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History >1918 - From the Dawn of History to a Border Province |
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Page 1 of 4 From the Dawn of History to a Border Province
The Danube area was settled as early as the Paleolithic Age, between 80.000 and 10.000 BC. The Tänzerin, a small figure symbolizing a dancer, found in the environs of Krems, and the Venus of Willendorf provide the first significant evidence of early cultures. In 1991 the sensational discovery of a mummified male body (Ötzi) dating from the Stone Age was made in the glacial ice of the Ötztal Alps. In the Early Iron Age, from around 800 to 400 BC, Celtic tribes inhabited the territory of what is now Austria, trading throughout Europe in salt and ores.
Around the time of Christ's birth, the Roman Empire conquered the greater part of present-day Austria. The provinces of Raetia, Noricum and Pannonia were established as border regions. The Romans founded numerous settlements, of which Carnuntum in Pannonia, lying to the east of Vienna, was the largest Roman town on Austrian territory. In the 2nd century AD, Christianity began to spread in Austria as well.
Roman Amphitheatre in Carnuntum, Carinthia
The migration of different tribes led to the decline of Roman power. With the collapse of the Roman Empire, the Roman way of life and culture also disappeared from this area. From the 6th century on, continuous settlement of the region started with the Bavarians, who encountered the Slavs and Avars advancing from the East. The ecclesiastical organization of the country dates from the 4th century.
The Frankish ruler Charlemagne (747-814) established on the territory of present-day Austria the Carolingian March, or border province, between the rivers Enns, Raab and Drava. But 907 saw the collapse of this province following a defeat inflicted by the Magyars. It was not until 955 that Otto the Great succeeded in vanquishing the Magyars and re-conquering the region. In 976, Leopold von Babenberg, a descendant of a noble Bavarian family, was invested with the area between the rivers Enns and Traisen.
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