Austria

Republic of Austria

The heart of a multinational empire for six centuries, Austria made Vienna the laboratory of European modernity — and its frontier with the East.

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Heritage

Carnuntum and Vindobona guarded the Danube limes; Marcus Aurelius is said to have written his Meditations there. Austrian Baroque is the architectural language of the triumphant Counter-Reformation. Around 1900 Vienna brought together Freud, Mahler, Wittgenstein, Klimt and Herzl: an intellectual concentration without equal, largely carried by its Jewish bourgeoisie.

History

An eastern march of the Carolingian Empire — the Ostarrîchi mentioned in 996 — Austria passed to the Habsburgs in 1278. Through marriages more than conquests, the dynasty assembled a bloc that for a time stretched from Spain to Hungary.

The siege of Vienna in 1683, broken by the Christian coalition and Polish cavalry, marked the Ottoman ebb in Europe. The Congress of Vienna in 1815 organised the European order there for a century.

The collapse of 1918 reduced the empire to a small German-speaking republic, annexed by the Reich in 1938. Occupied and then neutralised by the State Treaty of 1955, Austria joined the Union in 1995 while keeping its military neutrality. Vienna today hosts the IAEA, the OSCE and UNIDO.

Milestones

996 Middle Ages

First mention of Ostarrîchi

An imperial charter names for the first time the “eastern realm”, origin of the name Österreich.

1278 Middle Ages

Rise of the Habsburgs

Rudolf’s victory on the Marchfeld opens six centuries of dynastic rule.

1683 Early modern period

Siege of Vienna

The Christian coalition breaks the Ottoman offensive: the ebb begins in Central Europe.

1815 Early modern period

Congress of Vienna

Metternich reorganises post-Napoleonic Europe: the continent’s first collective security system.

1900 Early modern period

Vienna 1900

Freud, Klimt, Mahler, Wittgenstein: the capital becomes the laboratory of European modernity.

1955 Contemporary period

Austrian State Treaty

The four powers withdraw; Austria proclaims perpetual neutrality.

1995 European construction

Accession of Austria to the Union

Austria joins the EU by referendum and becomes a pivot towards Central Europe.

1995 European construction took part

Nordic enlargement

Austria, Finland and Sweden bring the Union to fifteen members.

1999 European construction took part

Birth of the euro

Eleven currencies are irrevocably fixed; the European Central Bank takes up its functions.

2004 European construction was affected

The big bang enlargement

Ten states, eight of them formerly communist, join the Union: the continent’s division ends.

Political landscape

Results of the June 2024 European election and their translation into European Parliament groups.

FPÖ — Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs 6
ÖVP — Österreichische Volkspartei 5
SPÖ — Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs 5
Grüne — Die Grünen — Die Grüne Alternative 2
NEOS — NEOS — Das Neue Österreich und Liberales Forum 2

Distribution of European seats

Patriots for Europe Group 6
Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) 5
Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament 5
Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance 2
Renew Europe Group 2

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The state in numbers

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Public debt, % of GDP 83.6 % 0.9 % GDP per head (EU = 100) 118.3 1.4 Government spending, % of GDP 55.2 % 3.0 % Total tax burden, % of GDP 43.9 % 0.6 % Prisoners per 100,000 people 105.4 5.6