Austria (German Österreich), republic in central Europe, lying mainly in the Alps. Close to three-fourths of Austria is mountainous. Austria was formerly, under the Habsburg monarchs, the heart of an extensive empire that was a major power. Vienna, which was the imperial capital, is still one of the world’s great cities, famous for its elegance, its splendid baroque architecture, and its music and theater. Vienna (Wien) remains Austria’s capital and largest city.

At the end of World War I (1914-191 cool , the multinational empire headed by Austria was split up into separate nation states. Austria became a small landlocked republic about the size of the state of Maine. As the new nations put up trade barriers, Austria lost easy access to its former markets and sources of fuel. Its economic survival depended on foreign aid. The depression of the 1930s was ruinous for the Austrian republic. Conservative forces grew. In 1934 the Socialists, who had made Vienna a model of social democracy, were crushed, and a right-wing dictatorship entrenched itself. In 1938 Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany.