Austria

LANDLOCKED AUSTRIA (Österreich in German) is located at the cultural and geographical crossroads of Central Europe. It is also situated in between the three major cultural spheres of Europe. To the south is ITALY, to the north GERMANY, and to the east several Slavic countries. This relatively small country (about the same size as MAINE) borders no less than eight other countries. Austria itself is overwhelmingly Germanspeaking and Roman Catholic (although, as is most of Europe, relatively secular in orientation).

Today’s Austria was created as what can be described as a historical accident. Before countries, or nation-states, existed in the modern sense, local rulers controlled small territories that sometimes grew to large empires. Seated in Austria, the Habsburg dynasty became one of the most powerful in Europe as early as the medieval era and governed a territory that included parts of today’s FRANCE, Italy and Germany. Over time,the Habsburg empire lost control over some of these western territories and instead expanded eastward, and after 1867 it became the Austro-Hungarian Empire, two separate states under one common ruler. The name Austria then simply referred to the predominantly German- speaking territories, which previously were not considered a coherent territorial unit. The eventual demise of Austria-Hungary was triggered by its involvement in the Balkans. Several European powers struggled for influence in southeastern Europe, which subsequently led to World War I. Austria-Hungary was on the losing side in the war, and along with a rewriting of the political map of large portions of Europe, modern Austria, now a republic, was born in 1918.

What emerged as the state of Austria was several small regions that had some basic cultural attributes in common—language and religion—but nevertheless lacked a distinct national identity. Part of this has to do with Austria’s fragmented geography. The most dominant landform is the ALPS—the mountains that cover the entire western portion of the country and stretch deep into central Austria. Like many populations that inhabit mountainous areas, the Alpine dwellers have historically been localist in their orientation rather than identifying with a larger nation. The remaining parts of Austria are lowland and river valleys, more populous, and dominated by the capital of Vienna. As Austria has been a state for almost a century, national media, a national educational system, and other nationwide institutions have created a greater sense of common identity over time.

Vienna is a classic example of a primate city—a city that dominates in a country in terms of size and political, economic, and cultural importance. Vienna has approximately 1.5 million inhabitants, while the second- and third-largest cities, Graz and Linz, have populations of only approximately 200,000 each. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Vienna was one of the most important cities in Europe, even a world city. As the capital of a large multi-ethnic empire, the city became a diverse political and economic power thriving on immigration from both German and non-German regions. This diversity also made Vienna an intellectual and creative center in many divergent endeavors, such as philosophy, arts, and economics.