia, to Prussia. This spurred reforms in imperial administration and education and in the legal system; lightened the burdens of the serfs; and reduced the authority of the nobility.

Maria Theresa’s son, Joseph II, motivated by the ideas of the Enlightenment, abolished serfdom altogether; improved civil and criminal procedures; decreed religious toleration and freedom of the press; reformed the Roman Catholic Church by removing its control over secular matters; and tried to centralize imperial administration. His reforms aroused widespread opposition. At the time of his death, Hungary and Belgium were in full revolt, and there was unrest in the Austrian hereditary lands and Bohemia. Joseph’s brother and successor, Leopold II, revoked most of the reforms and was forced to recognize Hungary as a separate unit of the Habsburg lands. Even so, Joseph’s reign had regenerated the monarchy and opened it up to European trends. During the era of enlightened despotism, Austria acquired part of Poland by joining with Russia and Prussia in the partition of that country.

F.

Warfare with France

From 1792 to 1815 the Habsburg Empire was involved almost continuously in warfare, first in the French Revolution and then in the Napoleonic Wars. The French rebels’ democratic and nationalistic ideas were a threat to the absolutist Habsburgs, who were drawn into the conflict after Leopold II was succeeded by his reactionary son, Francis II, in 1792. Austrian military involvement began with a successful Austro-Prussian invasion of France, then faltered when the French forces drove the invaders back across the border and, during the winter of 1794-1795, conquered the Austrian Netherlands. In 1806, after Napoleon’s conquest of most of Germany, Francis dissolved the Holy Roman Empire. In anticipation of this move, in 1804 the monarch had declared himself Francis I, hereditary Emperor of Austria. It was not long before Napoleon’s fortunes turned, however, and Austria was part of the coalition that drove him into exile in 1814. Francis’s power and territory were to some extent restored by the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Although Austria lost some territories in Belgium and south-west Germany, it gained Lombardy, Venetia, Istria, and Dalmatia. The diplomatic skill of Austrian chancellor Prince Klemens von Metternich made the Habsburg Empire the centre of the new European order. Austrian influence in both the German Confederation, which replaced the Holy Roman Empire, and the Holy Alliance, was at a peak.

G.

Revolution of 1848

From 1815 to 1848 the course of the Austrian Empire, directed by Metternich, was essentially dedicated to preserving the status quo. The empire was still basically rural, though significant industrial growth had taken place since the late 1820s. Nationalism became entwined with the problems of social change; the pressures were heightened by peasant discontent. In March 1848 a rebel movement in Vienna forced Metternich to resign. The revolution quickly spread as Germans, Magyars, Slavs, Italians, and others turned against the imperial regime. Ferdinand I abdicated in December, and his 18-year-old nephew, Francis Joseph I, began a reign that would last until 1916. The new Emperor promulgated a constitution for Austria that set up a parliamentary government and emancipated the peasants from feudal burdens. Italian rebels took over the government in Milan, and Hungary declared itself all but independent, bound to the empire only through its Habsburg monarch. In addition, a constitutional assembly drew up a plan for the administrative organization of the empire along national lines.

The revolutionary forces were soon weakened as the goals of different social classes and nationalities clashed. The Habsburg armies defeated the Italian rebels and, with the help of conservative Russia, crushed the Hungarian rebellion. Francis Joseph dropped all liberal pretensions. He abolished constitutional government and rejected the plan for imperial reorganization along national lines. The only reform that survived was the abolition of serfdom.

H.

Austrian Losses

In the 1850s Austria faced the problems of protecting the empire from nationalism, especially in Italy and Prussia, and from Russian advances into the Balkan Peninsula. During the Crimean War (1853-1856) Austria threatened to intervene on the side of Britain and France if Russia did not evacuate the Romanian principalities of Moldavia and Walachia. After the Russians complied in 1854, Austria occupied the territories until the end of the war. The prolonged conflict ruined Austria’s finances, however, and its long-time ally Russia became an enemy, supporting the anti-Austrian policies of France and Prussia.

After a war that broke out in 1859, the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia expelled Austria from the Italian Peninsula, gained Lombardy, and created the Kingdom of Italy. After this defeat, the Emperor tried to strengthen his government by promulgating a limited constitutional system, which satisfied none of the opposition groups.

Austria fared no better in its struggle with Prussia for supremacy in Germany. The Prussian Chancellor, Prince Otto von Bismarck, was determined to eliminate Austria from German affairs and bring about the unification of Germany under Prussian leadership. The climax was reached on the battlefield of Königgrätz (Sadowa) in 1866 with a Prussian victory. The German Confederation was dissolved and Prussia took the lead in the reorganization and eventual unification of Germany. In addition, Austria lost Venetia to Prussia’s ally, Italy (see Seven Weeks’ War).

I.

The Dual Monarchy

After the war, in 1867, Emperor Francis Joseph was forced to come to a compromise (German Ausgleich) with the Hungarian nation, represented by the nobility. The compromise gave Hungary its own constitution and a nearly independent status. After 1867 the empire was known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and popularly referred to as the Dual Monarchy. Austria and Hungary were separate states, each with its own constitution, government, parliament, and language. The Magyars predominated in Hungary while the Germans had a privileged position in Austria. The two states were linked by a single monarch, who was emperor in Austria and king in Hungary, and by common ministers of foreign affairs, war, and finance.

The 1867 compromise inspired movements for autonomy among other national groups within the empire. Besides Magyars and Germans (about 10 million each), the empire as a whole was also home to 9 major nationalities: Czechs, Poles, Ruthenes (Ukrainians), Slovaks, Serbs, Romanians, Croats, Slovenes, and Italians. About 6.5 million Czechs living in Bohemia, Moravia, and Austrian Silesia made up the largest, most advanced, and most restless minority. All efforts of the national groups to achieve autonomy were stymied by Hungarian determination never to alter the political structure created by the compromise.

The constitution of 1867 regulated the political system in the Austrian half of the dual monarchy until 1918, but its liberal provisions were restricted in practice. Voting was tied to property qualifications, for example, and the aristocracy retained considerable influence. The ministers were responsible to the emperor, who had emergency powers to govern without parliament. As Austria experienced significant economic growth, there was increased social conflict, stronger national movements, the rise of mass political parties, and virulent anti-Semitism. From the 1880s political life was dominated by conflicts among the various nationalities.

But along with the negative features of Austrian political life there were some solid achievements. Under Vienna’s mayor, Karl Lueger, a programme of “municipal socialism”, including the building of hospitals, schools, and parks, made the city among the most progressive in Europe. Vienna was also the scene of extraordinary artistic and intellectual innovation.

J.

Alliance with Germany

The establishment of the German Empire in 1871 led to the reorientation of Habsburg foreign policy towards the Balkan Peninsula. The intention of the foreign minister, Hungarian Count Gyula Andrássy, was to preserve the status quo. Adopting a policy of friendship with Germany, Andrássy promised that Austria-Hungary would not interfere in German internal affairs; in return, Germany backed Austro-Hungarian attempts to limit Russian influence in south-eastern Europe. When Russia defeated the Turks in 1878, Austria-Hungary, supported by Germany and Great Britain, intervened to prevent the Russians from seizing all of European Turkey. The Congress of Berlin (1878) restricted Russian acquisitions; it also permitted Austria-Hungary to administer the Turkish provinces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1879 Germany and Austria-Hungary signed a formal alliance; with the addition of Italy in 1882 it became known as the Triple Alliance. From its inception, this alliance—the mainstay of Austria-Hungary’s international position—was dominated by Germany, which subordinated Austria-Hungary’s foreign policy interests to its own.

Serbia, made independent of Turkey by the Congress of Berlin, was a satellite of Austria-Hungary until 1903, when new leaders came to power intent on unifying all the southern Slavs in the Habsburg monarchy, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, into an enlarged Serbian state. In 1908, after a revolution in Turkey, Austria-Hungary annexed the two provinces. The Serbs, backed by Russia, protested vehemently. Only Germany’s support of Austria-Hungary prevented war. By the time Serbia emerged from the Balkan Wars victorious and territorially enlarged, Austro-Hungarian leaders were convinced that war with Serbia was inevitable.

K.

World War I

On June 28, 1914, the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, and his wife were assassinated in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, a Serb nationalist. After receiving German assurances of support, the Austro-Hungarian foreign office sent a harsh ultimatum to the Serbian government, holding it responsible for the assassination and requiring its total acceptance of Austria-Hungary’s demands within three days. Despite a conciliatory reply that accepted all but two of the demands, and mediation efforts by the European powers, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on July 28. Germany’s declaration of war on Russia and France in early August transformed the conflict into World War I.

Austro-Hungarian military activity during the first year of the war was concentrated against Russia and Serbia. In May 1915, Italy, which had declared its neutrality in 1914, left the Triple Alliance and entered the war on the side of the Allies. The Austro-Hungarian army suffered many setbacks, and the monarchy, weakened by decades of internal dissension, began to disintegrate after the death of Francis Joseph I in 1916. He was succeeded by his grand-nephew, Charles I of Austria. In 1917 the new Emperor failed in several secret attempts to achieve a separate peace with the Allies, angering the Germans in the process. At the same time representatives of the Czechs, Poles, and Southern Slavs set up organizations in the Allied countries to gain sympathy and recognition. By late 1917 nationalist activities made the monarchy increasingly untenable.

During the spring and summer of 1918 Austro-Hungarian forces were defeated on every military front; shortages of food and other necessities triggered strikes and demonstrations at home and mutinies in the army and navy. Recognizing that the collapse of the monarchy was inevitable, the nationalist groups within the empire organized national councils that acted like separate governments. The Southern Slavs, meeting in Zagreb on October 7, 1918, advocated union with Serbia, and on October 28 the Czechs proclaimed an independent republic in Prague. The Hungarian government announced its complete separation from Austria on November 3. That same day Austria and Hungary each signed an armistice with the Allies. On November 12 Charles relinquished all part in the administration of the state and left Austria. Within days Austria and Hungary declared themselves republics.

L.

First Austrian Republic

The Austrian Republic came into being as a disorganized and impoverished state of some seven million people. The dissolution of the monarchy deprived Austria of the industrial areas of Bohemia and Moravia and ended the large internal market created by the union between Austria and Hungary. German Austrians desired union with the new German Republic, but this was forbidden by the peace treaties of Versailles and Saint-Germain. The new constitution (1920) created a federal state, with a bicameral legislature and a democratic suffrage.

Economic reconstruction took place with the aid of outside agencies. In 1919-1920 United States, British, and Swedish organizations provided food to relieve the desperate situation. Rising inflation heightened the country’s distress, and in 1922 Austria appealed for help to the League of Nations. The league arranged for a large loan to prevent economic collapse. In return, Austria pledged to remain independent for at least 20 years. The deflationary policies that were a condition of the loan caused much economic hardship and unemployment, but Austrian finances slowly stabilized.

The internal political situation remained uneasy because of antagonisms between Socialist-dominated Vienna and the conservative provinces. On July 15, 1927, the Socialists organized mass demonstrations in Vienna to protest at the acquittal of three members of a right-wing group, who were on trial for killing two people during a clash with the Socialist Schutzbund (Defence League). The Palace of Justice was burned, and about 100 people were killed when police fired on the demonstrators.

M.

Fascism and Anschluss

A succession of federal governments, dominated by the conservative Christian Social Party, could not overcome either the continuous unrest or the economic misery of the Great Depression. The rise of Austrian Nazism became a new destabilizing factor. Faced with his party’s declining electoral strength and growing opposition from the left and the extreme right, the chancellor, Engelbert Dollfuss, dissolved parliament in 1933 and ruled by decree. Backed by the army and the Heimwehr (Home Defence League), a Fascist paramilitary organization, in February 1934 the government crushed the Socialist opposition. Later all political parties were abolished except the Fatherland Front, which Dollfuss had created to unite the conservative forces. In April he introduced a constitution that did away with parliamentary government and vested control in the executive. Dollfuss was killed in July during an attempted Nazi putsch (takeover). Under the new chancellor, Kurt von Schuschnigg, the regime drifted on, weakened by internal rivalries but sustained by promises of the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini to maintain the status quo. His guarantee lasted only until the Rome-Berlin Axis was established in 1936. Schuschnigg soon reached an agreement with Adolf Hitler that acknowledged Austria as “a German state”.

When Schuschnigg called for a plebiscite on Austrian independence in 1938, Hitler demanded and received his resignation. The Anschluss (annexation) was accomplished when German troops entered Austria on March 12, and a Nazi government was formed, headed by Arthur Seyss-Inquart. Austria, now called the Ostmark (Eastern March), was divided into seven administrative districts under the central authority of the German Third Reich.

N.

World War II

In October 1943 the chiefs of state of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) signed the Moscow Declaration, which proclaimed the re-establishment of an independent Austria as one of the Allied war aims. Soviet troops liberated the eastern part of Austria, including Vienna, in April 1945. A provisional government headed by the Socialist leader Karl Renner was recognized by the Western occupation powers in October. National parliamentary elections were held in November, with ten parties participating. The Austrian People’s Party (similar to the pre-war Christian Social Party) won 85 of a total of 165 seats in the National Assembly, the Socialists won 76 seats, and the Communists won four seats. In December both houses of parliament elected Renner President of the Republic. A coalition government, with the People’s Party leader Leopold Figl as Chancellor, was then formed.

O.

Allied Occupation

In the meantime Austria had been divided into four zones of occupation controlled, respectively, by the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and the USSR. Vienna was similarly divided. By the terms of a June 1946 agreement, the Austrian government received qualified authority over the entire country, including the right to legislate and to administer the laws. The occupation powers retained authority on such matters as demilitarization and the disposal of German-owned property. German economic assets in each zone were assigned to the respective occupying power. Laws passed in 1946 and 1947 eliminated Nazi influence from public life, but former Nazis without criminal records were allowed to participate in general elections in 1949.

The Austrian government faced immediate problems that severely taxed its limited powers. The war had shattered industry and disrupted transport and communication systems. The people had suffered much, including starvation. The first task of the Figl government was to institute a relief programme. The UN Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) made major contributions, and by mid-1947 the danger of starvation had ended. The economic recovery was greatly facilitated after 1948 by United States aid given under the European Recovery Program. By 1951 industrial production had exceeded pre-war peaks; it continued to rise in the succeeding years.

P.

Restoration of Sovereignty

The most significant event in the post-war era was the restoration of Austrian sovereignty in May 1955, after long negotiations that had begun in 1947. The main issue between the USSR, on the one side, and the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, on the other, was the future of Germany. The Soviets would not give up their strategic position in Austria unless Germany was “neutralized”. Among other issues were Soviet claims to German-owned property in Austria and Yugoslav territorial claims. Finally, in exchange for Soviet concessions Austria promised “not to join any military alliances or permit any military bases on its territory”. The four Allies and Austria signed the State Treaty on May 15, 1955, formally re-establishing the Austrian republic. The treaty prohibited Anschluss between Austria and Germany, denied Austria the right to own or manufacture nuclear weapons or guided missiles, and obliged Austria to give the USSR part of its crude oil output for years to come. The United States, the United Kingdom, and France gave up any claims on German assets, and in August the USSR relinquished control of the Austrian oilfields, of 300 formerly German-owned enterprises, and of 97,200 hectares (240,000 acres) of land. All occupation troops were withdrawn by October, and the legislature adopted a constitutional provision pledging Austrian military neutrality. In December, Austria became a UN member. Six years later, in 1961, Austria completed payment to the USSR of US$150 million for former German businesses.

Q.

The Second Republic

From 1945 until 1966 Austria was governed by a coalition of the Socialist and People’s parties. The number of positions each party received depended on its share of votes in parliamentary elections. This framework was extended to the economic sphere, as the State, industry, labour, and agricultural interests developed a partnership and created a modified market economy. Prosperity rested in part on nationalized industries, such as electric power plants and oil refineries; the government also controlled the banks. A new Austrian national consciousness developed based on shared experiences of wartime devastation, re-establishment of national sovereignty, successful reconstruction of the country, and the international prestige gained from Austria’s unique position as a bridge between East and West.

The coalition weathered occasional differences and the loss of pre-war and wartime leaders. President Renner died in December 1950 and was succeeded by the Socialist Party leader, Theodore Koerner. While Socialist candidates were elected to the presidency (until 1986), the People’s Party supplied all the federal chancellors until 1970. Elections to the National Assembly in 1956, 1959, and 1962 resulted in little change in the relative strength of the two main parties. In 1957 Austria became embroiled in a dispute with Italy over the status of Austrians in the South Tirol, which had been under Italian rule since 1919. The settlement finally reached in 1970 called for implementation of a 1946 agreement guaranteeing the linguistic and cultural rights of the German-speaking Austrian population.

In 1960 Austria became a signatory to the pact establishing the European Free Trade Association. The government announced in July 1961 that it would seek an association with the European Economic Community (EEC; now the European Union) that was compatible with its military neutrality. The initial Socialist Party opposition to participation gradually waned, and in 1972 Austria signed a bilateral free-trade agreement with the EEC.

The coalition government broke down in October 1965 because of a budget dispute that eventually forced the resignation of Chancellor Joseph Klaus. However, his party gained a small majority in the National Assembly elections of March 1966, allowing Klaus to form the first People’s Party government in the Second Republic.

R.

Kreisky Chancellorship

The Socialists won a narrow electoral victory in March 1970, which for the first time made them the largest party in the National Assembly. Lacking a majority, however, Socialist leader Bruno Kreisky tried, but failed, to form a coalition with the People’s Party. In May he was appointed chancellor and formed the first Austrian all-Socialist Cabinet, supported in the National Assembly by the smaller Freedom Party. In the 1971 elections the Socialists received an absolute majority of 93 seats and were able to govern alone. The Kreisky era was marked by modernization and a dramatic increase in the standard of living for people in all social classes. Many social and labour reforms were introduced. Kreisky’s foreign policy initiatives gave Austria a position in international affairs far beyond its size. Despite his popularity and achievements, opposition developed around environmental issues, financial scandals, proposed tax increases, and especially the building of a nuclear power plant near Vienna. When anti-nuclear forces won a narrow victory in a 1978 referendum, the government was forced to abandon the nearly completed plant. Kreisky resigned in 1983, after the Socialists lost their absolute majority in the National Assembly.

S.

New Problems and Opportunities

The new chancellor, Fred Sinowatz, a Socialist, formed a coalition with the Freedom Party, but the alliance collapsed in 1986 when the Freedom Party took a sharp turn to the right. Mismanagement and layoffs in the public sector coupled with controversy over privatization fuelled discontent with the government, the Socialists, and the political patronage system. The presidential election in 1986 was won by the People’s Party candidate, Kurt Waldheim, former Secretary-General of the UN, despite allegations that he had lied about his actions in the German army during World War II. The vote reflected the ambiguous attitude of many Austrians towards their country’s Nazi past.

After parliamentary elections in November Chancellor Sinowatz resigned and Franz Vranitzky, another Socialist, took office, forming a coalition with the People’s Party. His government had to deal with continuing cutbacks in the public sector, high budget deficits, and international unease over Waldheim’s election. The coalition survived the elections of October 1990, in which the Socialists won 80 seats in the National Assembly. The People’s Party lost 17 of its 77 seats, however, and the right-wing Freedom Party gained 15 seats for a total of 33. The electorate, especially the new middle class, seemed to be shifting. Yet, in 1992 the candidate of the People’s Party, Thomas Klestil, a career diplomat and former ambassador to the United States, was elected president. He promised to press Austria’s application to join the EU, which had been submitted in 1989. Membership negotiations in 1993 were halted by Austria’s insistence that heavy truck traffic on its Alpine roads remain restricted until 2004. The EU agreed to limits until 2001, with an option to extend them for three more years. The European Parliament endorsed EU membership for Austria in May 1994, and it finally joined in January 1995.

In October 1995 the ruling coalition collapsed over differences on how to handle Austria’s budget deficit. In the December 1995 general election, both ruling parties were slightly strengthened. After agreeing a package of austerity measures, they resumed their coalition in March 1996, with the Socialist Franz Vranitzky as chancellor. The new government then rescinded the 77-year-old ban on heirs of the Habsburgs who had not renounced their dynastic claims entering the country.

A large quantity of arms that had been secretly concealed in Austria by US forces in the early 1950s for use in the event of a Soviet takeover were recovered in September. In the first direct elections to be held to the European Parliament, the ruling Socialists look second place behind the People’s Party, with the right-wing Freedom Party making significant gains. A sale of artworks looted from Austria’s Jewish community during World War II realized more than US$14 million at auction in Vienna in October. Franz Vranitzky resigned as chancellor in January 1997, and Viktor Klima, who had previously served as finance minister, became his successor. He succeeded Vranitzky as leader of the Socialist Party in April. In April 1999 the far-right populist Jörg Haider was elected Governor of the southern province of Carinthia after his Freedom Party scored over 40 per cent of the previous month's local poll.

On February 4, 2000, Austria formed a new coalition government consisting of the centre-right Austrian People's Party and the far-right anti-immigrant Freedom Party. The new government ended 13 years of rule by a coalition of the People's Party and the Social Democratic Party. Chancellor Wolfgang Schüssel headed the new government, which assumed power more than four months after parliamentary elections in October 1999. The Freedom Party emerged as a major political force under the leadership of Haider, who gained international notoriety for praising aspects of Germany's former Nazi regime. On February 19, 2000, some 150,000 demonstrators converged on the streets of Vienna to denounce Haider and the coalition government. Haider resigned as party leader on February 28. Sanctions imposed by the European Union as a result of the Freedom Party joining the government were lifted in September.

A compensation fund of US$65 million was agreed upon by state-owned companies in October 2000 for former slave-labourers of the Nazi regime. In the same month, Austrian environmentalists blockaded the border with the Czech Republic in protest against the launch of a new Czech nuclear power station at Temelin. The issue escalated in 2001 before the two governments agreed a solution. However, a petition protesting against the plant was drawn up by the Freedom Party and signed by nearly 1 million Austrians; it was presented in January 2002. Austria has also threatened to veto the Czech’s EU application if the plant is not closed. Haider’s Freedom Party also made certain proposals concerning immigration, stating that all non-Europeans should be banned from seeking asylum in Austria. In November 2001, Austria ratified the Treaty of Nice, which proposes further EU expansion.

In September 2002 the ruling coalition collapsed, ostensibly over continuing disagreements with Haider. The November elections saw a victory for Chancellor Schüssel and his People’s Party, which garnered over 42 per cent of the vote. Schüssel then embarked upon securing new coalition partners after a significant dip in support for the Freedom Party, but after months of talks the Freedom Party again formed a part of the ruling coalition. In the presidential elections held at the end of April 2004, Heinz Fischer of the Social Democratic Party won more than 52 per cent of the vote. Fischer took office in July. In 2005 the Freedom Party split and Haider moved to form a new party, the Alliance for the Future of Austria (Bündnis Zukunft Österreich). At the October 2006 general election the BZÖ secured 7 seats but the two big winners were the Social Democratic Party with 68 and the Austrian People’s Party with 66 seats. After months of wrangling and negotiating, a grand coalition was established, with the Social Democrat Alfred Gusenbauer appointed as chancellor in succession to Schüssel.