#Ostarrichi. Career of a Charter

Your highlight in autumn!

For a week starting on 26 October 2019, the House of Austrian History (hdgö) displayed the ‘Ostarrichi Charter’, which contains the first written mention of the name ‘Österreich’. For the first time in over two decades the document was once again on display in Austria—and for the first time ever in Vienna. Visitors were able to enter the Neue Burg palace on Vienna’s Heldenplatz square for free on 26 October, Austria’s national public holiday.

Origins, content and significance of the ‘Ostarrichi Charter’

With the ‘Ostarrichi Charter’, on 1 November 996 Emperor Otto III gifted land to the Bishop of Freising. For centuries, the charter was held in the archives of the Bishopric of Freising as proof of this title to the land. During secularisation the charter passed into state ownership. Today it is held in the Main Bavarian State Archives in Munich under inventory number ‘Hochstift Freising Urkunden 14’. The charter is the oldest known document to contain the term ‘ostarrîchi’—the Old High German precursor to the later state name of Österreich—as a label for the territory of what is now Austria.

Austria celebrates itself

The House of Austrian History focused on how the document was used in the Second Republic in terms of identity politics. In 1945, after the end of the Second World War and as the country was on its way to regaining sovereignty, the young Second Republic searched its history for points of reference to help in the creation of a new ‘Austrian identity’. The ‘Ostarrichi Charter’ became an argument for the long history of the Austria as a nation.

The first ‘Ostarrichi’ jubilee was celebrated in 1946 to mark the 950th anniversary of the charter. Intended as a ‘springboard for new momentum’ in the reconstruction effort, the celebrations were pushed through by then education minister Felix Hurdes. On his initiative, the ‘950 Years of Austria’ campaign was launched in autumn 1946 with the aim of ‘instilling in young people a consciousness of Austria and a respect for the fatherland’s glorious past’. On Sunday 29 September 1946, an ‘Ostarrichi Squadron’ carried a reproduction of the ‘Ostarrichi Charter’ from Neuhofen an der Ybbs to Vienna.

In 1976 the original ‘Ostarrichi Charter’ went on display in Austria for the first time in Lilienfeld as part of the exhibition ‘1000 Years of the Babenberg Dynasty in Austria’.

20 years later, in 1996, the charter was at the heart of large-scale celebrations for a second time, now for ‘1000 Years of Austria’. The large-scale Österreichische Länderausstellung exhibition took the year 996 as the starting point for an in-depth exploration of Austria, its name and its history.

The colourful history of the ‘Ostarrichi Charter’ – an overview

1 November 996

On his return journey from Rome, the newly crowned Emperor Otto III (938–1002) stopped in Bruchsal on the Upper Rhine. There, at the request of Duke Heinrich IV of Bavaria, he issued a charter that transferred ownership of an estate and thirty Königshufe of land (1 Königshufe = roughly 120 acres) in the region of Neuhofen an der Ybbs to Gottschalk, the Bishop of Freising. At this time, this region was still part of the Duchy of Bavaria. Yet the charter also locates this land in territory belonging to the Babenberg Margrave, Heinrich I. A legal transaction of this kind is by no means unusual for the Middle Ages. What is remarkable, however, is the size of the gift, which represented a considerable increase in the land owned by the Bishopric of Freising.

Today historians do not believe that the charter was drawn up and issued in one go. Rather, it is thought that initially, the imperial chancellery wrote only the closing section of the charter (eschatocol), made up of the line for the signature bearing the monogram, the attestation clause, in which the name of the chancellor responsible for issuing the charter, i.e. Bishop Hildibald, is named, and the date. In contrast, the opening section, and above all the context, which is the specific legal content, were written by a scribe in Freising. This kind of approach was no unusual, particularly in the case of the Freising Church, and is is taken to be an indication of the charter’s authenticity.

1893

The historian Theodor Dickel, who published an edition of the charter in the Monumenta Germaniae Historica (MGH), described it as a ‘certificate of dubious validity’. He saw ‘documentary inconsistencies’ above all in relation to the seal. The seal, which was not affixed to the charter during Sickel’s era, is not the seal of the issuer, Emperor Otto III, but that of his successor, the King and later Emperor Heinrich II. This seal is now lost. Its absence was recorded as early as 1911. The only reproduction of it is contained in a work by the Freising historian Carolus Meichelbeck, who published a drawing of the seal in 1724. The use of the royal seal of King Heinrich II raises many questions for researchers. However, the charter’s authenticity is no longer doubted by today’s historians. Debates now limited to whether the charter was sealed and therefore came into force only under Heinrich II, or whether the seal of Emperor Otto III was lost at some point, meaning that it was improperly replaced by another seal.

1946

‘950 Years of Austria’ campaign

After the end of the Second World War and the Nazi period, Austria began to search for images from the distant past in order to help construct a national identity and regain sovereignty. Above all, it was representatives from the ranks of the Austrian People’s Party, with Education Minister Felix Hurdes leading the way, who were enthusiastic about the idea of using Emperor Otto’s charter as an opportunity for an ‘Austria Jubilee’. Renowned academics discussed the charter at national, regional and local level. In the weeks leading up to 1 November various institutions, traditional associations and sports clubs organised celebratory events and commemorative days. Political representatives pledged their allegiance to the ‘nation of Austria’, as distinct from Germany, and searched for historical arguments to explain the ‘peculiarities’ of the Austrian character. The aim was to convey a sense of ‘Austrian-ness’ above all to children and young people and they became the main target audience of the 950th anniversary celebrations.

1976

‘Ostarrichi Charter’ in Austria for the first time

Another major jubilee was celebrated at Lilienfeld Abbey: ‘1000 Years of the Babenbergs’. The exhibition thematised the rule of the Babenberg dynasty, which started in 976 in the ‘Margravate along the Danube’. As part of this exhibition, the ‘Ostarrichi Charter’ was shown in Austria for the first time.

1980

Another jubilee

Neuhofen an der Ybbs had enjoyed national political prominence back in 1946, when festivities at the ‘historic location’ became the focus of the official celebrations. This had included the unveiling of the ‘Ostarrichi Commemorative Stone’ by Federal Chancellor Leopold Figl. In 1980, Neuhofen once again became a place of national memory: to mark the 975th anniversary of the issuing of the charter, the ‘Ostarrichi Memorial Centre’ was opened in a ceremony involving national, regional and local representatives. On 10 May the ‘Austria Festival’ took place, with ‘25 Years of the Austrian State Treaty’ providing an additional focus. Federal President Rudolf Kirchschläger gave a speech, but the original charter remained in the archive in Munich.

1996

The millennium

Planning for celebrations to mark ‘1000 Years of Ostarrichi’ was able to draw on the collective images and places of memory created 50 years earlier. The major Österreichische Länderausstellung exhibition was staged in Neuhofen an der Ybbs, its aim a ‘critically affectionate engagement with “Austria” by visitors (…)’. The ‘Ostarrichi Charter’ was put on display and was once again the subject of historical research.

2019

‘Ostarrichi Charter’ makes its first visit to Vienna

The House of Austrian History exhibited the original charter, placing it at the heart of discussions about identity and processes of identity formation in Austria’s contemporary history. In presenting the ‘Ostarrichi Charter’ in the Hofburg palace shortly before the museum’s first birthday, the House of Austrian History positioned itself within a nexus of research, the politics of history, and public debate.

To order facsimiles of the charter please contact:

Bavarian State Archives

Information on reproductions (only available in German)

Prices (in German)

Director

Monika Sommer

Curator

Birgit Johler

Research Assistants

Carolin Beier, Martin Duncker

Exhibition Management

Martin Duncker

Restoration

Petra Süß

Communication

Ildiko Füredi-Kolarik, Irene Pitnauer-Wolfram, Michaela Zach

Production

Maria Gruber, Tanja Jenny, Enid Wolf

Exhibition Design

Johann Moser, BWM

Graphic Design

Fuhrer, Wien

Display Case

Winter Artservice

Lenders

Main Bavarian State Archives,

Ostarrîchi-Kulturhof, Ostarrichi-Kaserne,

Austrian National Library

Thanks to Ernst Bruckmüller, Katharina Eibensteiner, Georg Hoffmann, Johannes Moosdiele-Hitzler, Marianne Hergovich – KHM-Museumsverband, Department of Digital Services – Austrian National Library, Christian Maryška, Hans Petschar – Picture Archives and Graphics Department, Austrian National Library, Bernhard Palme – Department of Papyri and Papyrus Museum, Austrian National Library, Christine Scherzer, Erich Wolf