Austria

Sources from old books

1635. Historia mundi: or Mercator's atlas. London. by Gerhard Mercator.

THE ARCHDVKEDOME OF AVSTRIA. The third Circle of the Empire is AUSTRIA, in which there are two Orders. (Book Austria) THe next that followeth in our method is Austria, called heretofore Pannonia the higher. The name of Austria, as Wolfgangus Lazius witnesseth, is but of late time, being called so either from the South wind, which is frequent in that Country, or from the Germane word Oostreich, for so the Frenchmen called the Easterne bounds of their Kingdome, as they call'd the Westerne bounds Westretch. But that which the Frenchmen called Oostreich was situated by the Rhene, and called afterward Austrasia, which name having lost, they call'd it Pannonia, as Lazius testifieth. Lib. 1. Cap. 11. Comment. Gent. Aust. Moreover the Austrians are descended from the Frenchmen and Saxones, who by the sword got this Country from the Hungarians. Austria hath on the East Hungaria: on the South the Mountaines of Styria, which doe runne out with one continued Bridge from the Alpes into Hungary, and other Countries beyond it: it hath on the East Bavaria, and on the North the Rivers Tejus and Moravia. It hath a milde pleasant ayre, and wholesome in regard that the East winde doth purifie it. The soyle is very fruitfull, and not chargable in tilling. For the Husbandman, in that part which is called Campus Transdanubianus, or the Fields beyond Danubius, will plough the ground with one poore leane Horse. The Austrians doe not know what Marle is, with which the barren leane Fields in Bavaria are manured. All the Country hath excellent Wine, which is purer then the Germane wine, and weaker then the Spanish wine, which it doth transport to Moravia, Bohemia, Silesia, and Bavaria. Besides it hath excellent good Saffron. It hath also abundance of Silver, but no Gold; it hath Salt also, which is partly made at home, & partly imported and brought in from other parts. The Earles of Babenberg did sometime governe Austria, the first was Lupold, whom the Emperour Otto the second created Marquesse of Austria; whose Line being extinct, Rudolphus of Habspurg, who was elected Emperour in the yeere 128•. did governe it, and made it a Dukedome. And Frederick the second made it a Kingdome. The armes of this Country were heretofore five golden Larkes painted in a Sky-colour Field: but the Marquesse Lupold the V. had new Armes given him by the Empire, which were set forth in white and red colours, because his Buckle• was so bloody in the Battaile against Ptolomies, that it was all bloody even to the bend which went crosse the Scutchion Moreover Austria is devided into the higher and the lower, the latter whereof is situate beyond Danubius, and the former on this side. It hath also the Dukedome of Styria, which lyeth betweene the Rivers Danubius, Muer, and Mietz, the Inhabitants whereof doe partly use the Germane speech, and partly the Sclavonian. It hath also the Dukedome of Carinthia, which is situate betweene the Rivers Muer and Draicus: and also Carmina Southward. The chiefe Citty of Austria is Vienna, which the Sarmatians and Windians did inhabit, before the birth of our Saviour Christ, after whom there succeeded the Boijans, Senonians, and others, whom Tiberius Nero did reduce into a Province: Antoninus calleth it in his Itinerarie Vindebona, and Ptolemy calls it Iuliobona, and both of them doe place the tenth Germane Legion there, for many ancient Monuments, both within and without the Citty doe witnesse that it was seated in that place. To this Legion from the Colour or Ensigne belonging to it, the name of a Larke was given: whence it seemes that the Marquesse of Austria had their Armes at the first, which are five Larkes. And Otto of Frisingen, Lib. 1. Histor. Frid. cap. 32. calleth it Faviana. For he saith, Dux iunc demum terga hosti dare compellitur, & periculis belli exemptus in Vicinum opidum Viennis, quod olim à Romanis inhabitatum Fabiana Dicebatur, declinavit. That is, The Duke was put to flight by the enemy, and was faine to retire to the Towne Vienna, which when the Romanes did heretofore inhabit it was called Fabiana. You may read the like in the History of Severinus Bishop of Vienna. Lazius saith that Strabo calleth it Vendum. Iornandes calleth it the Citty Pannonia: and in the Sclavonian language it is called Wien Wydme. Ortelius writeth that hee learned out of D. Carolus Rimius, who was sometime Orator to Zelimus the great Turke, that the Turkes doe call this Citty Betz. Leunclavius calleth it Wetsch, and Beetz: It is a faire Citty situate by the River Danubius, and encompassed with a strong wall, so that Vienna is a well fortified and a strong Bulwarke against the Turkes. The Suburbs are great, and large. The Citizens have faire magnificent Houses, which are adorned with Pictures, and strongly built. There are many great faire Churches built of Free-stone, and arched with divers Pillars. Their Wine-cellers are so deepe and large, that they have as much building under the ground as they have above ground. Their streets are paved with hard stone, so that Cart-wheeles cannot weare them. It hath great store of Corne and Wine, so that in the time of Vintage for 40. dayes together they doe use 1200. Horses to carry Corne and Wine in Carts. It received the Christian Religion in the yeere 466. by the preaching and instruction of Severinus, who built two Churches there. The History of this Citty may be found in Lazius, and Otto of Friburg. Frederick the second did adorne, and enlarge this Citty, as also all the other following Dukes of Austria. The Emperour Frederick did erect there an University for all Arts and Sciences, which was afterward renewed by Albert Archduke of Austria, in the yeere 1356. But afterward through sedition it was ruinated. These were famous men in Vienna, namely Wolfgangus, Lazius, Medius, an Historian to the Emperour Ferdinand: also Iulius Alexandrinus, Mathias Farinator, also Iohn Haselbach was Professor of Divinity in the University of Vienna, who was so large in the explanation of that which hee propounded to his audience, that he preached twenty yeeres out of the Prophet Esaiah, and yet hee was not come to the end of the first Chapter. This Citty is famous for the Citizens valiant holding out against the Turkes siege, in the yeere 1529. in which 80000. Turkes were slaine. There is also in higher Austria Gmunda, which is no great Towne, but yet very neat and pleasant, situated by a Lake which is called from thence the Lake Gmunda, out of which Dravus a River of Austria riseth. At Gmunda there is great store of Salt, which is digged out of the neighbouring Mountaines, and so being brought to Gmunda in little Vessels (which in their Country speech they call Kivelin) it is transported by the River Dravus unto Danubius, and so from Vienna it is transported to other Citties of Austria, Hungaria, Stiria, and Carinthia, to the great gaine and commodity of the Gmundians. It is watered also with many Rivers; the chiefe whereof is Danubius, which was heretofore the limmiting bounds of the Country, but now it cutteth thorow the middle of it. The other Rivers are Athosinus, Genus, or Onasus, Tranus, Traunus, and Erlaphus, which ariseth out of a pleasant Lake, by the River Cella famous for the Church of the Virgin Mother: there are also the Rivers Traisius, Ypsius, Melicus, Marchia, and Tejus, which devideth Moravia from Austria, also Cambus which is full of divers kindes of Fish, and Leytha: also Suegadus, in which there are excellent Crabs, and others. It hath many Mountaines, the chiefe whereof are the Mountaine Cecius, commonly called Calenberg, which extendeth from Danubius even to the River Dravus, the parts of it are Schneberg, Semering, Kemperg, Hertperg, Deusperg, Heusterg, Plaitz: Also Cognanus now called der Haimburgerperg, which reacheth from Danubius to Arabon. It hath also some woods which are parts and pieces of the wood Hercinia, and the Moones Wood: And they are now called der Freyste••er und Kon•gwiserwaldt. But let us proceede to other matters. In the Citie of Vienna, twelve Magistrates doe dayly sit in Iudgement. Of which foure are of the Clergie, the Officiall of the Bishop of Patavia, the Officiall of the Bishop of Vienna, the Deane of the Cathedrall Church, and the Rector or governour of the Vniversity. There are also foure Citizens, and foure out of the Citty. The chiefe whereof are these whom they call Regimentum, where all lower Austria doe bring their suits and causes to tryall, and they call the Court the Exchequer, whether all the accompts of the Province are brought. The rest are subject unto them, and causes are removed and brought from them to the higher, the Senate of the Province does appeale to the ordinary of the Province, the Senate of the Citie with the Consull doth appeale to the Citie Praetor, the Iudgement of Custome, and the Merchants Praetor, which they call the Landgrave, concerning which matter Wolfgangus Lazius, of Vienna doth discourse at large in his Vienna. Austria is the third Circle of the Empire, in which there are two Orders. In the first there are the Clergie, as the Bishops of Trent, of Brixen, of Goricen, of Segovia, of Labachia, of Vienna, Teutsch Ordens Meister, Ordens Maister in Eischtall. In the second are the secular Princes, as the Archduke of Austria, Count Schaumberg, the Barren of Wolkenstain, the Lord Senster, the Lord Roggendorff, Count Hardkeck. And besides the Princes of the Empire, there are in Austria, the Counts of Thurn, Crentz, Ortenburg, Perneck, Garb, Freyhern, Landskron, Wanberg, Hohen, Osterwitz, Newberg, Guetenhag, Teuffe•bach, Maiyhofen, Awersperg, Dorneck, Saraw, Hattenstain, Schwartzenaw, Tu•nstai•, Wachanthall, Hoffkirchen, Eytzing. The Lordships also are Aichelperg, Liechtenstain, Puchaim, Luetkurt, Porges, Schonkirchen, Shifftenberg, Altensperg, Hornstein, and Seibersdorff.