:''"Landbund" may also refer to the

Agricultural League The Agricultural League () or National Rural League was a German agrarian association during the Weimar Republic which was led by landowners with property east of the Elbe. It was allied with the German National People's Party and later the Nati ...

, a former political party of Germany.'' The Landbund () was an

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

during the period of the First Republic (1918–1934).

History

The Landbund was founded in 1919 as ''Deutschösterreichische Bauernpartei'' ("Party of German-Austrian Farmers") and represented liberal and

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

farmers in

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

Carinthia Carinthia ( ; ; ) is the southernmost and least densely populated States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The Lake Wolayer is a mountain lake on the Carinthian side of the Carnic Main ...

and

Upper Austria Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg (state), Salzbur ...

. It endorsed a union of Austria with Germany and opposed

Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...

Austrofascism The Fatherland Front (, VF) was the right-wing conservative, authoritarian, nationalist, corporatist, fascist and Catholic ruling political organisation of the Federal State of Austria. It claimed to be a nonpartisan movement, and aimed to unite ...

and the

Heimwehr The Heimwehr (, ) or Heimatschutz (, ) was a nationalist, initially paramilitary group that operated in the First Austrian Republic from 1920 to 1936. It was similar in methods, organization, and ideology to the Freikorps in Germany. The Heimwe ...

. In the 1920 parliamentary elections it was part of a German National coalition alongside the

Greater German People's Party The Greater German People's Party ( German ''Großdeutsche Volkspartei'', abbreviated GDVP) was a German nationalist political party during the First Republic of Austria, established in 1920. Foundation After World War I and the dissolution of ...

Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences of the University of Heidelberg. An ex ...

& Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p219 and won seven seats. It took part in coalition governments between 1927 and 1933 when the

Vice Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth countr ...

and the Minister of the Interior came from its ranks. From 1930 onwards, it allied with the

(''Großdeutsche Volkspartei'') to create a common list for elections under the name ''Nationaler Wirtschaftsblock'' (National Economic Block), which was dissolved in 1934.

Leading politicians

* Karl Hartleb (Vice Chancellor 1927–1930) * Vinzenz Schumy (Governor of Carinthia 1923–1927) * Franz Winkler (Vice Chancellor 1932/33)

Legacy

After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, when a provisional Austrian government was created in 1945, the Landbund was originally supposed to nominate a member. However, the group was not recreated in the Second Republic. Most former Landbund supporters, who opposed Socialism and also the Catholicism of both the Christian Social Party during the First Republic and the

Austrian People's Party The Austrian People's Party ( , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria. Since January 2025, the party has been led by Christian Stocker (as an acting leader). It is currently the second-largest p ...

during the Second Republic, found a new political home in the Verband der Unabhängigen and later in the

Freedom Party of Austria The Freedom Party of Austria (, FPÖ) is a political party in Austria, variously described as far-right, right-wing populist, national-conservative, and Eurosceptic. It has been led by Herbert Kickl since 2021. It is the largest of five part ...

, which is most strongly rooted in the same areas where the Landbund had been an important political force.

References

Defunct political parties in Austria Defunct liberal political parties in Austria Political history of Austria First Austrian Republic National liberal parties German nationalism in Austria German nationalist political parties Agrarian parties in Austria 1919 establishments in Austria 1934 disestablishments in Austria Political parties established in 1919 Political parties disestablished in 1934 Nationalist parties in Austria Anti-communist parties {{Austria-party-stub