The UK and Austria have deep common roots in European history. Austria-Hungary's favourite and most successful general Prince Eugen and the Duke of Marlborough were the formidable fighting duo who won the Battle of Blenheim. The Duke of Wellington and Prince Metternich were two of the leading lights who redrew the map of Europe after the Napoleonic wars.

Post-war history

But the roots of today's close relationship lie in the post-war history of Austria when the UK was one of the four Allies who occupied this country up to 1955. Austrians regard the occupation with mixed feelings, but many close and lasting family and personal links were created over the 10 years.

And in 2005 all this was in the public mind as Austria celebrated the 50th anniversary of the end of the occupation and the signing of the Austrian State Treaty, which effectively gave back Austria its independence. Incidentally, this Treaty was signed in Prince Eugen's palace, the Belvedere. Harold Macmillan, the then British Foreign Secretary was our signatory.

British musical and artistic activity in Austria

These personal and family links are today amplified by the extraordinary range of British musical and artistic activity on the lively Austrian arts scene. Sir Simon Rattle frequently conducts in Vienna, and Bryn Terfel sings regularly at the Staatsoper; Trevor Pinnock is a regular conductor of baroque music here, particularly at the Eisenstadt Festival; Ian Bostridge sings in Austria several times a year, including at the Schwarzenberg Festival in a small village in the Vorarlberg mountains. In the fine arts, we have had exhibitions of Francis Bacon at the Kunsthistoriches Museum, of Anish Kapoor in Bregenz, of Sam Taylor-Wood in central Vienna.

Architecture and design

Austrian cities themselves bear witness to the close connections in contemporary arts and design: Kunst Haus Graz,designed by the British architects Peter Cook and Colin Fournier; the Bergisel ski jump and the stations for the new Hungerburg funicular railway, both by Zaha Hadid, in Innsbruck; in Vienna, the Holocaust Memorial by Rachel Whiteread and the monumental Henry Moore sculpture in front of the Karlskirche; while in Linz, the new Musiktheater Linz, projected opening 2011, is being designed by Terry Pawson Arcitects.

Commercial ties

On the commercial level there are Britons in senior directorial positions in Austrian banks and business, and there are major UK players like BP, Castrol, KPMG, Price Waterhouse Coopers in Austria, as well as countless retail interests. We are developing closer co-operation in renewable energy and other environmentally-friendly projects, for example with Wales (the Welsh Assembly building is heated by an Austrian mega pellet boiler).

Governmental level

And on the governmental level, there is a close working relationship between our two governments on a wide range of EU policy, in particular economic reform and justice and home affairs. This had special profile during our two consecutive Presidencies of the European Union in 2005/06. We are also proud to be working closely with Austria in promoting a stable future in Kosovo and Bosnia.

Tourism and academia

On the person-to-person level, there are ever-rising numbers of British and Austrian tourists travelling to each other’s countries. 2006, the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth, was a record year for British overnight stays. The UK, meanwhile, is not only a popular destination for tourism: growing numbers of Austrian students are attending UK universities, which enjoy the highest reputation in Austria. As an off-shoot, UK university alumni associations in Austria are thriving. You can find details of these, and of the many other Austro-British clubs and interest groups, in our tips on living in Austria section.

You can find more about the detail and by-ways of this big relationship in the articles on Austro-British links, in the bilateral articles section of this website. Should you have an article which you would like to submit yourself, please do not hesitate to contact our webmaster. Finally, if there is anything you would like to see more of, or you have any comments, do mail us your ideas. We are constantly trying to refresh this website with current material which is of interest and relevance to our readers.