ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the history of state formation in Austria. What, however, and where, is ‘Austria’? And when to begin this history? ‘Austria’ was in fact an assemblage of countries and territories until well into the twentieth century. At the end of the 15th century Emperor Maximilian I’s administrative reforms created two main administrative units, Lower and Upper Austria. Lower Austria comprised contemporary Lower and Upper Austria, although only roughly within current borders. It also included Styria, Carinthia and Carniola, which together made up Inner Austria. Upper Austria consisted of Tyrol, Vorarlberg, the Windisch Mark (that is, very roughly, the Slovenian territories between Styria and Carniola), Gorizia, Istria, Trieste and the non-contiguous southwestern German territories, ‘Further Austria’ [Vorderösterreich or the Vorlande]. Over the centuries, the borders of these regions changed for administrative reasons, though these changes are peripheral to our analysis.
