Settled in prehistoric times, the central European land that is now Austria was
overrun in pre-Roman times by various tribes, including the Celts. Thousands of
years ago the Celts were the original settlers, mining the area for iron. Romans
followed, and then other tribes such as, Huns, Ostrogoths, Lombard's, Turks and
Bavarians.
After the fall of the Roman Empire, of which Austria was part, the area was
invaded by Bavarians and Slavic Avars. Charlemagne conquered the area in C.E.
788 and encouraged colonization and Christianity. In 1252, Ottokar, King of
Bohemia, gained possession, only to lose the territories to Rudolf of Hapsburg
in 1278. Thereafter, until World War I, Austria's history was largely that of
its ruling house, the Hapsburgs. Austria was home of the Habsburgs, the
continent's most influential and long-lasting dynasty.
During World War I, Austria-Hungary was one of the Central powers with
Germany, Bulgaria, and Turkey, and the conflict left the country in political
chaos and economic ruin. Austria, shorn of Hungary, was proclaimed a republic in
1918, and the monarchy was dissolved in 1919.
At the end of World War I, the multiethnic Austro-Hungarian empire was broken
up, creating Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Romania, while other territories became
parts of Poland, Italy and Yugoslavia. Austria became the small German-speaking
country we know today (population: almost 8 million). The country slowly emerged
from its imperial past, via an uneasy and unsatisfactory alliance with Germany,
to become one of the most highly developed European countries.
