Elanshaw
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Origin and history of the name
The German name Österreich can be translated into English as the "eastern empire", which is derived from the Old German Ostarrîchi. The name was Latinized as "Austria", so it has no etymological connection with the name of Australia (which correctly means The South). Reich can also mean "empire", and this connotation is the one that is understood in the context of the Austrian/Austro-Hungarian Empire, Holy Roman Empire, although not in the context of the modern Republic of Österreich. The term probably originates in a vernacular translation of the Medieval Latin name for the region: Marchia orientalis, which translates as "eastern borderland", as it was situated at the eastern edge of the Holy Roman Empire, that was also mirrored in the name Ostmark, for a short period applied after Anschluss to Germany.
The current official designation is the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich). It was originally known after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1918 as the Republic of German Austria (Republik Deutschösterreich), but the state was forced to change its name to "Republic of Austria" in 1919 peace Treaty of Saint-Germain. The name was changed again during the Austro-fascist regime (1934–1938), into Federal State of Austria (Bundesstaat Österreich), but restored after regaining independence and the birth of the Second Austrian Republic (1955–present).
During the monarchy, Austria was known as the Austrian Empire (Kaisertum Österreich), however no official designation existed since the empire was strongly multiethnic. After the Ausgleich with Hungary in 1867, the empire became known as Austria-Hungary in reflection of the dual monarchy character. Some historians argue that the term The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St. Stephen (Die im Reichsrat vertretenen Königreiche und Länder und die Länder der heiligen ungarischen Stephanskrone) was the correct official name for Austria-Hungary. |
NOLA guy
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It's the other way around. Austria had the empire, and the empire went away. Much of the reason for the dissolution was that Austria was on the losing side in World War I (1914-18). In fact, the reason for the war was the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand on June 28, 1914, while he was in Sarajevo - then a part of the Austro-Hungarian empire.
WWI is usually stated as having started on August 4, 1914 when the German army invaded Belgium. However, the act that started the series of events that lead to war happened in Sarajevo.
It is a fascinating subject and has meaning to the present day as the Bosnian war (1992-1995) and the Kosovo situation (1998 - present) are rooted in the fall of the Austro-Hungarian empire.
Start by reading "The Guns of August" by Barbara W. Tuchman. |
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