Österreich - Die ganze Geschichte - Season 1

Everyone knows the story of Richard the Lionheart, but hardly anyone knows what the ransom paid for him accomplished in Austria. Nor do they know the role the Crusades played in Austria's emergence as a nation.

One battle is featured in every history book: the Battle of Dürnkrut, where Habsburg Rudolf drove his Bohemian rival Ottokar out of the Austrian lands. However, another confrontation between the two was no less dramatic—the Siege of Vienna. The second episode of Austria – The Complete History examines the encirclement of Vienna by Habsburg Rudolf I in the autumn of 1276, during which the roughly 20,000 people trapped inside were cut off from their food supply. A decisive factor in the defenders' surrender was the besieging army's threat to devastate the orchards and vineyards in the surrounding area.

The Habsburgs' rise to power was accompanied by many coincidences. One of these was a daring theft carried out by a royal chambermaid—she stole a crown, disrupting the course of Central and Eastern European history. Centered around the autobiography of Helene Kottanner, Andreas Pfeifer and Mariella Gittler explore how gender roles influenced life in society at the time. Many of the images we commonly hold about this era today turn out to be mere clichés.

Vienna's rise to a global city was no coincidence but followed a master plan. One of the driving forces behind this was the great Habsburg strategist Rudolf the Founder, who established the Gothic St. Stephen's Cathedral and the University of Vienna. Episode four of the new ORF III series Austria – The Complete History focuses on this pivotal era, during which so much was decided for Austria and Vienna. The newly founded university soon became not only a center of humanism but also the stage for a dark chapter in the city's history—the persecution of Jews in 1421. The film highlights two stories from this period that are closely linked to the contrast between humanism and religious fanaticism. Andreas Pfeifer and Mariella Gittler, supported by leading Austrian historians, explore what the education of that era has to do with our own time. Directed by David Walter Bruckner.

In the Early Modern Period, Europe was ravaged by wars and crises. One significant cause may have been a prolonged cold period known as the Little Ice Age, a centuries-long era of failed harvests and natural disasters that led to struggles over resources. Episode five of the new ORF III series Austria – The Complete History illustrates the effects of this chilling era through the story of the Styrian farming family Paurnknap. The Little Ice Age, which peaked around 1600, brought solar storms, volcanic activity, earthquakes, locust plagues, and crop failures, compounding the already harsh lives of the people. The average drop in temperature by two degrees Celsius compared to the preceding warm period plunged the continent into chaos.

The seeds of some family fortunes were sown early. Anna Neumann, a prominent Styrian Protestant, used her wealth to lay the foundation for the rise of the Schwarzenberg family. She was a typical self-made figure of early capitalism, which took root in Austria in the 16th century. Episode six explores these beginnings through the stories of wealthy local families who were among the first to grasp the interplay of production, markets, and capital, ventured into money lending, and conquered global markets for their products. In the early 16th century, early capitalism intersected with another significant historical phenomenon: the Reformation. What connections existed between these two movements?

Anyone caught in the machinery of the Inquisition rarely emerged unscathed. One such person was Katharina, the mother of the famous mathematician Johannes Kepler. Falsely accused through slander, she endured trial and torture, surviving her acquittal by only a short time. Her story is just one of many from the era of the Thirty Years' War, which devastated and depopulated Europe. Centered around Kepler, who lived and worked in Graz, Linz, and Prague, episode seven of this new ORF III series chronicles society's long journey toward humanity and mutual tolerance. Lavishly staged dramatizations capture the full intensity of Kepler's life, immersing viewers in a world that, fortunately, feels distant to us today. Hosted by Andreas Pfeifer and Mariella Gittler, directed by Valentin Badura.

The plague of 1679 is considered one of the most severe disruptions Vienna ever endured. Brought into the city via ports and from the southeast, the epidemic claimed at least 12,000 lives—likely far more, according to unrecorded numbers. While the imperial court fled to Mariazell with a large entourage to pray—possibly bringing the disease with them—a single man remained in Vienna with full imperial authority to address the crisis: the plague doctor Paul de Sorbait. His actions were radical and draconian; he did not shy away from imposing the death penalty, even on physicians caught looting the bodies of plague victims. Yet his management succeeded in containing the spread of the disease using the means available at the time. It marked a rational approach to combating a plague, in stark contrast to the traditional reliance on bell tolls and religious processions. Hosted by Andreas Pfeifer and Mariella Gittler, directed by Maximilian Traxl and Philip Aleksiev.

The late summer of 1683 left a deep scar in Vienna's history. It came dangerously close to falling victim to the expansionist ambitions of the Ottoman Empire. Episode nine of the new ORF III series Austria – The Complete History focuses on these dramatic days. However, the documentary also explores the broader relationship between Austria and the Orient. Both before and after the siege, there was significant exchange between East and West, and the fascination with Ottoman culture was at least as strong as the fear of its expansion. Turkish culture left visible traces on Austrian life. Many elements, from coffee and croissants to apple strudel, can only be understood through the intermingling of Western and Eastern lifestyles.

When Franz Hebenstreit walks to the gallows following the Vienna "Jacobin Trial," the idea for which he is about to die has only just been born. The imperial court fiercely resists the notion that power should lie with the people. On the contrary, reforms by Maria Theresa and Joseph II strengthen the monarchy, which would endure in Austria for another 150 years. In episode ten of Austria – The Complete History, Andreas Pfeifer and Mariella Gittler, supported by extensive dramatizations, explore the cradle of our modern political system and recount the dramatic struggle surrounding it. It would take much longer before this fight culminated in the proclamation of the Republic.