Austria is not only strudel, Klimt, and alpine peaks.
It is a country that went through Hungarian raids, a flourishing and the collapse of a great empire, and became one of the key centers of European politics.
The author vividly recreates turning-point eras: from the 13th century and the reforms of the 18th century to the Congress of Vienna and modern times.
Austria is harsh beauty of the mountains, luxurious classical-style palaces, and a high culture. It is the homeland of Mozart and Freud; here Gustav Klimt created his paintings, and Strauss gave the world waltzes. But Austria is not only music, desserts, alpine panoramas, and Habsburg architecture. It is a centuries-long history packed with decisive events, which the author tells in an engaging and captivating way: the Hungarian invasion, the formation of the Austrian state in the 13th century, the rapid transformations of the 18th century, the Congress of Vienna.