History of Vienna - The Making of a Capital

Capital cities, with their specific histories and urban development, are a fascinating phenomenon. Sheer size as well as complex architectures and physical fabric, both in the past and present, make it somewhat difficult to condense their growth and development into a brief overview.

Roman and medieval period

• From the Roman military camp to the end of the first millenary
• Rising to the rank of a city
• The late medieval period

Renaissance to industrial revolution

• The period of the Turkish sieges (1529 to 1683)
• The baroque city
• Napoleonic wars to "Pre-March Period"
• The "Ringstrasse"-period
• Growth of the city

First and Second World War

• From the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire to the capital of the Republic
• From "Red Vienna" to the "Ständestaat" (1918 to 1938)
• February 1934
• Vienna under the Nazi-Regime (1938 to 1945)

Vienna in the late 20th century

• The years of the allied forces in Vienna (1945 to 1955)
• From the "Austrian State Treaty" (1955) to the European Union (1995)