History & Maps

For an encyclopedic approach to general Austrian information, check out this site:
http://www.aeiou.at/

For an interesting overview of money in Austria, try this page:
http://www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.g/g215938.htm    (click on "English" near the top of the page)






Central Europe                              Austrian States                              Major Austrian Cities         
                                                   
Timeline

20,000 Years before the Present  Paleolithic Man lived in the area first as nomadic hunters that migrated through the
Danubian steppe during the Ice Age "summers" and later as agrarian settlers on the fertile land adjoining the rivers.

500 BC to the first century BC  About 500 BC, Celtic people established a settlement at the site of Vienna, a large spur of
land protected by a bend in the Danube, with a commanding view of  the outlying plains.  It was called "Vindomina", (White
Place).

15 BC  Romans control Austria south of the Danube River.

AD 100's  Warlike tribes from Germany, Asia, and Slavic nations begin to invade Roman Austria; Roman control starts to
weaken.

976-1246  Babenburg Dynasty.

1276-1291  Rudolf I, a Hapsburg, begins to acquire Babenburg territory and nearby lands.

1358-65  Reign of Rudolf IV; Tyrol annexed to Austria in 1363.

1440-93  Friedrick III, duke of Styria, begins strategy of political succession and intermarriages that will raise the Hapsburgs to
positions of enormous power.

1438-1806  Archduchy of Austria is the most important State in the Holy Roman Empire.

1519-56  Reign of Charles V; Turks besiege Vienna in 1529.

1556  Abdication of Charles V and partition of the Empire; Ferdinand I, Charles's brother, is crowned emperor and becomes
head of the Austrian branch of the Hapsburgs.

1683  Turks again besiege Vienna.

1687  Hungary added to Austria.

1740  Death of Charles VI ends male Hapsburg line as rulers of Austria.

1740-80  War of the Austrian Succession; Maria Theresa consolidates the empire.

1780-1790  Joseph II (Holy Roman Emperor).

1790-1792  Leopold II (Holy Roman Emperor).

1781  Abolition of serfdom.

1792-1835  Reign of Francis II. (Holy Roman Emperor 1792-1804).

1804  Francis II renounces title of head of Roman Empire and becomes emperor of Austria under the name of Francis I.

1809  Metternich becomes chancellor.

1814-15  Congress of Vienna; Austria recovers territory lost in wars with France.

1835-1848  Ferdinand I Emperor

1848  Fall of Metternich.

1848-1916  Reign of Francis Joseph I, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary.

1867  Creation of the Dual Austro-Hungarian monarchy.

1914  Assassination at Sarajevo of the Crown Prince Francis Ferdinand unleashes World War I.

1914-18  Austria-Hungary defeated in World War I.

1916-1918  Charles I, Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary

1918  Austro-Hungarian Empire is dismantled after losing WWI.

1918-1938 Austrian First Republic

1920  Austria adopts a democratic constitution.


Late 1930's  Austria was annexed (Anschluss, i.e. annexation) into Nazi Germany when German troops entered the country on
March 12, 1938.  A Nazi government was formed that was 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.  This
violated various international agreements but the European powers offered only perfunctory opposition.  Italy had agreed to
the invasion beforehand and in return Hitler later agreed to allow Italy to retain the South Tyrol despite his aggressive policies
elsewhere to bring all German populations into the Third Reich.  

Britain was following a policy of appeasement in 1938 and was unwilling to risk war over Austria's independence while France,
traditionally the strongest foe of German unification, was incapable at that time of unilateral military action.

After Austria was annexed into Germany in 1938, the Austrian National Mint in Wien (Vienna) minted German coins instead of
Austrian.  From 1938-1944 the German coins that were minted at the Vienna Mint are distinguishable by their "B" mintmark.  It
was assigned to the Vienna mint since the mint-mark "B" hadn't been used in Germany since 1878 when Hanover stopped
minting coins.


1940's  In 1943 the United States, Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union (USSR) signed the Moscow Declaration which
set forth the reestablishment of an independent Austrian nation as one of the Allied war goals.  The Allies tended to view
Austria as the first victim of Hitler's aggression instead of a willing partner.  They also thought that this declaration might set off
a popular uprising within Austria to throw off the Nazi yoke.  Many Austrians considered Austria as it had been pared down to
after WWI, a totally non-viable country and unification with Germany the only solution for survival so the Allies badly
underestimated both the Austrian's desire for independence and the Austrian's fear and hatred of the "Godless",
"Bolshevik"Communist Russia.  

Allied advances in Italy during 1943 enabled bombers regularly to attack Austrian industrial and transportation centers.  The
winter of 1944-45 saw an intensification of the air campaign and steady advances toward Austria by the Soviet Union's Red
Army.  On March 30, 1945, the Red Army entered Austrian territory and captured Vienna on April 13.  Although the Germans
resisted the Soviet advances into eastern Austria, the Western Allies, the United States, Britain, and France, met minimal
resistance as they advanced into the country.  United States forces began entering Austria on April 30, and French and British
troops soon followed.  

On May 8, 1945, Germany surrendered unconditionally.  A provisional Austrian government was established in October with
Karl Renner at the head.  A ten party Parliamentary election was held in November.  The Austrian People's Party won 85 of a
total of 165 seats in the Nationalrat, the Socialists won 76 seats, and the Communists won four seats.  Karl Renner was
elected President by both houses of parliament.  A coalition government was formed with the People's Party leader Leopold
Figl as chancellor.

Meanwhile Austria had been divided into four zones of occupation with each controlled, respectively, by the United States,
France, Great Britain, and the USSR.  Vienna was also divided into four blocks of influence.  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 by 1949.


1950's  Austria's sovereignty was restored in May of 1955.
Austrian Coins,
Medals & Tokens
Austria is made up of nine States or Provinces.  They are Burgenland, Kärnten, Niederösterreich,
Oberösterreich, Salzburg, Steiermark, Tirol, Vorarlberg, and Wien (Vienna).