Austria

Sexual Congress

Glenda Sluga explains the influence of a remarkable group of women as Europe’s elite gathered in Vienna in 1814.

The Sixtus Affair

In 1917, writes Charles Maechling, the new Emperor of Austria tried to extricate his country from the turmoil of the First World War with the help of Prince Sixtus.

New Light on Hitler’s Youth

Thin, pale, solitary, a day-dreamer, opinionated, rebellious, with sudden bursts of energy that quickly evaporated, D.C. Watt writes that Hitler as a boy is a strange forerunner of the would-be world-conqueror.

The Austro-Prussian War, 1866

The result of the Seven Weeks’ War in 1866 subordinated the Austrian Empire to Prussian ambitions. Brian Bond describes the last lightning victory in the Napoleonic manner, until Hitler’s blitzkrieg of 1940.

The Tragedy of Success

In the cynical atmosphere of the Congress of Vienna, Consalvi imposed himself on his fellow statesmen and fought a successful battle for the restoration of the Papal States. E.E.Y. Hales describes a master of European diplomacy.

Benckendorff and Mlle George

Metternich and Benckendorff, who played leading roles on the European scene, first met under very different circumstances; P.S. Squire describes how they were both attached to a charming French actress.

Bombs over Venice

In the summer of 1849, Austrian forces besieging Venice decided to put into practice a novel plan; Europe had its first experience of aerial warfare.