History And Geography

History

Originally a Celtic settlement, the ancient city of Vienna was founded in the Bronze Age in 800 BC. It was claimed by the Celts in around 400 BC. The Romans then, established a military camp known as Vindobona among the Celtic settlements to serve as a border on the northern frontier of the Roman Empire against the Germanic tribes north of the Danube River.

The Roman town was razed to the ground by Barbarian invasions and Vindobona was lost until the turn of the 8th century. This was when Emperor Charlemagne made it the part of the Holy Roman Empire. The name "Wenia" (for Vienna) was first documented in Salzburg in 881 AD in the annals of the city of Salzburg.

Vienna was acquired by the German Babenberg dynasty in the 10th century. In the medieval ages, Vienna flourished as a major trading center. Later, Emperor Otto I ousted the Hungarian tribes from the city. In 976 AD, the emperor gifted Vienna to the Babenbergs and they, despite further incursions by the Hungarians, restored the city as an important center of trade and culture. This led to many wars and finally the Austrians were victorious but since their duke, Freidrich II died without leaving a heir to rule his kingdom, the Habsburgs began to rule over Austria.

Under the Habsburgs, Vienna transformed into a center for arts. Their empire extended to Spain, Holland, Burgundy, Bohemia and Hungary and was called "the country where the sun never sets." But in 1529, the Turks, having conquered the Balkans, made their first attempt to defeat and take over Vienna. Though they did not succeed, they posed as a constant threat for the next 150 years. In 1679, a severe black plague struck the city.

The Turkish threat to the city ended in 1683 with the downfall of Kara Mustapha's forces. From 1740 to 1790 Austria experienced a period of reformation under Empress Maria Theresa and her son, Joseph II as they eradicated torture and serfdom set up an entirely new administrative structure and created tolerance for the non-Catholics. Education was made compulsory for everyone; the army was put on a new footing and Vienna's General Hospital was founded. Vienna eventually was transformed into the musical capital of Europe. Napoleon defeated Emperor Franz I and took over Austria in 1809. He even married Franz I's daughter Marie-Louise. In 1815, after the defeat of Napoleon, Austria was placed under autocratic rule by Franz I. In 1848, the city experienced conservative rule under Franz Joseph I and in 1857, he ordered the walls encircling the city to be demolished.

In the 20th century, Vienna continued to bloom as the cultural capital of the world. This was the age when the city played host to intellectual greats like Freud, Karl Kraus, and Arthur Schnitzler. Artists and architects, philosophers and writers and musicians all graced the city with their presence and attention in the 20th century.

Following World War II, Vienna was divided among the allies till 1955, when Austria regained independence and declared itself a neutral state.

Geography

Vienna lies in the southeast corner of Central Europe and is close to Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. It lies on the banks of the majestic river Danube. The city is surrounded by the natural scenic grandeur of the Wachau region. Austria's characteristic landscapes come together in Vienna and the Vienna Basin. To the west of Vienna lies the magnificent Alps mountain range. The eastern Alps form two-thirds of the total area of Austria. To the north of Vienna lie the foothills of the Alps, the Bohemian Massif in the northwest, the Carpathian Mountains in the northeast, and Danube to the south. The small Hungarian lowlands lie to the southeast and east.

The topography of Austria offers quite a varied landscape apart from the sea. There are glaciers in the western states. The forest cover predominantly comprises of coniferous and mixed coniferous forests. However, deciduous forests cover the majority of the surface in the east and south.