The Habsburgs: Rise to World Power (1273–1740)

In 1273, Rudolf of Habsburg, a relatively insignificant Swabian count, was elected German king — mainly because the electors considered him harmless. They were greatly mistaken. Rudolf defeated the Bohemian King Ottokar II in the Battle on the Marchfeld (1278) and secured Austria, Styria, and Carinthia. Thus began the 640-year rule of the Habsburgs over Austria — the longest reigning dynasty in Europe.

The Habsburgs made marriage politics a state art. The famous motto "Bella gerant alii, tu felix Austria nube" (Let others wage wars, you happy Austria marry!) sums up their strategy. Through skillful marriages, they acquired Burgundy (1477), Spain with its colonies (1496), Bohemia and Hungary (1526). Under Emperor Charles V. (1519–1556), their empire encompassed an area where "the sun never set."

Two existential threats marked this era: The Reformation religiously divided the empire — Austria remained Catholic after the Counter-Reformation, which still shapes the culture today. And the Ottomans besieged Vienna twice: In 1529, Sultan Suleiman failed before the walls, and in 1683, the Ottoman army was decisively defeated in the Second Turkish Siege by a Christian coalition under the Polish King Jan Sobieski. This victory initiated Austria's expansion into Southeast Europe — and allegedly gave the Viennese the croissant tradition (the crescent shape as a mockery of the Ottoman crescent).

After 1683, Vienna experienced a baroque golden age. Fischer von Erlach and Hildebrandt built the splendor that defines Vienna today: Schönbrunn Palace, the Belvedere, the Church of St. Charles, the Melk Abbey. Prince Eugene of Savoy, the greatest general of his time, extended the empire to Serbia and Romania.