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Vienna

• City of Vienna
• Federal Country of the Republic of Austria

Contents

• Flags

• historical Flag

• Meaning/Origin of the Flag

• Coat of Arms

• Meaning/Origin of the Coat of Arms

• Map of the federal countries of Austria

• Map of the former crown lands of Austria-Hungary (to 1918)

• Numbers and Facts

• History

• Origin of the Country's Name

Flags

Flag of the country (Colours of the country),
ratio = 2:3,
Source, by: Wikipedia (D),
Colour, by: Dr. Peter Diem www.peter-diem.at





Official flag,
ratio = 2:3,
Source, by: Wikipedia (D),
Colour, by: Dr. Peter Diem www.peter-diem.at

historical Flag

to 1919 and 1934–1945,
Official flag,
thereafter until 1998 unofficially in use,
ratio = 2:3

Meaning/Origin of the Flag

The flag of Vienna descents from the early 19. century and shows two stripes in red and white. It was officially and lastly confirmed in 1946, but without a coat of arms. The colours of the flag are derived from the colours of the coat of arms of the city. (silvery cross on red ground).

Austria joined the German Empire in 1938 as one country. The federal structures played no role, they were completely replaced by the NSDAP districts (NS-Gau), the countries were abolished. From now on, offices and authorities had to use the empire's official flag. The corresponding national colors may still have exist, but not in the form of flags. They may have been used sporadically on SA uniforms or in some ranks of the Hitler Youth in the chest cord.

The flags of the Federal States of Austria are used with or without the coat of arms. For official use, however, they always show it. The general population is permitted to use this format as well.

There do not seem to be any legal regulations for the colours of the flags of the Austrian federal states; since they are apparently not defined, they are reproduced in practice within a usual standard range. However, the Austrian publicist and media scientist Dr. Peter Diem gives recommendations for the reproduction of the colours: For Vienna, a bright red, most likely corresponding to Pantone 179.

Source: Dr. Peter Diem austria-forum.org, Wikipedia (D), Flaggen Enzyklopädie, Volker Preuß

Coat of Arms

1925–1938 and from 1945,
lesser coat of arms of Vienna,
Source, by: Wikipedia (D)



1465–1925 and 1934–1945,
greater coat of arms of Vienna,
Source, by: Wikipedia (D)

Meaning/Origin of the Coat of Arms

The coat of arms of Vienna shows a today polished silver cross on a red background. First, in the 13th century, a black eagle was the coat of arms that was used in seals. From the 14th century, the eagle was given a red shield with the silver cross on its chest. It probably goes back to the cross-flag of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation, whose contingents of troops, also from Vienna, were involved in the crusades. The eagle of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation showed two heads from 1433. In this way, Emperor Friedrich III. in 1461 the city gave the right to adapt the eagle in the coat of arms of the city of Vienna accordingly and to crown it with the imperial crown. After all Vienna was the capital and residence city of the empire. In this form the coat of arms was kept until 1925 and from that year it was limited to the breastplate with the white cross, at least as the lesser coat of arms. From 1925 the eagle had only one head on the greater coat of arms and the crown was also dropped. In 1934 the double-headed eagle was adopted again as the greater coat of arms. The lesser coat of arms was abolished in 1938 and reintroduced in 1945, as the one-headed uncrowned eagle as greater coat of arms.

Source: Wikipedia (D), Volker Preuß

Map

The federal countries of Austria:

Source: Volker Preuß


• Burgenland

• Carinthia (Kärnten)

• Lower Austria (Niederösterreich)

• Upper Austria (Oberösterreich)

• Salzburg

• Styria (Steiermark)

• Tyrol (Tirol)

• Vorarlberg

• Vienna (Wien)

Former crown lands of Austria-Hungary (to 1918)

Map ca. 1910:

Source: Volker Preuß

Numbers and Facts

Area: 160 square miles

Inhabitants: 1.897.500 (2019)

Density of Population: 11.842 inh./sq.mi.

official Language: Deutsch

Currency: 1 Euro = 100 Cent

Time Zone: MEZ

Source: Wikipedia (D)

History

since 14 B.C. · Roman conquest of the territories southern the Danube River, establishment of the Province of Noricum, the Romans establish beside the Celtic settlement Vindobona a military camp, the name Vindobona becomes transfered to this military camp

166–168 · invasions of the Teutonic tribe of the Quades

233 · once more invasion of the Quades

409–452 · invasions of the Huns, Vindobona becomes destroyed but not abandoned

476 · dismissal of the last Roman emperor Romulus Augustulus, end of the (West)Roman Empire, Vindobona belongs until 553 to the Empires of the Goth and the Langobardes

788 · conquest of Vindobona by the Frankish Empire of the Carolingians

795 · establishment of the "Ostmark" (Eastern Mark)

811 · Vienna becomes mentioned for the first time as Venia

843/870/880 · at the division of the Frankish Empire comes the Ostmark to the East Frankish Empire (later named German Empire)

900–955 · invasions of the Hungarians

955 · Battle on the Lech-Field, victory over the Hungarians, formation of the Bavarian Ostmark, in 996 for the first time named "Ostarrîchi"

976 · establishment of the Margraviate of Ostmark (Austria)

976 · the House of Babenberg becomes the Margraves of the Ostmark

1156 · Austria (Oesterreich/Ostmark) becomes a duchy

1155 · the Babenbergs transfer its seat to Vienna

1221 · Vienna gets the Law of Town

1246 · vanish of the Babenbergs, Austria and Styria come to the Bohemian Premyslides

1278 · the Habsburgs earn Austria and Steiermark and transfer its residency to Vienna

1485–1490 · the Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus occupies Vienna

16th cent. · administrative partition of the Duchy of Austria in "Austria below der Enns" (Lower Austria, including Vienna) and "Austria above the Enns" (Upper Austria), the status as a consistent Duchy of Austria remains untouched

1529 · repulse of the Turks at Vienna

1683 · repulse again of the Turks at Vienna

1804 · Vienna becomes the capital of the Empire of Austria

1805–1806 · Vienna is occupied by French troops

1814–1815 ·  Congress of Vienna, realignment of Europe after the era Napoléon, the Empire of Austria (House of Habsburg) acquires back the in 1809 lost territories, Dalmatia and Croatia become re-annexed to Hungary (under the Habsburgs, part of the Empire of Austria), Austria gets the presidency of the German Confederation from 1815

1848/1849 · revolution in Vienna civil war between Hungarians and Croats, riotings in Prague, Mailand and Venice, as a result of that Emperor Ferdinand I. resigns and Franz Joseph I. of Habsburg becomes new Emperor, the riotings become suppressed and he enacts a new constitution: the titular hereditary territories of the Habsburgs in the Austrian Empire become converted to crown lands with their own Landtag (parliament), the Landtag of Dalmatia rejects the annexion to Croatia, the Kingdom of Dalmatia becomes an own crown land of the Austrian crown, Croatia and Slavonia become united to the "Kingdom of Croatia and Slavonia", which remains as a subsidiary country under the Hungarian crown

12th of November 1918 · proclamation of German Austria to the Republic of Austria, Lower Austria (including Vienna) and Upper Austria become Austrian federal countries

1922 · Vienna becomes an Austrian federal country

13th of March 1938 · annexation of Austria to the German Empire, the administrative "NS-Gau of Vienna" takes the place of the Country of Vienna

27th of April 1945 · proclamation of the Republic of Austria "Second Republic", Vienna becomes again an Austrian federal country

1945–1955 · Vienna gets partitioned in four zones and administerd by the victory powers

Source: Atlas zur Geschichte, Wikipedia (D), World Statesmen, RetroBib Retrobibliothek, Discovery '97, Volker Preuß

Origin of the Country's Name

The name of the City of "Vienna" has its roots in the Roman name of the place "Vindobona". That is a deformation of the Celtic name "Vedunia" what means "wild brook". Further historic names of the city have been: Vindomina, Venia (9th cent.), Viennis, Wienne (11th cent.)

Source: Handbuch der geographischen Namen, Atlas der wahren Namen





Further Austria pages (historical flags and coats of arms):

• Empire of the Austrian Habsburgs (to 1804)

• Empire of Austria (1814–1867)

• Austria-Hungary (1867–1918)

• Republic of Austria (since 1918)