!!!Geschichte Österreichs
History, Austrian: Unlike the history of the individual Austrian
provinces, the history of Austria as a whole largely depends on the
various stages of expansion of the former monarchy. Concerning
pre-historic and ancient times historical research focuses on the
territory of present-day Austria, since no predecessor state existed
in those times. The fact that the Kingdom of Noricum of pre-Roman
times and the present state are roughly coextensive is purely
coincidental.
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In the high Middle Ages ties with the Bavarian (or Alemannic) dukedom
gradually loosened and the first signs of an Austrian common law
developed; subsequently several lands joined together under a single
ruler. The Habsburgs soon aspired to territories beyond Austria,
Rudolf III to Bohemia and Albrecht I and Friedrich III
to the German throne. From the time of Duke Albrecht V they
managed to remain in power for centuries as German kings and Holy
Roman emperors. It was their duty to represent not only the interests
of their own lands, but also those of the Empire.
\\
Until 1918, the history of Austria from the late 15%%sup th/% century
onwards was largely seen as the history of the Habsburg rule. It
started when the House of Austria under Maximilian I extended to
the Low Countries and later to Spain. In 1526, when the rulers finally
inherited the Bohemian and Hungarian lands, for which they had been
preparing for decades, the interests of the House of Habsburg assumed
another dimension: Central Europe and the fight against the Ottoman
Empire for Hungary. From that time (and even earlier) until 1918 it
was quite natural to deal with the historical developments in the
countries as a unit. A good example for this point of view is the
"Handbuch der Geschichte Oesterreich-Ungarns" (a Handbook of the
History of Austria-Hungary) by K. and M. Uhlirz, who adhered to this
approach in the 2%%sup nd/% edition (1963) as well.
\\
Since the time of the Thirty Years' War the House of Austria
represented the Empire, especially vis-à-vis France on the
Rhine border, where it had to fight many wars. These struggles
culminated in the fight over the issue of the Spanish succession in
Italy and in the Netherlands; the acquisition of Hungary, large parts
of the Balkans, Italian provinces and the Spanish Netherlands by the
Habsburgs at the end of this conflict was of great importance for the
historical development of Austria and should therefore be considered
when writing about the history of Austria.
\\
Maria Theresia fought against Prussia over Silesia, acquired Galicia
and Bukovina, after her father, Karl VI, had established the
monarchy as an integral, undivided whole under a single sovereign by
the Pragmatic Sanction. Joseph II intended to create a
centralized state, but failed because of massive opposition. The
Napoleonic Wars resulted in an adjustment of the Habsburg realm and
the loss of distant possessions, but, on the other hand, in close ties
with the German Confederation and, through the kingdom of
Lombardy-Venetia, with Italy. Most political activities during these
centuries took place outside the territory of today's republic, hence
the countries concerned and their importance for the former empire are
a relevant factor in Austrian history.
\\
Similarly, the history of the 2%%sup nd/% half of the 19%%sup th/%
century cannot be understood without knowledge about the circumstances
in the former Crownlands and in Hungary; the same holds true for the
history of World War I.
\\
Since 1918 historical writing has focused on the territory of the
Republic, emphasis being laid on social and cultural developments and
the role of the House of Habsburg being excluded whenever possible.
After 1945 Austrian historians tried to give a balanced view of the
state and the Habsburg rulers. The question to what extent historical
analysis of former times should be confined to the territory of
present-day Austria, has remained unresolved. Cultural phenomena
(architecture, art, literature, music) and social history can more
easily be explained within this narrower scope than issues of economic
history.
\\
General representations of Austrian history have existed since the
19%%sup th/% century. Before that time, from the Middle Ages onward,
provincial and dynastic approaches were more important. The
Augustinian monk from Vienna, Leopold Stainreuter, an exponent of
medieval historical writing, established a chain of 81 generations of
legendary rulers linking "Osterland" and Austria with ancient and
biblical figures in his "Chronik von den 95 Herrschaften" ("Chronicle
of the 95 Realms"). The most outstanding personality of late-medieval
historical writing was Thomas Ebendorfer. First critical approaches
appeared during the age of Humanism. The "Austria", a work by Johannes
Cuspinianus, provided biographies of the Babenbergs and Habsburgs in
its first part, and dealt with cultural and historical aspects in its
second. Printed in 1553, the work paid homage to the dynasty, but
followed a territory-oriented approach. H. J. Fugger's
"Ehrenspiegel des Hauses Oesterreich" (Mirror of Honour of the House
of Austria) was written in honour of the Habsburg dynasty, while the
country served as backdrop for the actions of the rulers. This kind of
historical writing was continued in the Baroque, for instance by
E. M. Lichnowsky (1789-1845), whose 8 volume-work (1836-1844)
ends abruptly with the year 1490. The 2%%sup nd/% half of the
18%%sup th/% century brought about a change towards a more rational
form of description, but still no overall representation of history
was produced. J. F. Schneller's (1777-1832) work
"Staatsgeschichte des Kaisertums Oesterreichs von der Geburt Christi
bis zum Sturz Napoleons" ("History of Austria from the Birth of Christ
to the Fall of Napoleon") had 4 volumes (1817-1819), the last of which
was banned by the censors; hence the whole work was not published
until 1828. The "Geschichte des oesterreichischen Kaiserstaates"
("History of the Austrian Empire", 5 vols., 1834-1854) by J. Majlath
(1786-1855) covers the period up to 1850, the "Geschichte
Oesterreichs" ("History of Austria", 6 vols., 1842-1850) by H. G.
Meynert is rich in detail, but lacking in academic rigour. Some Czech
works, were also produced, such as W. Tomek's "Geschichte des
oesterreichischen Kaiserstaates" ("History of the Austrian Imperial
State", 1853) and "Handbuch der Geschichte des oesterreichischen
Kaiserstaates" ("Handbook of the History of the Austrian Imperial
State", 1858, which covers the period up to 1526 and gives special
emphasis to the position of the Slavic peoples). Another non-scholarly
work was published in 1863: "Oesterreichische Geschichte fuer das
Volk" (Austrian History for the People", 17 vols.), produced by
A. von Helfert together with 17 colleagues.
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In the 2%%sup nd/% half of the 19%%sup th/% century three historians
gained significance with their comprehensive representations of
Austrian history: F. M. Mayer, F. v. Krones and A. Huber.
Mayer was of German-Bohemian origin, taught in Graz and published
"Geschichte Oesterreichs mit besonderer Beruecksichtigung des
Kulturlebens" ("History of Austria with special regard to Cultural
Life") in 1874. His work included contemporary history and was
characterized by a moderate German-liberal leaning. Its 2%%sup nd/%
edition was published in 1900, the 3%%sup rd/% in 1909. A new edition
by R. Kaindl and H. Pirchegger was published in 3 volumes 1935-1937.
After World War II the work was revised by A. Klein (5%%sup th/%
/6%%sup th/% ed., 3 vols., 1967-1974). F. von Krones, Professor
at the University of Graz, published a "Handbuch der oesterreichischen
Geschichte" ("Handbook of Austrian History") in 1876-1879, as well as
a "Grundriss der oesterreichischen Geschichte mit besonderer
Ruecksicht auf Quellen und Literaturkunde" ("Outline of Austrian
History with special regard to sources and literature") in 1882. A.
Huber wrote 5 vols. of a history of Austria (1885-1896), covering
history until 1658, but with no references to cultural life. O.
Redlich continued this work up to the year 1740. K. and M. Uhlirz
tried to give an overall description of the monarchy in their work
"Handbuch der Geschichte Oesterreichs und seiner Nachbarlaender
Boehmen und Ungarn" ("Handbook of the History of Austria and its
neighbours Bohemia and Hungary", 1927-1944), in which only the
19%%sup th/% century is dealt with in great detail (1941), whereas
the 1%%sup st/% part provides a historical outline up to 1790. The
new edition of the 1%%sup st/% part (1963) goes back as far as 1526.
A further work on Austrian history was written in 1936 by H. Hantsch.
After 1950 a new edition in two volumes was published (1%%sup st/%
vol. %%sup 4/%1959, 2%%sup nd/% vol. %%sup 3/%1962). The most
important general description was produced by E. Zoellner, who
deliberately confined his research to the territory of the Republic
(1961, %%sup 8/%1990). A History of Austria in ten volumes, edited by
H. Wolfram a collective work of 20 authors, has been published since
1994.
!Literature
Probleme der Geschichte Oesterreichs und ihrer
Darstellung, Veroeffentlichungen der Kommission fuer die Geschichte
Oesterreichs der Akademie der Wissenschaften 18, 1991.
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