Austrian History II Quiz | Austrian

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In 1815 the German Confederation was established. Which state was officially the leading power within the Confederation and presided at its meetings?

Answer: Austria

The German Confederation was in some respects a modernized successor to the Holy Roman Empire and not suprisingly the Habsburg monarchy was the official 'top dog'. In the 19th century its role wasn't seriously challenged by Prussia till the 1860s.

2. Which predominantly non-German-speaking area was included in the German Confederation?

Answer: Bohemia and Moravia

Hungary, which at that time included Slovakia, and Austrian Poland (Galicia and Bukovina) were outside the German Confederation. The predominatly Czech-speaking lands, however, were included in the Confederation. It wasn't intended to be a German nation-state.

3. In the period from c. 1820-60 Austria exercised a major direct influence on the affairs of a country outside Central Europe. Which?

Answer: The Italian states

In 1821 and again in 1848 Austria intervened in Italy to suppress liberal uprisings and reimpose reactionary monarchs and r�gimes. It had been Metternich's ambition to keep Austria as the leading power in both Germany and Italy.

4. In 1848-49 much of the Austrian Empire rose in rebellion against the Habsburg monarchy. In Hungary the rebellion proved exceptionally hard to suppress and the Austrian government accepted help from a foreign power in order to put down the Hungarian uprising. Which foreign power was it?

Answer: Russia

The 1848-49 rebellion in Hungary enjoyed much wider popular support than uprisings elsewhere in the Empire. In particular, sections of the aristocracy supported the rebellion, and many Hungarian units of the army went over to the side of the rebels. The final defeat for the rebels came at Arad (in present day Romania, just across the border from Hungary) on 17 August 1849. Thirteen Hungarian generals were taken prisoner, tried hurriedly by court martial, convicted of treason and shot on 6 October 1849.

5. In 1859 the French army threw the Austrians out of Lombardy and handed the province over to Piedmont (in exchange for Nice and Savoy), thus kick-starting the unification of Italy. Some German nationalists saw the defeat of Austria as a wider defeat for Germany.

Answer: True

In 1859 the modern distinction between Germany and Austria had not yet come into being. Some German nationalists saw the war of 1859 as the prelude to an all-out French attack on the German states, and Felix Dahn (1834-1912) wrote the lines: "Brach Etzels Haus in Glut zusammen, als er die Nibelungen zwang, / So soll Europa steh'n in Flammen / Bei der Germanen Untergang!" Translation: "As Attila's house collapsed in glowing cinders when he defeated the Nibelungs, so too Europe will stand ablaze when the Germans perish".

The Nazis simply *loved* these lines and Hitler did his utmost to act this scenario out almost literally in the final stages of WWII in Europe.

6. In 1866 Prussia went to war against Austria and most other states in the German Confederation. In English this is called the "Seven Weeks' War". How do the Austrians and Germans refer to this war?

Answer: The German War

The rapid and decisive Prussian victory owed much to the careful "war games" undertaken by the Prussian General Staff beforehand. The German Confederation was dissolved and Austria was in effect expelled from Germany. The arguments about a "Lesser Germany" (without Austrian territory) and a "Greater Germany" (including substantial sections of the Habsburg territories) was decided, by force, in favour of the former. This remained the position till 1938 and the establishment, also by force, of a Greater Germany. Germany, perhaps more than any other major European country, was consciously defined - arguably artifically.

At the same time, Italy also fought against Austria and gained the province of Venezia.

7. When did the Austrian government remove the fortifications round the old city in Vienna?

Answer: 1850s

This allowed for the construction of the "Ring" from 1860 onwards and for the transformation of Vienna into a showy, grandiose capital, somewhat along the lines of Paris and St. Petersburg.

The massive fortifications had become a serious obstacle separating the old city from the suburbs.

8. Which of these was the leading industrial area of the Austrian Empire from about 1825 onwards?

Answer: Bohemia and Moravia

The Czech lands were the great industrial and economic powerhouse of the empire. From about 1880 onwards the Danube Basin between Vienna and Budapest also became a major industrial area, with the emphasis on the electrical, chemical and engineering industries.

9. This author was a highly perceptive observer and critic of Central Europe. His is best known for his unfinished novel "Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften" ("The Man Without Qualities"). In an earlier novel he provided a deeply shocking description of a boarding school for boys aged about 14-18 intending to proceed to military academy. Who was he?

Answer: Robert Musil (1880-1942)

"Die Verwirrungen des Zoeglings Toerless" ("The Confusions of Young Toerless") appeared in 1906. Ostensibly a novel of formation, it is, more importantly, an explicit story of homoerotic bullying (sadism) and also a devastating comment on those who turned a blind eye to such goings-on.

When Musil died in exile in Geneva in 1942 it was said in many Allied countries that this novel had in some sense foreseen the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps. (The other three people are all noted Austrian authors).

10. Austria-Hungary was the second biggest country in Europe, and people and goods often had to travel very long distances. Austria claims to have established the first regular scheduled long-distance civil air service - in March 1918, with airmail too. Which route did it cover?

Answer: Vienna - Krakow - Lemberg (Lviv, Lvov)

For a short time, after the hollow victory over Russia in 1918, there was also a connecting flight to Kiev.

NOTE. I'm aware that there is often room for disagreement about such 'firsts'.

Source: Author bloomsby

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Austrian History II Trivia Quiz

Test your knowledge of Imperial Austria in the period c.1815-1918.

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