21.10.2019: #Ostarrichi certificate: The journey to Vienna begins...
Before leaving Munich, Margit Ksoll-Marcon, Director-General of the State Archives, as well as Bernhard Grau, Director of the Main State Archives, embark on the origin and history of the approximately 1000 year old document and describe his way to the Bayerische Hauptstaatsarchiv. Monika Sommer, Director of the House of History Austria, gives a preview of the presentation of the document in Vienna. This will be seen for the first time in Austria for over two decades and for the first time in Vienna. She will be under the title #Ostarrichi. The career of a document of 26.10.–3.11.2019. On 26 October the hdgö invites all interested parties to the new castle at the Wiener Heldenplatz. Bernd Sibler, Bavarian Minister of State for Science and Art, is pleased to see that it is possible to borrow the document for a week to Vienna: “With the borrowing of the frequently asked “Ostarrichi-degree‛, the Free State of Bavaria takes into account the great importance that this document holds for the Republic of Austria and its citizens. We also understand this as a sign of good neighbourly relations that have their roots in a long common history and tradition. ‘ “Original sources offer a fascinating insight into our history and make them experienceable for people. I am pleased that one of the most important documents of our history – which is known to many from the school books – can now be seen in Vienna for a short time. My thanks to the House of History of Austria for the initiative and the Bavarian Main State Archive for Cooperation,” says the Austrian Federal Minister for EU, Art, Culture and Media, Alexander Schallenberg. Dr. Margit Ksoll-Marcon, Director-General of the State Archives in Bavaria, underlines the special contrast to the House of History of Austria: “The “Ostarrichi-Urkunde‛ is one of the most prominent pieces from the extensive, diverse and supraregionally significant archives of the Bavarian Main State Archives. The exhibition of such over 1000 years old parchment certificate places the highest demands on transport and presentation. The fact that the document can be shown for the first time in the Austrian capital fulfils me with pride and joy. ‘ Dr. Bernhard Grau explains how a document that has such a fundamental significance for the history of Austria has come into the holdings of the Bavarian Main State Archive: “The fact that the “Ostarrichi Certificate” is now stored in the Bavarian Main State Archive is not a coincidence but has to do with the legal business held therein. Emperor Otto III, with this document, passed over to the Bishop of Freising property in the space of Neuhofen an der Ybbs in today's Lower Austria. The Hochstift Freising was therefore the recipient of the document and had kept it in its archive over the centuries. At the beginning of the 19th century it served as proof of the legal claims covered by it. Only through secularization was this property lost. At the same time, the Kurfürstentum Bayern took over large parts of the Freisinger Archive, in particular all those documents relating to the rights of rule and court, as well as relations with foreign states. Thus, the “Ostarrichi-Urkunde‛ also came into the power of the central archives of the Kurfürlich, then Royal Bavarian. ‘ To present the document in the House of History Austria in Vienna says Dr. Monika Sommer, Director of the House of History Austria: “After World War II, the “Ostarrichi-deed” took an important role in the search for a new Austrian identity. We show the precious document for the first time under this aspect and for the first time in Vienna. An ideal time for small and large to discover this unique historical document and its significance for the history of our country. Entrance is free on the Austrian National Day on 26 October.” Origin, content and meaning of the ‘Ostarrichi’ certificate On November 1, 996, Emperor Otto III transferred his residence to the Bishop of Freisinger. As proof of these titles, the document was kept in the archive of the Hochstifts Freising for centuries. In the course of secularization, she came into state possession. Today it becomes under the signature Hochstift Freising certificates 14 stored in the Bavarian State Archive in Munich. The document is the oldest known document in which the geographical name “ostarrîchi” – the old high-German form of the later Austrian state name – is used as the name of the Austrian territory today. Austria celebrates itself In the House of History Austria, the use of the document for identity policy purposes in the Second Republic is discussed. In order to form a new “Austrian identity” on the way to regain sovereignty after the end of World War II in 1945, the young Second Republic sought reference points in history. Thus the “Ostarrichi” document became an argument for the long history of the Austrian nation. An “Ostarrichi” anniversary was celebrated for the first time on 950. Anniversary of the exhibition of the document in 1946. The celebrations that were supposed to be the starting point of a new power wave in reconstruction were explored by the then Minister of Education Felix Hurdes. In response to his initiative, the “950 Years of Austria” project was launched for the autumn of 1946 in order to “train young people to Austrian consciousness and to respect the glorious past of the fatherland”. Sunday, 29th September 1946, an “Ostarrichi-Staffel” brought a copy of the “Ostarrichi-deed” from Neuhofen at Ybbs to Vienna. In 1976, the “Ostarrichi-Urkunde” at the exhibition “1000 Years Babenberger in Austria” in Lilienfeld was the first to be seen in the original. A second time, 20 years later, the document in 1996 was the focus of great celebrations on “1000 years of Austria”. The Austrian National Exhibition took the year 996 as the starting point for an intensive discussion with Austria, its name and its history. Overview of the changing history of the “Ostarrichi” 1. November 996 On his return journey from Rome the freshly crowned Emperor Otto III makes. (983–1002) in Bruchsal am Oberrhein stop. With the document issued there on Bitten Herzog Heinrich's IV by Bavaria, he transfers the property to Freisinger Bischof Gottschalk to a Fronhof and thirty royal yeasts in the area of Neuhofen an der Ybbs. This region was part of the Duchy of Bavaria at that time. The document also mentions the situation of these goods in the domain of Babenberger Markgrafen, Heinrich I. A legal transaction like this is anything but unusual for the Middle Ages. The amount of donation, which meant a significant increase in ownership for the Hochstift Freising, is at most remarkable. Today you are convinced that the document has not been created and completed in one step. Rather, it is assumed that the firm of the emperor initially only wrote the final part of the document (Eschatokoll), i.e. the sign or signature line with the monogram, the cognition line in which the name of the Chancellor responsible for the execution, of the Bishop Hildibald, is called, and the dating. On the other hand, the input protocol, but above all the context, i.e. the content of law in the narrower sense, comes from the hand of a Freisinger Schreiber. Such a procedure, especially in the case of the Freisinger Church, was not unusual and therefore even considered an indication of the authenticity of the document. 1893 The historian Theodor Sickel, who edits the document in the Monumenta Germaniae Historica (MGH), describes the document as a “diplom of doubtful validity”. “Diplomatic inconsistencies” he recognizes above all in relation to the seal. The seal, which was still loosely attached to the document at Sickel's time, was not from the Exhibitor Emperor Otto III, but from his successor, King and later Emperor Henry II. This seal is lost today. His absence was observed in 1911. The only picture can be found at the Freisinger historian Carolus Meichelbeck, who published a drawing of the seal image in 1724. The use of the Royal Seal of Heinrich II gives many questions to research. Nevertheless, the authenticity of the document is out of doubt for today's researchers. It is merely discussed whether the document was first sealed under Heinrich II and thus completed or whether the seal of Emperor Otto III was lost over time and was therefore improperly replaced by another seal. 1946 ‘Action 950 years Austria’ After the end of the Second World War and the Nazi period, Austria is looking for images from the further past to build its national identity and to regain its sovereignty. Representatives from the ÖVP's series with Minister of Education Felix Hurdes at the top are committed to the idea of taking the document Emperor Otto's official occasion for an Austrian anniversary. Well-known scientists deal with the document, at federal, state and community level. In the weeks before 1 November, various institutions, traditional associations and sports associations organize festive events and commemorative days. Representatives of the parties are committed to the “Nation Österreich” in delimitation to Germany and try to find historical arguments for the character of the Austrians’ own type. Especially children and young people should be given an Austrian awareness. They were therefore special addressees of the 950 year filings. 1976 „Ostarrichi-Urkunde“ for the first time in Austria In Lilienfeld, another big anniversary is celebrated: “1000 years Babenberger”. The national exhibition tells about the Babenbergerherrschaft, which took its exit in 976 in the “Mark an der Donau”. As part of this exhibition, the “Ostarrichi-Urkunde” will be shown for the first time in Austria. 1980 Another anniversary In 1946, the town of Neuhofen at Ybbs had already experienced state-political importance: The festival at the “historical site” became the central event of official celebrations. Among other things, Chancellor Leopold Figl had revealed the “Ostarrîchi Memorial Stone”. In 1980, Neuhofen is once again becoming a national memorial: on the occasion of 975. The “Ostarrîchi Memorial” is opened again, with the participation of the federal government, countries and the municipality. On May 10, the “Austria Festival” will be celebrated, taking into account “25 years of Austrian State Contract”. It speaks the Federal President Rudolf Kirchschläger, the original document remains in the archive in Munich. 1996 The Millennium When designing the celebrations on the occasion of “1000 years of Ostarrichi”, the 50 years of previously produced collective images and remembrance sites can be used. The Austrian National Exhibition takes place at the Ybbs in Neuhofen, where its aim is “a critical and loving confrontation of visitors with “Austria” (...). The ‘Ostarrichi’ certificate is issued and is once again subject to historical research. 2019 „Ostarrichi-Urkunde“ for the first time in Vienna The House of History of Austria places the original document in the center of historical identity formation processes and discussions. By presenting the “Ostarrichi” document shortly before the first birthday of the House of History of Austria in the Hofburg, the museum itself moves in the field of science, history politics and the public. All information about the program of the House of History Austria and press photos can be found on the following link: https://www.hdgoe.at/category/press For further information on the document and the findings obtained from scientific research, please see the following websites: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostarrichi http://www.noe.gv.at/noe/Historical Landeskunde/Ostarrichi-Urkunde.html http://members.chello.at/heinz.pohl/Ostarrichi_996.htm https://www.hdgoe.at/ostarrichi Submitted on: 21.10.2019 Related files: Gemeinsame Pressemitteilung des Bayerischen Hauptstaatsarchivs und des Hauses der Geschichte Österreich
