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Concept
Name of Austria
Summary
The German name of Austria, Österreich, derives from the Old High German word Ostarrîchi "eastern realm", recorded in the so-called Ostarrîchi Document of 996, applied to the Margraviate of Austria, a march, or borderland, of the Duchy of Bavaria created in 976.
The name is seemingly comparable to Austrasia, the early middle age term for the "eastern lands" of Francia, as known from the written records.
The Old High German name parallels the Middle Latin name Marchia Orientalis ("eastern borderland"), alternatively called Marchia austriaca. The shorter Latinized name Austria is first recorded in the 12th century. It has occasionally led to confusion, because, while it renders the Germanic word for "east" it is reminiscent of the native Latin term for "south", auster.
In the 12th century, the Margraviate was elevated to the status of duchy, in 1453 to archduchy and from 1804 claiming imperial status, all the time retaining both the name Österreich and the Latin name Austria.
Ostmark, a translation of Marchia Orientalis into Standard German, was used officially from 1938, when the country was incorporated into the German Reich, until 1945.
The contemporary state was created in 1955, with the Austrian State Treaty, and is officially called the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich).
Österreich is derived from Old High German Ostarrîchi. The term probably originates as a vernacular translation of the Latin name Marchia orientalis (eastern borderland). The ostar- is related to Old High German ōstan (eastern), but its exact derivation is unclear. Old High German rihhi had the meaning of "realm, domain".
The Marchia orientalis, also called the Bavarian Eastern March (Ostmark) and the March of Austria (Marchiam Austriae), was a prefecture of the Duchy of Bavaria. It was assigned to the Babenberg family in 976. The variant Ostarrîchi is known from a single usage dated 996. Later Medieval documents record the word as either Osterrîche (official) or as Osterlant (folk and poetic usage). The variation Osterrîche is first recorded in 998.
Official source
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