The area of today's Austria had been inhabited since at least the
Paleolithic period. Around 400 BC, it was inhabited by the
Celts and then annexed by the
Romans in the late 1st century BC.
Christianization in the region began in the 4th and 5th centuries, during the late
Roman period, followed by the arrival of numerous
Germanic tribes during the
Migration Period. Austria, as a unified state, emerged from the remnants of the
Eastern and
Hungarian March at the end of the
first millennium, first as a
frontier march of the
Holy Roman Empire, it then developed into a
duchy in 1156, and was made an
Archduchy in 1453. Being the heartland of the
Habsburg monarchy since the late 13th century, Austria was a major imperial power in Central Europe for centuries and from the 16th century, Vienna was also serving as the Holy Roman Empire's administrative capital. Before the
dissolution of the empire two years later, in 1804, Austria established
its own empire, which became a
great power and one of the largest states in Europe during its whole existence. The empire's defeat in wars and the loss of territories in the 1860s paved the way for the
establishment of
Austria-Hungary in 1867.
The
platform of the Rapide, known as the "vertical/horizontal" (VH), extensively incorporates aluminium throughout the body, reducing weight. In 2012, Aston Martin ended its partnership with Magna Steyr and shifted production to
Gaydon, a
Warwickshire village where the other VH platformed cars—including the
DB9, the
DBS, the
Vantage and the
second-generation Vanquish—were produced. In 2015, Aston Martin began developing an electric version of the car, named the "RapideE". The production-ready model debuted in 2019 but was never series produced. (Full article...)
A younger member of a
cadet branch of the
House of Fürstenberg, at his birth his chances of inheriting the family title of Fürst zu Fürstenberg were slight; he was prepared instead for a military career, and a tutor was hired to teach him the
military sciences. He entered the
Habsburg military in 1777, at the age of seventeen years, and was a member of the field army in the short
War of the Bavarian Succession (1778–79). His career progressed steadily during the
Habsburg War with the Ottoman Empire. In particular he distinguished himself at
Šabac in 1790, when he led his troops in storming the fortress on the
Sava river. (Full article...)
During the
French Revolutionary Wars, Schliengen was a strategically important location for the armies of both
Republican France and
Habsburg Austria. Control of the area gave either combatant access to southwestern German states and important
Rhine crossings. On 20 October Moreau retreated from
Freiburg im Breisgau and established his army along a ridge of hills. The severe condition of the roads prevented Archduke Charles from flanking the French right wing. The French left wing lay too close to the Rhine to outflank, and the French center, positioned in a 7-mile (11 km) semi-circle on heights that commanded the terrain below, was unassailable. Instead, he attacked the French flanks directly, and in force, which increased casualties for both sides. (Full article...)
Image 4
The Central European borders of Brandenburg–Prussia (blue-green) and the Habsburg monarchy (red) in 1756, after Prussia's seizure of Silesia in the
First Silesian War
No particular event triggered the wars. Prussia cited its centuries-old dynastic claims on parts of Silesia as a casus belli, but Realpolitik and
geostrategic factors also played a role in provoking the conflict. Maria Theresa's contested succession to the Habsburg monarchy under the
Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 provided an opportunity for Prussia to strengthen itself relative to regional rivals such as
Saxony and
Bavaria. (Full article...)
Image 5
Storming of the breach by Prussian grenadiers,
Carl Röchling
The battle was fought in the town of
Leuthen (now Lutynia,
Poland), 10 km (6 mi) northwest of Breslau, (now
Wrocław, Poland), in Prussian (formerly Austrian)
Silesia. By exploiting the training of his troops and his superior knowledge of the terrain, Frederick created a diversion at one end of the battlefield and moved most of his smaller army behind a series of low hillocks. The surprise attack in
oblique order on the unsuspecting Austrian flank baffled Prince Charles, who took several hours to realize that the main action was to his left, not his right. Within seven hours, the Prussians had destroyed the Austrians and erased any advantage that the Austrians had gained throughout the campaigning in the preceding summer and autumn. Within 48 hours, Frederick had laid
siege to Breslau, which resulted in the city's surrender on 19–20 December. (Full article...)
Image 6
Henry in full regalia (depicted in the 11th-century Evangelion of Saint Emmeram's Abbey)
Henry IV (German: Heinrich IV; 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106) was
Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105,
King of Germany from 1054 to 1105,
King of Italy and
Burgundy from 1056 to 1105, and
Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054. He was the son of
Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor—the second monarch of the
Salian dynasty—and
Agnes of Poitou. After his father's death on 5 October 1056, Henry was placed under his mother's guardianship. She made grants to German aristocrats to secure their support. Unlike her late husband, she could not control the election of the popes, thus the idea of the
"liberty of the Church" strengthened during her rule. Taking advantage of her weakness, Archbishop
Anno II of Cologne kidnapped Henry in April 1062. He administered Germany until Henry came of age in 1065.
Henry endeavoured to recover the royal estates that had been lost during his minority. He employed low-ranking officials to carry out his new policies, causing discontent in
Saxony and
Thuringia. Henry crushed a riot in Saxony in 1069 and overcame the rebellion of the Saxon aristocrat
Otto of Nordheim in 1071. The appointment of commoners to high office offended German aristocrats, and many of them withdrew from Henry's court. He insisted on his royal prerogative to appoint bishops and abbots, although the
reformist clerics condemned this practice as
simony (a forbidden sale of church offices).
Pope Alexander II blamed Henry's advisors for his acts and excommunicated them in early 1073. Henry's conflicts with the
Holy See and the German dukes weakened his position and the
Saxons rose up in open rebellion in the summer of 1074. Taking advantage of a quarrel between the Saxon aristocrats and peasantry, he forced the rebels into submission in October 1075. (Full article...)
In the early years of the French Revolutionary Wars, Klenau distinguished himself at the
Wissembourg lines, and led a battle-winning charge at
Handschuhsheim in 1795. As commander of the
Coalition's left flank in the
Adige campaign in northern Italy in 1799, he was instrumental in isolating the French-held fortresses on the
Po River by organizing and supporting a peasant uprising in the countryside. Afterward, Klenau became the youngest
lieutenant field marshal in the history of the Habsburg military. (Full article...)
Image 8
Taking one of the redoubts of Kehl by throwing rocks, 24 June 1796, Frédéric Regamey
Friedrich der Grosse und der Feldscher,
Bernhard Rode
The War of the Bavarian Succession (
German: Bayerischer Erbfolgekrieg; 3 July 1778 – 13 May 1779) was a dispute between the Austrian
Habsburg monarchy and an alliance of
Saxony and
Prussia over succession to the
Electorate of Bavaria after the extinction of the Bavarian branch of the
House of Wittelsbach. The Habsburgs sought to acquire Bavaria, and the alliance opposed them, favoring another branch of the Wittelsbachs. Both sides mobilized large armies, but the only fighting in the war was a few minor skirmishes. However, thousands of soldiers died from disease and starvation, earning the conflict the name Kartoffelkrieg (Potato War) in Prussia and Saxony; in Habsburg Austria, it was sometimes called the Zwetschgenrummel (Plum Fuss).
On 30 December 1777,
Maximilian III Joseph, the last of the
junior Wittelsbach line, died of
smallpox, leaving no children.
Charles Theodore, a scion of a senior branch of the House of Wittelsbach, held the closest claim of kinship, but he also had no legitimate children to succeed him. His cousin,
Charles II August, Duke of Zweibrücken, therefore had a legitimate legal claim as Charles Theodore's
heir presumptive. Across Bavaria's southern border,
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor coveted the Bavarian territory and had married Maximilian Joseph's sister
Maria Josepha in 1765 to strengthen any claim he could extend. His agreement with the heir, Charles Theodore, to partition the territory neglected any claims of the heir presumptive, Charles August. (Full article...)
On 10 April 1809, Austrian forces under
Archduke Charles crossed the border of
Bavaria, a French client state. The French response, under
Louis-Alexandre Berthier, was disorganised but order was imposed with the arrival of Napoleon on 17 April. Napoleon led an advance to
Landshut, hoping to cut off the Austrian line of retreat and sweep into their rear. Charles crossed the Danube at
Regensburg, which allowed him to retreat eastwards, although he failed to reach the Austrian capital,
Vienna, before the French. A French assault across the Danube was repulsed on 21–22 May at the
Battle of Aspern-Essling but a repeat attack was successful in July. Napoleon won a major victory at the 5–6 July
Battle of Wagram, which forced the Austrians to sign the
Armistice of Znaim on 12 July. Austrian invasions of the Duchy of Warsaw and
Saxony (where they fought alongside the
Black Brunswickers) were repulsed and they were driven out of their territories in Italy. British forces
landed in Walcheren, in the French client state of
Holland, but were unable to seize their objective of capturing
Antwerp and were later withdrawn. (Full article...)
Image 11
Marshal Mortier at the battle of Durenstein in 1805, Auguste Sandoz
The Battle of Dürenstein (
German: Schlacht bei Dürnstein; also known as Dürrenstein, Dürnstein and Diernstein) or the Battle of Krems (
Russian: Сражение при Кремсе), on 11 November 1805, was an engagement in the
Napoleonic Wars during the
War of the Third Coalition. Dürenstein (modern
Dürnstein),
Austria, is located in the
Wachau valley, on the river
Danube, 73 kilometers (45 mi) upstream from
Vienna, Austria. The river makes a crescent-shaped curve between Dürnstein and nearby
Krems an der Donau, and the battle was fought in the flood plain between the river and the mountains.
At Dürenstein, a combined force of
Russian and
Austrian troops trapped a
French division commanded by
Théodore Maxime Gazan. The French division was part of the newly created
VIII Corps, the so-called Corps Mortier, under command of
Édouard Mortier. In pursuing the Austrian retreat from
Bavaria, Mortier had over-extended his three divisions along the north bank of the Danube.
Mikhail Kutuzov, commander of the Coalition force, enticed Mortier to send Gazan's division into a trap and French troops were caught in a valley between two Russian columns. They were rescued by the timely arrival of a second division, under command of
Pierre Dupont de l'Étang. The battle extended well into the night, after which both sides claimed victory. The French lost more than a third of their participants, and Gazan's division experienced over 40 percent losses. The Austrians and Russians also had heavy losses—close to 16 percent—but perhaps the most significant was the death in action of
Johann Heinrich von Schmitt, one of Austria's most capable chiefs of staff. (Full article...)
The conflict has been viewed as a continuation of the
First Silesian War, which had concluded only two years before. After the
Treaty of Berlin ended hostilities between Austria and Prussia in 1742, the
Habsburg monarchy's fortunes improved greatly in the continuing War of the Austrian Succession. As Austria expanded its alliances with the 1743
Treaty of Worms, Prussia entered a renewed alliance with Austria's enemies in the League of Frankfurt and rejoined the war, hoping to prevent a resurgent Austria from taking back Silesia. (Full article...)
Image 13
Battle of Rossbach, unknown artist
The Battle of Rossbach took place on 5November 1757 during the
Third Silesian War (1756–1763, part of the
Seven Years' War) near the village of
Rossbach (Roßbach), in the
Electorate of Saxony. It is sometimes called the Battle of, or at,
Reichardtswerben, after a different nearby town. In this 90-minute battle,
Frederick the Great, king of
Prussia, defeated an Allied army composed of
French forces augmented by a contingent of the
Reichsarmee (Imperial Army) of the
Holy Roman Empire. The French and Imperial army included 41,110 men, opposing a considerably smaller Prussian force of 22,000. Despite overwhelming odds, Frederick managed to defeat the Imperials and the French.
The Battle of Rossbach marked a turning point in the Seven Years' War, not only for its stunning Prussian victory, but because France refused to send troops against Prussia again and Britain, noting Prussia's military success, increased its financial support for Frederick. Following the battle, Frederick immediately left Rossbach and marched for 13 days to the outskirts of
Breslau. There he met the Austrian army at the
Battle of Leuthen; he employed similar tactics to again defeat an army considerably larger than his own. (Full article...)
Image 14
Topographic map of Switzerland highlighting the location of the battle
The Battle of Winterthur (27 May 1799) was an important action between elements of the
Army of the Danube and elements of the
Habsburg army, commanded by
Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze, during the
War of the Second Coalition, part of the
French Revolutionary Wars. The small town of
Winterthur lies 18 kilometers (11 mi) northeast of
Zürich, in Switzerland. Because of its position at the junction of seven roads, the army that held the town controlled access to most of Switzerland and points crossing the Rhine into southern Germany. Although the forces involved were small, the ability of the Austrians to sustain their 11-hour assault on the French line resulted in the consolidation of three Austrian forces on the plateau north of Zürich, leading to the French
defeat a few days later.
Historians generally consider the battle as among Frederick's greatest blunders. Contrary to the advice of his subordinates, he refused to believe that the typically cautious Austrian commander Leopold von Daun would bring his troops into battle. The Austrian force ambushed his army in a pre-dawn attack. Over 30% of Frederick's army was defeated; five generals were killed and he lost his artillery park and a vast quantity of supplies. Although Daun had scored a complete surprise, his attempt to pursue the retreating Prussians was unsuccessful. The escaped force united with another corps in the vicinity, and regained momentum over the winter. (Full article...)
Salt was a valuable resource, so the region was historically very wealthy. It is possible to tour the world's first known salt mine, located above downtown Hallstatt.
The village also gave its name to the early
Iron AgeHallstatt culture and is a UNESCO
World Heritage Site along with the Salzkammergut and
Dachstein. Hallstatt is a popular tourist attraction owing to its small-town appeal and can be toured on foot in ten minutes.
He was a major figure in the negotiations before and during the
Congress of Vienna and is considered both a paradigm of foreign-policy management and a major figure in the development of diplomatic
praxis. He was the archetypal practitioner of 19th-century diplomatic
realism, being deeply rooted in the postulates of the
balance of power.
Probably no statesman was so praised, or so reviled, in his own day as Metternich. In one perspective he was revered as the infallible oracle of diplomatic inspiration; in another, he was loathed and despised as an incarnation of the spirit of obscurantism and oppression. The victories of
democracy have made the latter view fashionable, and to the liberal historians of the latter part of the 19th century the very name Metternich was synonymous with a system in which nothing but senseless opposition to progress could be discerned.
Metternich was a master of the techniques of diplomacy: for instance, his dispatches were models of diplomatic style.
... that despite losing his left arm in World War II, Austrian tennis player Hans Redl reached the fourth round at Wimbledon in 1947?
... that Austrian online streamer Keekihime became fluent in Japanese from live-streaming daily on the Japanese video website
Nico Douga?
... that The Baby-Sitters Club actress Sophia Reid-Gantzert won an Austrian ballet competition when she was six?
... that a priest refused to perform the wedding ceremony for Austrian socialist Josef Peskoller and his fiancée Maria Griel on political grounds in 1928?
General images
The following are images from various Austria-related articles on Wikipedia.
The area of today's Austria had been inhabited since at least the
Paleolithic period. Around 400 BC, it was inhabited by the
Celts and then annexed by the
Romans in the late 1st century BC.
Christianization in the region began in the 4th and 5th centuries, during the late
Roman period, followed by the arrival of numerous
Germanic tribes during the
Migration Period. Austria, as a unified state, emerged from the remnants of the
Eastern and
Hungarian March at the end of the
first millennium, first as a
frontier march of the
Holy Roman Empire, it then developed into a
duchy in 1156, and was made an
Archduchy in 1453. Being the heartland of the
Habsburg monarchy since the late 13th century, Austria was a major imperial power in Central Europe for centuries and from the 16th century, Vienna was also serving as the Holy Roman Empire's administrative capital. Before the
dissolution of the empire two years later, in 1804, Austria established
its own empire, which became a
great power and one of the largest states in Europe during its whole existence. The empire's defeat in wars and the loss of territories in the 1860s paved the way for the
establishment of
Austria-Hungary in 1867.
The
platform of the Rapide, known as the "vertical/horizontal" (VH), extensively incorporates aluminium throughout the body, reducing weight. In 2012, Aston Martin ended its partnership with Magna Steyr and shifted production to
Gaydon, a
Warwickshire village where the other VH platformed cars—including the
DB9, the
DBS, the
Vantage and the
second-generation Vanquish—were produced. In 2015, Aston Martin began developing an electric version of the car, named the "RapideE". The production-ready model debuted in 2019 but was never series produced. (Full article...)
A younger member of a
cadet branch of the
House of Fürstenberg, at his birth his chances of inheriting the family title of Fürst zu Fürstenberg were slight; he was prepared instead for a military career, and a tutor was hired to teach him the
military sciences. He entered the
Habsburg military in 1777, at the age of seventeen years, and was a member of the field army in the short
War of the Bavarian Succession (1778–79). His career progressed steadily during the
Habsburg War with the Ottoman Empire. In particular he distinguished himself at
Šabac in 1790, when he led his troops in storming the fortress on the
Sava river. (Full article...)
During the
French Revolutionary Wars, Schliengen was a strategically important location for the armies of both
Republican France and
Habsburg Austria. Control of the area gave either combatant access to southwestern German states and important
Rhine crossings. On 20 October Moreau retreated from
Freiburg im Breisgau and established his army along a ridge of hills. The severe condition of the roads prevented Archduke Charles from flanking the French right wing. The French left wing lay too close to the Rhine to outflank, and the French center, positioned in a 7-mile (11 km) semi-circle on heights that commanded the terrain below, was unassailable. Instead, he attacked the French flanks directly, and in force, which increased casualties for both sides. (Full article...)
Image 4
The Central European borders of Brandenburg–Prussia (blue-green) and the Habsburg monarchy (red) in 1756, after Prussia's seizure of Silesia in the
First Silesian War
No particular event triggered the wars. Prussia cited its centuries-old dynastic claims on parts of Silesia as a casus belli, but Realpolitik and
geostrategic factors also played a role in provoking the conflict. Maria Theresa's contested succession to the Habsburg monarchy under the
Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 provided an opportunity for Prussia to strengthen itself relative to regional rivals such as
Saxony and
Bavaria. (Full article...)
Image 5
Storming of the breach by Prussian grenadiers,
Carl Röchling
The battle was fought in the town of
Leuthen (now Lutynia,
Poland), 10 km (6 mi) northwest of Breslau, (now
Wrocław, Poland), in Prussian (formerly Austrian)
Silesia. By exploiting the training of his troops and his superior knowledge of the terrain, Frederick created a diversion at one end of the battlefield and moved most of his smaller army behind a series of low hillocks. The surprise attack in
oblique order on the unsuspecting Austrian flank baffled Prince Charles, who took several hours to realize that the main action was to his left, not his right. Within seven hours, the Prussians had destroyed the Austrians and erased any advantage that the Austrians had gained throughout the campaigning in the preceding summer and autumn. Within 48 hours, Frederick had laid
siege to Breslau, which resulted in the city's surrender on 19–20 December. (Full article...)
Image 6
Henry in full regalia (depicted in the 11th-century Evangelion of Saint Emmeram's Abbey)
Henry IV (German: Heinrich IV; 11 November 1050 – 7 August 1106) was
Holy Roman Emperor from 1084 to 1105,
King of Germany from 1054 to 1105,
King of Italy and
Burgundy from 1056 to 1105, and
Duke of Bavaria from 1052 to 1054. He was the son of
Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor—the second monarch of the
Salian dynasty—and
Agnes of Poitou. After his father's death on 5 October 1056, Henry was placed under his mother's guardianship. She made grants to German aristocrats to secure their support. Unlike her late husband, she could not control the election of the popes, thus the idea of the
"liberty of the Church" strengthened during her rule. Taking advantage of her weakness, Archbishop
Anno II of Cologne kidnapped Henry in April 1062. He administered Germany until Henry came of age in 1065.
Henry endeavoured to recover the royal estates that had been lost during his minority. He employed low-ranking officials to carry out his new policies, causing discontent in
Saxony and
Thuringia. Henry crushed a riot in Saxony in 1069 and overcame the rebellion of the Saxon aristocrat
Otto of Nordheim in 1071. The appointment of commoners to high office offended German aristocrats, and many of them withdrew from Henry's court. He insisted on his royal prerogative to appoint bishops and abbots, although the
reformist clerics condemned this practice as
simony (a forbidden sale of church offices).
Pope Alexander II blamed Henry's advisors for his acts and excommunicated them in early 1073. Henry's conflicts with the
Holy See and the German dukes weakened his position and the
Saxons rose up in open rebellion in the summer of 1074. Taking advantage of a quarrel between the Saxon aristocrats and peasantry, he forced the rebels into submission in October 1075. (Full article...)
In the early years of the French Revolutionary Wars, Klenau distinguished himself at the
Wissembourg lines, and led a battle-winning charge at
Handschuhsheim in 1795. As commander of the
Coalition's left flank in the
Adige campaign in northern Italy in 1799, he was instrumental in isolating the French-held fortresses on the
Po River by organizing and supporting a peasant uprising in the countryside. Afterward, Klenau became the youngest
lieutenant field marshal in the history of the Habsburg military. (Full article...)
Image 8
Taking one of the redoubts of Kehl by throwing rocks, 24 June 1796, Frédéric Regamey
Friedrich der Grosse und der Feldscher,
Bernhard Rode
The War of the Bavarian Succession (
German: Bayerischer Erbfolgekrieg; 3 July 1778 – 13 May 1779) was a dispute between the Austrian
Habsburg monarchy and an alliance of
Saxony and
Prussia over succession to the
Electorate of Bavaria after the extinction of the Bavarian branch of the
House of Wittelsbach. The Habsburgs sought to acquire Bavaria, and the alliance opposed them, favoring another branch of the Wittelsbachs. Both sides mobilized large armies, but the only fighting in the war was a few minor skirmishes. However, thousands of soldiers died from disease and starvation, earning the conflict the name Kartoffelkrieg (Potato War) in Prussia and Saxony; in Habsburg Austria, it was sometimes called the Zwetschgenrummel (Plum Fuss).
On 30 December 1777,
Maximilian III Joseph, the last of the
junior Wittelsbach line, died of
smallpox, leaving no children.
Charles Theodore, a scion of a senior branch of the House of Wittelsbach, held the closest claim of kinship, but he also had no legitimate children to succeed him. His cousin,
Charles II August, Duke of Zweibrücken, therefore had a legitimate legal claim as Charles Theodore's
heir presumptive. Across Bavaria's southern border,
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor coveted the Bavarian territory and had married Maximilian Joseph's sister
Maria Josepha in 1765 to strengthen any claim he could extend. His agreement with the heir, Charles Theodore, to partition the territory neglected any claims of the heir presumptive, Charles August. (Full article...)
On 10 April 1809, Austrian forces under
Archduke Charles crossed the border of
Bavaria, a French client state. The French response, under
Louis-Alexandre Berthier, was disorganised but order was imposed with the arrival of Napoleon on 17 April. Napoleon led an advance to
Landshut, hoping to cut off the Austrian line of retreat and sweep into their rear. Charles crossed the Danube at
Regensburg, which allowed him to retreat eastwards, although he failed to reach the Austrian capital,
Vienna, before the French. A French assault across the Danube was repulsed on 21–22 May at the
Battle of Aspern-Essling but a repeat attack was successful in July. Napoleon won a major victory at the 5–6 July
Battle of Wagram, which forced the Austrians to sign the
Armistice of Znaim on 12 July. Austrian invasions of the Duchy of Warsaw and
Saxony (where they fought alongside the
Black Brunswickers) were repulsed and they were driven out of their territories in Italy. British forces
landed in Walcheren, in the French client state of
Holland, but were unable to seize their objective of capturing
Antwerp and were later withdrawn. (Full article...)
Image 11
Marshal Mortier at the battle of Durenstein in 1805, Auguste Sandoz
The Battle of Dürenstein (
German: Schlacht bei Dürnstein; also known as Dürrenstein, Dürnstein and Diernstein) or the Battle of Krems (
Russian: Сражение при Кремсе), on 11 November 1805, was an engagement in the
Napoleonic Wars during the
War of the Third Coalition. Dürenstein (modern
Dürnstein),
Austria, is located in the
Wachau valley, on the river
Danube, 73 kilometers (45 mi) upstream from
Vienna, Austria. The river makes a crescent-shaped curve between Dürnstein and nearby
Krems an der Donau, and the battle was fought in the flood plain between the river and the mountains.
At Dürenstein, a combined force of
Russian and
Austrian troops trapped a
French division commanded by
Théodore Maxime Gazan. The French division was part of the newly created
VIII Corps, the so-called Corps Mortier, under command of
Édouard Mortier. In pursuing the Austrian retreat from
Bavaria, Mortier had over-extended his three divisions along the north bank of the Danube.
Mikhail Kutuzov, commander of the Coalition force, enticed Mortier to send Gazan's division into a trap and French troops were caught in a valley between two Russian columns. They were rescued by the timely arrival of a second division, under command of
Pierre Dupont de l'Étang. The battle extended well into the night, after which both sides claimed victory. The French lost more than a third of their participants, and Gazan's division experienced over 40 percent losses. The Austrians and Russians also had heavy losses—close to 16 percent—but perhaps the most significant was the death in action of
Johann Heinrich von Schmitt, one of Austria's most capable chiefs of staff. (Full article...)
The conflict has been viewed as a continuation of the
First Silesian War, which had concluded only two years before. After the
Treaty of Berlin ended hostilities between Austria and Prussia in 1742, the
Habsburg monarchy's fortunes improved greatly in the continuing War of the Austrian Succession. As Austria expanded its alliances with the 1743
Treaty of Worms, Prussia entered a renewed alliance with Austria's enemies in the League of Frankfurt and rejoined the war, hoping to prevent a resurgent Austria from taking back Silesia. (Full article...)
Image 13
Battle of Rossbach, unknown artist
The Battle of Rossbach took place on 5November 1757 during the
Third Silesian War (1756–1763, part of the
Seven Years' War) near the village of
Rossbach (Roßbach), in the
Electorate of Saxony. It is sometimes called the Battle of, or at,
Reichardtswerben, after a different nearby town. In this 90-minute battle,
Frederick the Great, king of
Prussia, defeated an Allied army composed of
French forces augmented by a contingent of the
Reichsarmee (Imperial Army) of the
Holy Roman Empire. The French and Imperial army included 41,110 men, opposing a considerably smaller Prussian force of 22,000. Despite overwhelming odds, Frederick managed to defeat the Imperials and the French.
The Battle of Rossbach marked a turning point in the Seven Years' War, not only for its stunning Prussian victory, but because France refused to send troops against Prussia again and Britain, noting Prussia's military success, increased its financial support for Frederick. Following the battle, Frederick immediately left Rossbach and marched for 13 days to the outskirts of
Breslau. There he met the Austrian army at the
Battle of Leuthen; he employed similar tactics to again defeat an army considerably larger than his own. (Full article...)
Image 14
Topographic map of Switzerland highlighting the location of the battle
The Battle of Winterthur (27 May 1799) was an important action between elements of the
Army of the Danube and elements of the
Habsburg army, commanded by
Friedrich Freiherr von Hotze, during the
War of the Second Coalition, part of the
French Revolutionary Wars. The small town of
Winterthur lies 18 kilometers (11 mi) northeast of
Zürich, in Switzerland. Because of its position at the junction of seven roads, the army that held the town controlled access to most of Switzerland and points crossing the Rhine into southern Germany. Although the forces involved were small, the ability of the Austrians to sustain their 11-hour assault on the French line resulted in the consolidation of three Austrian forces on the plateau north of Zürich, leading to the French
defeat a few days later.
Historians generally consider the battle as among Frederick's greatest blunders. Contrary to the advice of his subordinates, he refused to believe that the typically cautious Austrian commander Leopold von Daun would bring his troops into battle. The Austrian force ambushed his army in a pre-dawn attack. Over 30% of Frederick's army was defeated; five generals were killed and he lost his artillery park and a vast quantity of supplies. Although Daun had scored a complete surprise, his attempt to pursue the retreating Prussians was unsuccessful. The escaped force united with another corps in the vicinity, and regained momentum over the winter. (Full article...)
Salt was a valuable resource, so the region was historically very wealthy. It is possible to tour the world's first known salt mine, located above downtown Hallstatt.
The village also gave its name to the early
Iron AgeHallstatt culture and is a UNESCO
World Heritage Site along with the Salzkammergut and
Dachstein. Hallstatt is a popular tourist attraction owing to its small-town appeal and can be toured on foot in ten minutes.
He was a major figure in the negotiations before and during the
Congress of Vienna and is considered both a paradigm of foreign-policy management and a major figure in the development of diplomatic
praxis. He was the archetypal practitioner of 19th-century diplomatic
realism, being deeply rooted in the postulates of the
balance of power.
Probably no statesman was so praised, or so reviled, in his own day as Metternich. In one perspective he was revered as the infallible oracle of diplomatic inspiration; in another, he was loathed and despised as an incarnation of the spirit of obscurantism and oppression. The victories of
democracy have made the latter view fashionable, and to the liberal historians of the latter part of the 19th century the very name Metternich was synonymous with a system in which nothing but senseless opposition to progress could be discerned.
Metternich was a master of the techniques of diplomacy: for instance, his dispatches were models of diplomatic style.
... that despite losing his left arm in World War II, Austrian tennis player Hans Redl reached the fourth round at Wimbledon in 1947?
... that Austrian online streamer Keekihime became fluent in Japanese from live-streaming daily on the Japanese video website
Nico Douga?
... that The Baby-Sitters Club actress Sophia Reid-Gantzert won an Austrian ballet competition when she was six?
... that a priest refused to perform the wedding ceremony for Austrian socialist Josef Peskoller and his fiancée Maria Griel on political grounds in 1928?
General images
The following are images from various Austria-related articles on Wikipedia.