The Gardebataillon () is a ceremonial unit in the

Austrian Armed Forces The Austrian Armed Forces () are the combined military forces of Austria. The military consists of 16,000 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 1.0% of national GDP (including pensions) or €3.317 billion (20 ...

. The Gardebataillon is one of the most important military units in the

as its main task is to represent Austria at home and abroad. It is stationed exclusively at Maria Theresien Barracks in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

History

The battalion was formed on March 1, 1935, as the Vienna Guard Battalion. At that time it was based at the

Hofburg Imperial Palace The Hofburg () is the former principal imperial palace of the Habsburg dynasty in Austria. Located in the center of Vienna, it was built in the 13th century by Ottokar II of Bohemia and expanded several times afterwards. It also served as the im ...

. It was dissolved in 1938 following the German

Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, ), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a "German Question, Greater Germany") arose after t ...

. In 1956, the unit was restored, initially under the name ''Heereswachbataillon'' ("Army guard battalion"). Since that time it has had its headquarters in the Maria Theresa barracks. On 15 May 1957, it reassumed its original name.

Regimental Structure

* HQ Staff Corps * Guard Companies ** Active Duty Companies *** 1st Active Duty Company *** 2nd Active Duty Company ** Honor Guard Companies *** 1st Honor Guard Company *** 2nd Honor Guard Company * Gardemusik

Uniform

Their uniform is very similar to the uniform of the German

Wachbataillon The Wachbataillon (full name: ''Wachbataillon beim Bundesministerium der Verteidigung'' (WachBtl BMVg) (Guard Battalion at the Federal Ministry of Defence (Germany), Federal Ministry of Defence)) is the Germany, German ''Bundeswehr's'' honour gu ...

. The soldiers of the Guard are distinguished by their red beret, and their white collar. Apart from the beret, the battalion's uniform also includes a ceremonial helmet, with the Coat of arms of Austria on the front.

Purpose

Its tasks include the protection of federal buildings such as the

and the Federal Chancellery. The battalion also provides

Guards of Honour A guard of honour (Commonwealth English), honor guard (American English) or ceremonial guard, is a group of people, typically drawn from the military, appointed to perform ceremonial duties – for example, to receive or guard a head of state ...

to carry out representative duties (such as accreditations of ambassadors, welcoming ceremonies, and parades). Of these, the seniormost task is to provide honours for high ranking national & foreign dignitaries during events of importance. The deliverable for this task is the battalion's two honor Guard companies. The detached companies perform their respective

public duties Public duties are performed by military personnel, and usually have a ceremonial or historic significance rather than an overtly operational role. Armenia Since September 2018, the Honour Guard Battalion (Armenia), Honour Guard Battalion of the Mi ...

, the national capital. It also appears during repatriation ceremonies for fallen soldiers returning from combat.

Gardemusik Wien

The Gardemusik Wien (Guards Band Vienna) is one of the nine

military bands A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind instrument, wind and percussion instruments. The conducting, conductor of a ...

in Austria and is the official regimental band of the Gardebataillon. It was formed after the

Austrian State Treaty The Austrian State Treaty ( ) or Austrian Independence Treaty established Austria as a sovereign state. It was signed on 15 May 1955 in Vienna, at the Schloss Belvedere among the Allied occupying powers (France, the United Kingdom, the Uni ...

came into effect, the band was formed from the band of the Austria border guard department. It consists of 60 military musicians. It regularly provides musical accompaniment to the rest of the battalion. The unit always composes a new military march during a presidential inauguration in honor of the elected President of Austria (e.g.

Alexander Van der Bellen Alexander "Sascha" Van der Bellen (; born 18 January 1944), also referred to by the abbreviation VdB, is an Austrian politician serving as the president of Austria since 2017. He previously served as a professor of economics at the University ...

in 2017.). The current commander of the Band is .

Photos

Gardebataillon

File:CIMG3656 oesterr bheer gd-k.jpg, File:GuentherZ 2013-04-09 0219 Staatsbesuch Fuerst Hans-Adam Liechtenstein+UHBP Heinz Fischer.jpg,

Gardemusik

File:Dancer against cancer 2010, Gardemusik (2).jpg, File:Abmarsch der Garde und des Musikcorps, dahinter das Bundeskanzleramt (cropped 2).jpg, File:Garde (8125758151).jpg, File:Gardemusik Wien 1298.JPG,

References

External links

Website of the Bundesheer - Gardebataillon

Website of the Bundesheer - Gardemusik

Official Youtube Channel

The Gardebataillon on their 60th anniversary
{{Authority control Military units and formations of Austria Military units and formations established in 1935 Guards of honour