History
Serbs have a long historical presence on the territory of modern-day Austria.
By the end of the Middle Ages, migration of ethnic Serbs towards Austrian lands was caused by expansion of the Ottoman Empire. Exiled members of Serbian noble families were welcomed by Habsburg rulers, who granted them new possessions. In 1479, emperor Friedrich III granted castle Weitensfeld in Carinthia to exiled members of Branković dynasty of Serbia. During the period of Ottoman–Habsburg wars from 16th to 18th century, Austrian policy towards Serbs was marked by special interests, related to complex political situation in various regions of the expanding Habsburg monarchy. Emperor Leopold I issued several charters (1690, 1691, 1695) to Eastern Orthodox Serbs, who sided with Habsburgs during the Vienna War, granting them religious freedom in the Austrain Empire. Serbian Orthodox patriarch Arsenije III visited Vienna on several occasions, and died there in 1706. Serbian Orthodox metropolitan Isaija Đaković, who visited Austrian capital on several occasions since 1690, also died in Vienna, in 1708. During the 18th and 19th century, new communities of ethnic Serbs were developing in major Austrian cities, consisted mainly of merchants, officers and students, who were under the spiritual jurisdiction of the Serbian Orthodox Metropolitanate of Karlovci.
The largest influx by far occurred during Austria's Gastarbeiter ("guest worker") programs during the 1960s and 1970s, driven by labor shortages in Austria's booming postwar economy. [8] Yugoslavia, under Tito's non-aligned communism, signed bilateral agreements allowing its citizens to seek temporary work abroad without defecting. Serbs formed a significant portion, often from rural areas in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. They filled low-skilled jobs in construction, manufacturing (e.g., steelworks in Linz), agriculture. [9] In Yugoslavia, economic stagnation, housing shortages, and limited opportunities pushed migrants. Austria offered wages 5 to 10 times higher, plus family reunification prospects. With guest worker programs ended, inflows slowed to family reunification (e.g., spouses and children joining earlier migrants).This era transformed Serbs into a visible urban presence, especially in Vienna, where majority of Serbs in Austria still live.
The breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s triggered a massive immigrant wave. Austria, as a neighbor, received Yugoslav asylum seekers between 1991 and 1995, including tens of thousands of Serbs. [10] Vienna's working-class districts like Favoriten became hubs. Many were granted temporary protected status, with integration aided by existing communities.
Easier EU access for Serbian citizens (visa-free from 2010) spurred student and skilled migration. The previous waves of Serbian immigration to Austria were mostly economic (job offers, better pay), while later ones sought education and higher living standards.
In 2011, the Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Austria and Switzerland was established. [11]
Demographics
Serbia-born population in Austria, numbering 141,822 according to data from the 2022 census, forms one of the largest foreign-born groups in Austria. [1] The estimated number of people with Serbian ancestry stands at around 300,000. [12] They are heavily concentrated in Vienna, home to 98,940 people of Serb ancestry, making it the largest community in Serb diaspora. [13]
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