Austria

The German name for Austria, Österreich,  means "Eastern borderlands" and was first recorded in 996AD. The word "Austria" is a Latinization of the German name and was first recorded in the 12th century.

Saint Leopold III (1073 – November 15, 1136), known as Leopold the Good, was the Margrave of Austria from 1095 to his death in 1136. (Margrave was the title given in the Middle Ages to a military commander responsible for the defense of a province of the Holy Roman Empire.) He is mainly remembered for the development of the country and, in particular, the founding of several monasteries. Leopold III was canonized in 1485 and became a patron saint of Austria.

Saint Leopold III with two deceased sons, Klosterneuburg Monastery, 1489–1492

The Austrian flag of three equal horizontal stripes in red, white and red dates back to 1191.

The Siege of Vienna in 1529 was the first attempt by the Ottoman Empire, led by Suleiman the Magnificent, to capture the Austrian city.

The Turkish Siege of Vienna. In the Vienna Museum

The Siege of Vienna ended on October 15, 1529 as the Austrians repelled the invading Turks, turning the tide against almost a century of unchecked conquest throughout eastern and central Europe by the Ottoman Empire.

150 years of bitter military tension and reciprocal attacks ensued, culminating in the Battle of Vienna of 1683, which marked the start of the 15-year-long Great Turkish War.

The signing of the Treaty of Karlowitz to conclude the Great Turkish War in 1699 marked the end of Ottoman control in much of Central Europe and the rise of the Habsburg Monarchy as the dominant power in the region.

In the winter of 1731-32, 21,000 Protestants were expelled from the ecclesiastical Salzburg province in Austria and many others fled due to the severe persecution they were forced to endure. Some died on the journey during the cold snowy winter trekking northwards over the Alps but others reached as far as East Prussia in their search for a place to settle. Certain areas of the province were left almost deserted and only Catholics were allowed to take over the abandoned farms.

During the ten years in which Joseph II was the sole ruler of the Habsburg Monarchy (1780–1790), he tried to reform Austria into "ideal Enlightened state". Joseph abolished serfdom, removed restrictions against Jews, gave religious freedom to Protestants and Orthodox and tried to weaken power of the Catholic church. But as soon he died all his reforms were abolished.

Austria became the first country to abolish capital punishment in 1787.

The Austria-Hungary union was established on March 30, 1867 in the aftermath of the Austro-Prussian War. It consisted of two monarchies (Austria and Hungary), and one autonomous region

The Austrian Embassy in London has been at 18 Belgrave Square since 1866. It is the only Austrian embassy still in place since the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Austria was the first country to use postcards. The first one was issued in 1869.

Modern Austria was born in 1918 from the ruins of World War I and the Austro-Hungarian empire, reduced to a small rump of what was once a vast empire which stretched from the Dalmatian coast to Russia.

During the 1930s Austria established its own Fascist dictatorship with its own version of the Swastika. Its leader, Engelbert Dollfuss was assassinated on Hitler's orders in 1934.

On March 12, 1938, Nazi German troops, led by Adolf Hitler, marched into Austria to annex the country into the German Reich. The move was part of Hitler's larger plan to expand German territory and establish a Greater German Empire. The annexation of Austria, also known as the Anschluss, was met with little resistance from the Austrian government or people, as many Austrians were sympathetic to Hitler's nationalist and anti-Semitic views. The international community largely condemned the Anschluss, but did little to stop it, marking a major turning point in the lead up to World War II.

Wikipedia

Mexico was the only country to protest the annexation of Austria by Germany. To honor that support, there is a square in Vienna named "Mexikoplatz".

Austria is not a member nation of NATO. This is because they signed a declaration of permanent neutrality in 1955 in exchange for Allied withdrawal from Austria and a return to sovereignty.

The Austrian for Austria is Österreich which means “Eastern realm”.

Just over a fifth of the Austrian population live in the capital Vienna,

Austria's terrain is highly mountainous due to the presence of the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 metres (1,640 ft).

Austria excels in winter sports. The people are glued to their televisions when their national athletes compete in skiing competitions.

Source Daily Express