[ SUNDAY TRAVEL ]

Vienna has blossomed at
the crossroads of great power

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By Dennis Callan
Special to the Star-Bulletin

The Vienna we see today is the result of a long series of events that have brought us to this incredible splendor. It was the capital of the Hapsburg Empire that ruled over much of Western Europe for 650 years, right up through World War I.

There are many wonderful remnants of this long period in the form of vast palaces, noble architecture, collectible antiques and an attitude of confidence and pride among the local population.

Occupied before 6,000 B.C. by primitive hunter-gatherers, the permanent settlement was founded here by the Celts around 800 B.C.

In the first century, the Romans established a military camp conquered by Germanic Goth tribes around 400 A.D. Over the next few centuries, the town became an important center of trade.

From the end of the 10th century to the middle of the 13th century, when Vienna started to play an important role in history, a seldom-heard-of dynasty called the Babenbergs reigned in this little province.

The Crusades gave Vienna a big boost, first with the capture and imprisonment of England's Richard the Lionheart -- who was released for a king's ransom that financed much construction. With successive Crusaders passing through, a system of trade and supplies developed, further enriching the town.

The all-important Hapsburgs came from Switzerland in 1278 and commenced their rule over Austria.

DENNIS CALLAN / SPECIAL TO STAR-BULLETIN Demel pastries. Of all the pastry shops in town, the most famous is still Demel, catering to the sweet tooth of tourist and resident alike, serving rich treats that will drive you wild.

It began with Rudolph I, who was selected as king of Germany and gave this land to his sons, whose descendants eventually made out of this little country a big empire that stretched to Hungary, Spain, Belgium, Holland and parts of Italy, Germany, Yugoslavia, Poland, Russia, Romania and South America.

A major threat developed from the Ottoman Empire in Turkey, which besieged Vienna twice as part of their efforts to conquer Europe -- for the first time in 1529 and again in 1683. In the final battle with the Turks, there were only 5,000 Austrian soldiers within the city walls, while the Turks had an attacking army of 100,000, but with superior tactics and help from the pope and his supporting European armies, the Austrians prevailed.

Their main strategy was defensive -- to hold off the attackers till they ran out of food and supplies, forcing them to retreat.

This was a crucial turning point in history because the Ottoman Empire had already occupied Eastern Europe, gaining full control over Belgrade and Budapest, and fully intended to seize the entire continent.

Only after the defeat of the Turks were Vienna's noble families able to begin constructing their large palaces in the Baroque style, which found its inspiration in Italy but has been transformed into the special Austrian version we find here today.

The Hapsburg family reigned until the end of WWI, when it had to renounce the throne and go into exile.

The Hapsburgs actually started WWI, when Emperor Franz Josef avenged the death of his grandnephew, Crown Prince Archduke Ferdinand, who was assassinated in Sarajevo in 1914.

The roots of the problem stretch back into the 19th century: The Hapsburgs' multinational empire encompassed many different languages and cultures that never meshed in a peaceful way.

The Hungarians and Bohemians wanted more rights and to be independent from the Hapsburgs, and external forces in Germany and France were also trying to break them up.

Today the Hapsburgs survive with about 600 descendants spread all over the world.

During the 1930s, a dark cloud formed as Austrian Adolph Hitler developed a power base in Germany and annexed Austria in 1938. He declared his "Third Reich" from the balcony of the Hofburg Palace, and proceeded to exterminate most of Austria's Jews, who had always played an important role in the intellectual and economic life of the country.

Vienna remained an occupied city for 10 years after the war, divided into zones controlled by the United States, Germany, France and Russia, until 1955 when the Austrian State Treaty liberated the nation from foreign domination. Since then, Austria has developed into a modern society with a very high standard of living.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Austria ruled over 60 million people.

Today, the nation has only about 8 million inhabitants, with 1.8 million of them in Vienna. So this little nation became a big empire, then returned to its origins.