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51-747: The Lithaha River in the Carolingian Avar March was first mentioned in an 833 deed issued by Louis the German , son of the Carolingian emperor Louis the Pious and ruler over the stem duchy of Bavaria . The Old High German name lît probably referred to a Pannonian ( Illyrian ) denotation for "mud", as maintained in the former Hungarian name Sár (compare mocsár , ' swamp '). The Leitha rises in Lower Austria at

102-471: A bad end." "One evening a man was overcome by the desire to tempt the Leitha witches. When he heard them in the water, he put both hands around his mouth and shouted: 'Hoo hoo!' ” "Then he hurried away laughing. But he didn't get far, because suddenly countless bony hands wrapped around him and pulled him to the ground! No amount of struggling and struggling helped; he couldn't even call for help. He only felt

153-828: A frontier along the Danube from the Traungau to Szombathely and the Rába river including the Vienna basin . By the 890s, the Pannonian march seems to have disappeared, along with the threat from Great Moravia, during the Hungarian invasions of Europe . Upon the defeat of Margrave Luitpold of Bavaria at the 907 Battle of Pressburg , all East Frankish lands beyond the Enns river were lost. In 955, King Otto I of Germany had started

204-551: A great friend of the church and founder of abbeys. He patronised towns and developed a great level of territorial independence. In 1139, Leopold IV inherited Bavaria. When his successor, the last margrave, Henry Jasomirgott , was deprived of Bavaria in 1156, Austria was elevated to a duchy independent from Bavaria by the Privilegium Minus of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa . From 1192 the House of Babenberg also ruled over

255-564: A major offensive into central Pannonia. Frankish army allied with local Pannonian Slavs , reached the river Drava , crossed the river Danube to the east and destroyed the main Avarian fortress called the Ring of the Avars . Avarian might was decisively crushed and their khagan became a Frankish vassal, while the remaining Avars retreated behind the river Tisza . Those victories were perpetuated by

306-638: A new Eastern March ( marcha orientalis ) erected and by about 960, he appointed Burchard as margrave. In 976, during a general restructuring of Bavaria upon the insurrection of Duke Henry II the Wrangler , Otto's son and successor Emperor Otto II deposed Burchard and appointed the Babenberg count Leopold the Illustrious from the House of Babenberg margrave in turn for his support. Margravial Austria reached its greatest height under Leopold III ,

357-565: A wet cloth being pressed over his mouth, then his senses faded." "When he came to again, he was lying on the banks of the Leitha, on the border with Katzelsdorf. But the Leitha witches were nowhere to be seen or heard." After the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin in the late 9th century, the Magyar horsemen dared further invasions into the adjacent West Frankish lands, until they were finally defeated by King Otto I in

408-642: Is known before the 19th century). The Bavarian designation is used in historiography in order to differentiate it from the Saxon Eastern March ( Sächsische Ostmark ) in the northeast. During the Anschluss period of 1938–45 the Nazi authorities tried to replace the term "Austria" with Ostmark . The march comprised the lands north and south of the Danube river, with the Enns tributary in

459-772: The Wienerwald . Under Margrave Ernest the Brave (1055–1075), the colonisation of the northern Waldviertel up to the Thaya river and the Bohemian march of Moravia was begun, and the Hungarian March was merged into Austria. The margraves' residence later was moved down the Danube to Klosterneuburg until 1145, when Vienna became the official capital. The Babenbergs had a defense system of several castles built in

510-660: The Agilolfing dukes of Bavaria against the invasions of the Avars . When the Avars disappeared in the 820s, they were replaced largely by West Slavs , who settled here within the state of Great Moravia . The March of Pannonia was set apart from the Duchy of Friuli in 828 and set up as a march against Moravia within the East Frankish regnum of Bavaria. These march, already called marcha orientalis , corresponded to

561-450: The Dukes of Carinthia , also newly instated in 976. The early march corresponded closely to the modern region of Lower Austria . The initial Babenberger residence was probably at Pöchlarn on the former Roman limes , but maybe already Melk , where subsequent rulers resided. The original march coincided with the modern Wachau , but was shortly enlarged eastwards at least as far as

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612-521: The Frankish Empire , established after successful Frankish campaigns and conquests of Avarian territories along the river Danube , to the east from the river Enns , in what is today Lower Austria and northwestern Hungary . Since the Frankish conquest in the late 8th century, there were several administrative changes in those regions. Territory along the river Danube, from the river Enns to

663-471: The March of Friuli . When prince Louis finally became of age in 825–826, those regions were still under administration of his older brother Lothar I (d. 855), ruler of Italy, and his frontier commander, duke Baldric of Friuli . Upon receiving Bavarian royal crown in 826, young king Louis also wanted to take charge (as soon as possible) of all other regions that were promised to him in 817. Very soon, he got

714-540: The Vienna Woods , was ruled directly, as a frontier extension (march) of the Frankish Bavaria , while regions further to the east, up to the river Rába , were initially designated to remaining Avarian princes, under the Frankish supreme rule. During the 820s and 830s, additional administrative changes were made in the wider region of Frankish Pannonia , inhabited mainly by Pannonian Slavs . Territories of

765-834: The Wienerwald mountain range and along the Danube river, among them Greifenstein . The surrounding area was colonized and Christianized by the Bavarian Bishops of Passau , with ecclesiastical centres at the Benedictine abbey of Sankt Pölten , at Klosterneuburg Monastery and Heiligenkreuz Abbey . The early margraviate was populated by a mix of Slavic and native Romano-Germanic peoples who were apparently speaking Rhaeto-Romance languages , remnants of which remain today in parts of northern Italy ( Friulian and Ladin ) and in Switzerland ( Romansh ). In

816-566: The 10th century, the region was raided by Magyars . They were defeated in the Battle of Lechfeld (955) and gradual German reconquest of the region began. By about 970, newly retaken frontier regions along the river Danube were reorganized into a frontier county ( margraviate ) that became known as the Bavarian Eastern March ( Latin : Marcha orientalis ) or Ostarrichi ( German : Österreich ). The first known margrave

867-652: The 955 Battle of Lechfeld . Thereafter the forces of the Bavarian duke Henry the Wrangler gradually re-conquered the lands beyond the Vienna Woods up to the Leitha River, where about 976 the March of Austria ( Ostarrîchi ) was established under the Babenberg margrave Leopold I . Around the turn to the 2nd millennium, the Hungarian frontier ( Gyepű ) ran along the Leitha shore, from 1156 onwards it formed

918-531: The Austrian Alps some valleys retained their Rhaeto-Romance speakers until the 17th century. The first marches covering approximately the territory that would become Austria and Slovenia were the Avar March and the adjacent March of Carantania (the later March of Carinthia ) in the south. Both were established in the late 8th century by Charlemagne upon the incorporation of the territory of

969-516: The Charlrmagne, thus reaffirming their submission to the supreme Frankish rule. In 817, new emperor Louis I (d. 840) decided to regulate (in advance) various issues related to succession, including the question of governance over dependent peoples on Frankish eastern frontiers. Announcing the future division of Frankish provinces among his three sons, the emperor decided to bestow his young son Louis (d. 876) with prospect of Bavaria, including

1020-535: The Frankish supreme rule, in the regions of Upper Pannonia, between Carnuntum and Savaria (modern Szombathely, in Hungary). In 811, another Frankish expedition was sent to the east, this time in order to settle ongoing disputes between Avars and Slavs in Danubian regions of Pannonia. In the autumn of the same year, several Avarian and Slavic lords came to Aachen , in order to resolve mutual disputes in front of

1071-769: The Leitha River. After the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 , which created the Dual Monarchy , Transleithanien ("beyond the Leitha") was the Viennese colloquial word for the region beyond the Leitha (meaning Hungary or the Kingdom of Hungary ), while Cisleithanien ("on this side of the Leitha") denoted the Austrian lands. These names reflected the Viennese and Austrian perspectives towards

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1122-454: The March of Friuli, placing Carantania and adjacent regions under the charge of Louis of Bavaria (828). At that point, king Louis of Bavaria became direct ruler of entire Frankish southeast, that included Bavaria and Carantania with all eastern marches and dependent Avarian and Slavic regions throughout Pannonia. Unified under Louis of Bavaria (828), entire Frankish southeast became linked to

1173-680: The Moson arm of the Danube west of Szigetköz Island near Mosonmagyaróvár . Important towns on its course are Wiener Neustadt , Bruck and Mosonmagyaróvár. Large amounts of the Schwarza headstream waters are diverted to supply the Wiener Neustadt Canal and the drinking water supply of Vienna . Furthermore, several canals diverge from the Leitha, feeding spinning companies in the past, today small hydroelectric power plants. Between Seibersdorf and Hof am Leithaberge , most of

1224-520: The Vienna Woods, were reconquered by Germans, and new march was established (c. 972) thus creating the nucleus of the Margraviate of Austria . During the 8th century, Avarian rule in the regions along the river Danube stretched towards the west up to the river Enns , bordering Bavaria . In 788, Franks had established direct rule over Bavaria, thus provoking neighbouring Avars. During

1275-652: The administration of their conqueror, king Pepin of Italy. Those regions were governed as frontier territories and dependencies of the March of Friuli . Thus, at the beginning of the 9th century, Frankish possessions in Pannonia were governed from two centers: Frankish administration in Bavaria was in charge of the northwestern regions of Pannonia (Avarian March in Upper Pannonia), while Frankish administration in Italy

1326-472: The autumn of the same year (788). He held a council in Regensburg and regulated several issues regarding Bavarian frontier regions ( marches ), thus preparing the basis for future actions towards the east. In 790, Avars tried to negotiate a peace settlement with Franks, but no agreement was reached. In 791, large Frankish army, led by Charlemagne , crossed from Bavaria in to the Avarian territory beyond

1377-418: The chance to achieve that goal, and concentrate in his hands governance over Bavaria and Carantania, including all eastern and southeastern marches and dependent Avarian and Slavic territories. In 827–828, king Lothar of Italy and duke Baldric of Friuli failed to secure southeastern frontiers from Bulgarian intrusions, and because of that emperor Louis decided to detach those regions from the jurisdiction of

1428-682: The confluence of its two headstreams, the Schwarza , discharging the Schneeberg , Rax and Schneealpe ranges of the Northern Limestone Alps , and the Pitten . Between Ebenfurth and Leithaprodersdorf , and between Bruck an der Leitha and Gattendorf , the Leitha forms part of the border between the Austrian states of Lower Austria and Burgenland . East of Nickelsdorf , the river passes into Hungary , where it flows into

1479-546: The dissolution of Austria-Hungary after World War I , the 1920 Treaty of Trianon adjudicated the West Hungarian territory of the proclaimed Lajtabánság (Leitha Banat ) to the Republic of Austria (as Burgenland), whereby the course of the river became an inner Austrian border. Avar March The Avar March ( Latin : Provincia Avarorum ; German : Awarenmark ) was a southeastern frontier province of

1530-553: The eastern border of the Duchy of Austria with fortresses erected at Wiener Neustadt, Bruck and Hainburg . The last Babenberg duke Frederick II of Austria was killed in the 1246 Battle of the Leitha River against King Béla IV of Hungary . The course of the border was confirmed in a 1411 deed issued by King Sigismund , when his daughter Elizabeth married the Habsburg duke Albert II of Austria . The placenames Cisleithania , Transleithania and Lajtabánság are all derived from

1581-416: The emerging Eastern Frankish Kingdom , and was subsequently reorganized as the March of Pannonia . During the 830s and 840s, further administrative changes were made in the wider region of Frankish Pannonia, that was by then inhabited mainly by Slavs. By that time, territories of the remaining Avarian princes were fully incorporated into regular administrative structure, and Avars eventually disappeared from

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1632-484: The entity was called: Marcha orientalis ("Eastern march"), marchia Austriae , or Austrie marchionibus . The Old High German name Ostarrîchi first appeared on a famous deed of donation issued by Emperor Otto III at Bruchsal in November 996. The phrase regione vulgari vocabulo Ostarrîchi , that is, "the region commonly called Ostarrîchi ", probably only referred to some estates around

1683-604: The epic poem De Pippini regis Victoria Avarica . Frankish campaigns against Avars were also described in the Vita Karoli Magni . Successful Frankish conquests and acquisition of new territories, particularly those between the river Enns and the Vienna Woods , and further towards the river Rába , represented a significant gain for the security of the Frankish state, and particularly for Bavaria. At first, new territories in Upper Pannonia were placed under

1734-517: The jurisdiction of Bavarian prefect Gerold (d. 799), and subsequently organized as a frontier unit, that became known as the (Bavarian) Eastern March ( Latin : marcha orientalis ) or Avarian Province ( Latin : Provincia Avarorum ). It provided safety for Bavarian eastern borders, also securing main communication between Frankish Bavaria and Pannonia. In the same time, further to the south, neighbouring Carantania , Carniola and southeastern Pannonian regions ( Lower Pannonia ) were left under

1785-401: The legendary Leitha Hexen (witches). According to the sign next to the three wooden women, "Once upon a time, real witches lived in the waters of the Leitha. They were small, like children, skinny and hunchbacked, with tangled hair that reached down to their knees and webbed fingers and toes." "The witches mostly splashed around under the bridges, but anyone who teased them or watched them met

1836-491: The manor of Neuhofen an der Ybbs ; nevertheless the term Ostarrîchi is linguistic ancestor of the German name for Austria, Österreich . Later the march was also called the Margraviate of Austria ( German : Markgrafschaft Österreich ) or the Bavarian Eastern March ( Bayerische Ostmark , the second word being a German translation of marcha orientalis , though no example of this usage in relation to Austria

1887-475: The nucleus of the Margraviate of Austria . March of Austria The Margraviate of Austria ( Latin : Marcha Austriae ; German : Markgrafschaft Österreich ) was a medieval frontier march , centered along the river Danube , between the river Enns and the Vienna Woods ( Wienerwald ), within the territory of the modern Austrian provinces of Upper Austria and Lower Austria . It existed from c.  970 to 1156. It stemmed from

1938-455: The previous frontier structures, initially created for the defense of eastern Bavarian borders against the Avars , who were defeated and conquered during the reign of Charlemagne (d. 814). Throughout the Frankish period, the region was under jurisdiction of Eastern Frankish rulers, who held Bavaria and appointed frontier commanders ( counts ) in eastern regions. At the beginning of

1989-512: The reconquest with his victory at the 955 Battle of Lechfeld . The obscurity of the period from circa 900 until 976 leads some to posit that a Pannonian or Austrian march existed against the Magyars , alongside the other marches which had been incorporated into Bavaria by 952 ( Carniola , Carinthia , Istria , and Verona ). However, much of Pannonia was still conquered by the Magyars. Otto I had

2040-467: The region was contested by the Slavic princes of Great Moravia . At the very beginning of the 10th century, the region was invaded and conquered by the Magyars . After the Battle of Lechfeld (955), territories along the river Danube, from the river Enns to the Vienna Woods, were reconquered by Germans, and new Bavarian Eastern March ( Latin : marcha orientalis ) was established (c. 972) thus creating

2091-533: The region. Avarian designation for the march also disappeared, and by the 850s, the entire region to the east from Bavaria was already known as the Bavarian wasteland . In the aftermath, within the further internal subdivisions of the Frankish Empire , Bavaria and southeastern frontier regions remained linked to the Eastern Frankish Kingdom . By the middle of the 9th century, Frankish rule in

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2142-414: The remaining Avarian princes were fully incorporated, and Avars eventually disappeared from the region. Later during the 9th century, the region was contested between Eastern Frankish Kingdom and Great Moravia , while at the very beginning of the 10th century it was invaded and conquered by the Magyars . After the Battle of Lechfeld (955), territories along the river Danube, from the river Enns to

2193-622: The rest of the Empire , because Vienna lay on 'this' side, and the other half, Hungary, lay on 'that' side. Nevertheless, the Leitha did not form the entire border between the two: for instance Galicia and Bukovina , which were part of Cisleithania, were north-east of Hungary . Likewise, the Morava River formed the border between Cisleithanian Moravia and the Transleithanian lands of present-day Slovakia ( Upper Hungary ). Upon

2244-519: The river Enns. Frankish army was advancing along the river Danube, divided in two columns, but neither of them found any active resistance, and soon both reached the region of Vienna Woods , at the gates of the Pannonian Plain . No decisive battles were fought, since Avars had retreated deeper into Pannonia, allowing Franks to advance up to the river Rába . In 796, Frankish forces under Charlemagne's son, king Pepin of Italy (d. 810) launched

2295-467: The rule over dependent Avars and Slavs ( Bohemians and Carantanians ). Since prince Louis was still underage, those provisions were not put into immediate effect, but they heralded an important change: from the time of late king Pepin (d. 810), dependent Slavic regions in Carantania and southern Pannonia were not governed from Frankish Bavaria, but from Frankish Italy, as territories dependent to

2346-501: The same year, Avars made an incursion into Bavaria, but Franko-Bavarian forces succeeded in repelling them, and then launched a counterattack towards neighbouring Avarian territories, situated along Danube, eastern from Enns. Two sides clashed near the river Ybbs , on the Ybbs Field ( German : Ybbsfeld ), where Avars suffered a major defeat (788). In order to secure eastern borders, Charlemagne came to Bavaria in person, during

2397-478: The water in the Leitha is removed for this purpose. From there on, the Leitha usually runs dry, unless its flow further upstream is abnormally high. Downriver from Katzelsdorf the river bed is almost completely dry as well. At the Leitha Ursprung (or Source) in the small town of Lanzenkirchen , there is a hiking trail, a stone with a plaque to mark the origin point and three wooden figures that represent

2448-745: The west forming the border with the Traungau shire of the Bavarian stem duchy . The eastern frontier with the Hungarian settlement area in the Pannonian Basin ran along the Morava ( March ) and Leitha rivers, with the Gyepű borderland (the present-day Burgenland region) beyond. In the north, the march bordered on the Bohemian duchy of the Přemyslids , and the lands in the south belonged to

2499-475: Was Burkhard , who is mentioned in sources since 970 several times as Margrave of Marcha orientalis. Since 976, it was governed by margraves from the Franconian noble House of Babenberg . The margraviate was protecting the eastern borders of the Holy Roman Empire , towards neighbouring Hungary . It became an Imperial State in its own right, when the Austrian margraves were elevated to Dukes of Austria in 1156. Timeline In contemporary Latin sources,

2550-444: Was in charge of the southern and eastern regions (Lower Pannonia with Slavic dependencies). In 803, situation in Pannonian regions demanded another Frankish intervention. Charlemagne came to Bavaria and dispatched an army to the east, headed by new Bavarian prefect Audulf and frontier count Werner, commander of the eastern march, whose seat was in Lorch (ancient Roman Lauriacum , on the confluence of Enns and Danube). The campaign

2601-548: Was successful, and by the end of the same year several Avarian and Slavic lords from Pannonia came to Regensburg, to pay personal homage to Charlrmagne. During those years, territory along the river Danube, between Enns and Vienna Woods , was ruled directly, as a frontier extension (march) of the Frankish Bavaria , while regions further to the east, up to the river Rába , were designated to remaining Avarian princes, Theodor (d. 805) and Abraham . Avarian princes converted to Christianity and continued to govern their people under

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