Styria (german: Steiermark ;

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia an ...

and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * '' Our ...

(''Bundesland'') in the southeast of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt ...

. Styria is bordered to the south by

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...

, and clockwise, from the southwest, by the Austrian states of Carinthia,

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or 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, an ...

, and

Burgenland Burgenland (; hu, Őrvidék; hr, Gradišće; Austro-Bavarian: ''Burgnland;'' Slovene: ''Gradiščanska'') is the easternmost and least populous state of Austria. It consists of two statutory cities and seven rural districts, with a total of ...

. The state capital is

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popu ...

Etymology

The March of Styria derived its name from the original seat of its ruling

Otakar Otakar is a masculine Czech given name of Germanic origin (cf. Audovacar). Notable people with the name include: * Otakar Batlička (1895–1942), Czech adventurer, journalist, ham radio operator, member of Czech Nazi resistance group in World War ...

dynasty:

Steyr Steyr (; Central Bavarian: ''Steia'') is a statutory city, located in the Austrian federal state of Upper Austria. It is the administrative capital, though not part of Steyr-Land District. Steyr is Austria's 12th most populated town and the 3rd ...

, in today's

. In German, the area is still called "Steiermark" while in English the Latin name "Styria" is used. The ancient link between Steyr and Styria is also apparent in their nearly identical coats of arms, a white Panther on a green background.

Geography

* The term "

Upper Styria Upper Styria (german: Obersteiermark), in the Austrian usage of the term, refers exclusively to the northwestern, generally mountainous and well-wooded half of the federal state of Styria. The southwestern half of the state around the capital o ...

" (german: Obersteiermark) refers to the northern and northwestern parts of the federal-state (districts Liezen, Murau, Murtal, Leoben, Bruck-Mürzzuschlag). * The term "Western Styria" (''Weststeiermark'') is used for the districts to the west of Graz (

Voitsberg Voitsberg () is a small city in the district of Voitsberg in Styria, Austria, with a population of c. 9,700 . It grew upon the St. Margaret church at the Tregistbach river and was first mentioned in 1220 as Civitas. Remains of the Greisenegg p ...

, Deutschlandsberg, western part of the district Leibnitz). Because of the similar landscape with hills, valleys, wine and culture, the region in western Styria is also called "Styrian Tuscany". * The districts east of Graz (

Weiz Weiz () is a town in the eastern part of the Austrian state of Styria. Population International relations Twin towns – Sister cities Weiz is twinned with: * Ajka Ajka () is a city in Hungary with about 35,000 inhabitants. It is situated ...

, Hartberg-Fürstenfeld, and Südoststeiermark) are referred to as "Eastern Styria" (''Oststeiermark''). The western and eastern parts of the district Graz-Umgebung (literally, ''surroundings'' of Graz) may or may not be considered parts of West and East Styria, respectively. The southern parts of the

Duchy of Styria The Duchy of Styria (german: Herzogtum Steiermark; sl, Vojvodina Štajerska; hu, Stájer Hercegség) was a duchy located in modern-day southern Austria and northern Slovenia. It was a part of the Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 18 ...

, which formed part of former

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

and later

(with the exception of World War II), were (and sometimes colloquially still are) referred to as "

Lower Styria Styria ( sl, Štajerska), also Slovenian Styria (''Slovenska Štajerska'') or Lower Styria (''Spodnja Štajerska''; german: Untersteiermark), is a traditional region in northeastern Slovenia, comprising the southern third of the former Duchy of ...

" (''Untersteiermark''; sl, Štajerska).

History

Styria was inhabited by Celtic tribes. After its conquest by the Romans, the eastern part of what is now Styria was part of

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now wes ...

, while the western one was included in

Noricum Noricum () is the Latin name for the Celtic kingdom or federation of tribes that included most of modern Austria and part of Slovenia. In the first century AD, it became a province of the Roman Empire. Its borders were the Danube to the nort ...

. During the Barbarian invasions, it was conquered or crossed by the

Visigoths The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is ...

, the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...

, the Ostrogoths, the

Rugii The Rugii, Rogi or Rugians ( grc, Ρογοί, Rogoi), were a Roman-era Germanic people. They were first clearly recorded by Tacitus, in his ''Germania'' who called them the ''Rugii'', and located them near the south shore of the Baltic Sea. So ...

, and the

Lombards The Lombards () or Langobards ( la, Langobardi) were a Germanic people who ruled most of the Italian Peninsula from 568 to 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the '' History of the Lombards'' (written between 787 an ...

. Slavs under the domination of the Avars settled in the valleys around 600. At the same time, Bavarians under Frankish domination began to expand their area to the south and east, ultimately absorbing the Slavic population. In 1180, Styria separated from the

Duchy of Carinthia The Duchy of Carinthia (german: Herzogtum Kärnten; sl, Vojvodina Koroška) was a duchy located in southern Austria and parts of northern Slovenia. It was separated from the Duchy of Bavaria in 976, and was the first newly created Imperial St ...

and became a Duchy of its own; in 1192 the Austrian Duke Leopold V became also Duke of Styria. Later, Styria formed the central part of Inner Austria. Styria developed culturally and economically under Archduke John of Austria between 1809 and 1859. In 1918, after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, it was divided into a northern section (forming what is the current Austrian state), and a southern one, called

, now inhabited by Slovenians, and which was annexed to Yugoslavia, and later became part of Slovenia. As a result of the turbulence of the two world wars, the German-speaking population of Lower Styria, which had been concentrated in the cities, migrated out of the region or was expelled.

Economy

View over the vineyards of Western Styria The

Gross domestic product Gross domestic product (GDP) is a money, monetary Measurement in economics, measure of the market value of all the final goods and services produced and sold (not resold) in a specific time period by countries. Due to its complex and subjec ...

(GDP) of the state was 49.6 billion € in 2018, accounting for 12.9% of the Austria's economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 35,400 € or 118% of the EU27 average in the same year. As elsewhere in the developed world, there has been a shift away from the manufacturing sector towards the

service sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector ( raw materials) and the sec ...

in Styria. This has had negative consequences for the industrial regions of upper Styria which have suffered a steady decline in population in recent years. In 2004, Styria had the strongest economic growth rate in Austria at 3.8%—mainly due to the Graz area which saw strong economic growth that year and has continued to grow in economic and population terms since then. Styria is home to more than 150

clean technology Clean technology, in short cleantech, is any process, product, or service that reduces negative environmental impacts through significant energy efficiency improvements, the sustainable use of resources, or environmental protection activities. Cl ...

companies of which one dozen are world technology leaders in their field. The revenue of Styrian cleantech companies totals €2.7 billion. This equals 8 percent of the Gross Regional Product (GRP) and is one of the highest concentrations of leading clean technology companies in Europe. The companies have an average (real) growth rate of 22 percent per year—well above the worldwide cleantech market growth of 18 percent per year. The region created roughly 2,000 additional green jobs in 2008 alone. The

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...

Austrian Grand Prix has been held in the region, first at the Zeltweg Airfield in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

and then at the Osterreichring from 1970 to 1987. The sport returned to the circuit, now redesigned and rebranded as the A1-Ring, from 1997 to 2003. Formula One once again returned to the circuit, now renamed the Red Bull Ring, in 2014 and has been held at the track every year since. The COVID-19 pandemic saw the 2020 Formula One calendar massively revised, resulting in the Red Bull Ring becoming the first circuit to host consecutive Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, with the first round running under the Austrian Grand Prix name and the second held as the Styrian Grand Prix. This continued in 2021.

Administrative divisions

The state is divided into 13 districts (''Bezirke''), one of them a statutory city. Karte Aut Stmk Bezirke

Statutory city

Districts

* Bruck-Mürzzuschlag * Deutschlandsberg * Graz-Umgebung * Hartberg-Fürstenfeld * Leibnitz * Leoben * Liezen (with the subdistrict Gröbming) * Murau * Murtal * Südoststeiermark *

Demographics

The historical population is given in the following chart: Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:28 PlotArea = left:40 bottom:40 top:20 right:20 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:1300 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal AlignBars = late ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:100 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:25 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo PlotData= color:skyblue width:22 shift:(-60,-5) fontsize:M anchor:till bar:1869 from:0 till: 721 text: 720,809 bar:1880 from:0 till: 777 text: 777,453 bar:1890 from:0 till: 828 text: 828,375 bar:1900 from:0 till: 890 text: 889,017 bar:1910 from:0 till: 958 text: 957,610 bar:1923 from:0 till: 979 text: 978,816 bar:1934 from:0 till:1015 text:1,014,920 bar:1939 from:0 till:1015 text:1,015,054 bar:1951 from:0 till:1109 text:1,109,335 bar:1961 from:0 till:1138 text:1,137,865 bar:1971 from:0 till:1195 text:1,195,023 bar:1981 from:0 till:1187 text:1,186,525 bar:1991 from:0 till:1185 text:1,184,720 bar:2001 from:0 till:1183 text:1,183,303 bar:2011 from:0 till:1211 text:1,210,614 bar:2021 from:0 till:1247 text:1,247,077 TextData= fontsize:M pos:(35,20) text:"Source: Statistik Austria"

Politics

The state had been a stronghold of the

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, autho ...

Austrian People's Party The Austrian People's Party (german: Österreichische Volkspartei , ÖVP ) is a Christian-democratic and liberal-conservative political party in Austria. Since December 2021, the party has been led provisionally by Karl Nehammer. It is curr ...

(ÖVP) since 1945. However, Graz is markedly more

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in so ...

than the rural districts of the province. The governor (Austrian political term: ''

Landeshauptmann Landeshauptmann (if male) or Landeshauptfrau (if female) (, "state captain", plural ''Landeshauptleute'') is the chairman of a state government and the supreme official of an Austrian state and the Italian autonomous provinces of South Tyrol and ...

'') of Styria has typically been a ÖVP candidate. In the 2021 municipal election in Graz, the KPÖ surprisingly took over first place from the ÖVP, thus pushing long-time mayor Siegfried Nagl (ÖVP) out of office. The result caused a sensation internationally. Elke Kahr led the KPÖ for a third time in the

2021 Graz local election The 2021 Graz local election was held on 26 September 2021 to elect the members of the Gemeinderat of Graz. The Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) became the largest party for the first time in the city's history, winning 29% of votes cast. The pr ...

. Despite opinion polling suggesting a victory for the ruling

(ÖVP), the KPÖ became the largest party with 28.8% of votes and 15 seats. After the election, the KPÖ entered into coalition talks with the

Greens Greens may refer to: *Leaf vegetables such as collard greens, mustard greens, spring greens, winter greens, spinach, etc. Politics Supranational * Green politics * Green party, political parties adhering to Green politics * Global Greens * Europ ...

and SPÖ. On November 13, 2021, the KPÖ, the Greens and the SPÖ announced their coalition: Graz gets a communist mayor with Elke Kahr.

Recent elections

In the 2005 elections for state parliament the Social Democrats (SPÖ) under their regional chairman Franz Voves won the majority after the ÖVP had damaged its credibility through scandals and the secession of a high-ranking party member who took part in the 2005 elections after setting up his own party. In these elections, the KPÖ also received many votes after it had gained much popularity through its role in local politics in Graz during the preceding few years. The two

right-wing populist Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right-wing nationalism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics and populism, populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti-Elitism, elitist sentiments, opposi ...

parties, the

Freedom Party of Austria The Freedom Party of Austria (german: Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs, FPÖ) is a right-wing populist and national-conservative political party in Austria. It was led by Norbert Hofer from September 2019 to 1 June 2021.Staff (1 June 2021"Au ...

(FPÖ) and the Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ), failed to win seats. In subsequent elections in 2010 and 2015, the Social Democrats, the Austrian People's Party, and the Communist Party each lost between one fourth and one third of their shares of the vote relative to 2005. The Freedom Party grew from 4.6 percent to 26.8 percent. The current government of Styria is a coalition of Social Democrats and People's Party, with each party holding 4 seats of the 8 seats available. The governor, Hermann Schützenhöfer, is a representative of the People's Party. His deputy,

Michael Schickhofer Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

, is a Social Democrat.

Notable people

* Palman (fl. 1310–1363), knight and mercenary commander of the

Serbian Empire The Serbian Empire ( sr, / , ) was a medieval Serbian state that emerged from the Kingdom of Serbia. It was established in 1346 by Dušan the Mighty, who significantly expanded the state. Under Dušan's rule, Serbia was the major power in the ...

Johann Joseph Fux Johann Joseph Fux (; – 13 February 1741) was an Austrian composer, music theorist and pedagogue of the late Baroque era. His most enduring work is not a musical composition but his treatise on counterpoint, '' Gradus ad Parnassum'', which h ...

(1660–1741), composer and music theorist, wrote ''Gradus ad Parnassum'' – a composition manual used by Beethoven and Mozart * Archduke John of Austria (1782–1859) * Peter Rosegger (1843–1918), honoured poet * Johann Puch (1862–1914), founded Johann Puch Erste Steiermärkische Fahrrad-Fabriks-Aktiengesellschaft at Graz in 1899. * Robert Stolz (1880-1975), composer born in Graz *

Karl Böhm Karl August Leopold Böhm (28 August 1894 – 14 August 1981) was an Austrian conductor. He was best known for his performances of the music of Mozart, Wagner, and Richard Strauss. Life and career Education Karl Böhm was born in Graz. T ...

, (1894-1981), conductor * Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn (1909-1999), political scientist * Bert Isatitsch (1911–1994), first president of the

International Luge Federation The International Luge Federation (French: Fédération Internationale de Luge de Course (FIL); German: Internationaler Rennrodelverband) is the main international federation for all luge sports. Founded by 13 nations at Davos, Switzerland in ...

* Frank Stronach (b. 1932), founder of Magna International, billionaire *

Jochen Rindt Jochen is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Jochen Asche, East German luger, competed during the 1960s *Jochen Böhler (born 1969), German historian, specializing in the history of World War II * Jochen Babock (born 1953), East ...

(1942–1970), Formula 1 World Champion * Dr. Helmut Marko (b. 1943), former racing driver * Dietrich Mateschitz (1944–2022), founder and CEO of

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwide, inc ...

, billionaire * Klaus Maria Brandauer (b. 1944), actor and director * Elfriede Jelinek (b. 1946), Nobel Prize in Literature winner * Arnold Schwarzenegger (b. 1947), bodybuilder, film actor and former

Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constitution of California, t ...

Hugo Eberhardt (1948) Hugo Eberhardt (born February 21, 1948 in Landl, Styria) was director of TÜV Österreich from 1994 until February 2013 and CEO of TUV AUSTRIA HOLDING AG from 2007 until February 2013. Education and career Eberhardt attended the fourth academic ...

(b. 1948), leader in the field of technical safety *

Getty Kaspers Gertrude "Getty" Kaspers (born 5 March 1948) is an Austrian-born Dutch singer. She was the lead vocalist of the Dutch band Teach-In, with which she won the Eurovision Song Contest 1975 with the song " Ding-a-dong". Career Early career Ka ...

(b. 1948), lead vocals of Dutch band Teach-In, who won the 1975 Eurovision Song Contest. * Eva Rueber-Staier (b. 1951), Miss Austria 1969, Miss World 1969 * Wolfgang Muthspiel (b. 1965), jazz composer and guitarist * Ulla Weigerstorfer (b. 1967), Miss Austria 1987 and Miss World 1987 * Thomas Muster (b. 1967), former World No. 1 tennis player * Renate Götschl (b. 1975), alpine skiing World Champion * Elisabeth Görgl (b. 1981), professional alpine skier *

Christoph Strasser Christoph Strasser (born 4 November 1982 in Leoben, Austria) is an Austrian ultra cyclist who is a six-time winner and record holder for the fastest time in the Race Across America. From 16 to 17 July 2021, he became the first person to ride mor ...

(b. 1982), champion ultra cyclist *

Conchita Wurst Thomas Neuwirth (born 6 November 1988) is an Austrian singer and drag queen who is known for his stage persona Conchita Wurst (or simply Conchita). Neuwirth came to international attention after winning the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 as with ...

(b. 1988), singer and winner of the

Eurovision Song Contest 2014 The Eurovision Song Contest 2014 was the 59th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, following the country's victory at the with the song "Only Teardrops" by Emmelie de Forest. Organised by the European B ...

References

External links

Imperial Austria: Treasures of Art, Arms and Armor from the State of Styria – The Canadian Museum of Civilization

Official Tourism Website of Styria
{{Styria States of Austria Divided regions NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union Wine regions of Austria