Social, economic, and cultural trends in the Baroque period

The Thirty Years’ War and the Turkish wars had resulted in the devastation of large parts of the country and in great losses among the population, which suffered further reduction during the plague years of 1679 and 1713. The territories that had been wrested from the Turks had to be resettled systematically by German and other immigrants. The initiative for resettlement projects came from the official bureaucracy, the settlements being concentrated mainly in the south of Hungary. During the period of religious conflicts, many Protestants had been exiled, but, in the 18th century, Protestants often were transported to the various underpopulated parts of the empire.

In the industrial and commercial fields, mercantilist ideas, encouraged by the government, were prominent from the 1660s. The situation of the peasantry was thoroughly unfavourable. Tentative measures in the reigns of Leopold I and Charles VI to protect the peasants had little effect. Certain “model industries” (mostly textile factories) were established but were only partly successful. The economic policy of the absolutist state also resulted in strong interference with trade organizations. The guilds were suppressed or at least debarred from the new manufactures.

Trade was encouraged but yielded only small gains for the state. Industrial and commercial undertakings were managed in part directly by the state but largely through privileged corporations or private persons. Of some importance were the first (1667) and the second (1719) Oriental trading companies and the Ostend Company (1722). Trade in the Mediterranean was also intensified. Promising colonial ventures in India were discontinued for political reasons, however, in the middle of the 18th century. Under Charles VI new roads came to be planned and built on a large scale.

The state was in permanent want of money. This was a period of perpetual war as well as great economic investments, both entailing excessive strain on state finances. At first the government resorted to rich bankers such as Samuel Oppenheimer and his successor Samson Wertheimer for funds. Soon, however, it attempted to establish state-controlled banking firms. The Banco del Giro, founded in Vienna in 1703, quickly failed, but the Vienna Stadtbanco of 1705 managed to survive; the Universalbancalität of 1715 was liquidated after a short period of operation.

After the victory of the Counter-Reformation, education was almost exclusively in the hands of the Roman Catholic Church. The grammar schools of the religious orders, especially of the Jesuits and the Benedictines, set a very high standard for the most part. In 1677 another university was established at Innsbruck, the theological school of which was to acquire some fame. Historical writing flourished, the most outstanding works being those of two Benedictine brothers, Bernard and Hieronymus Pez; Gottfried Bessel, abbot of Göttweig; and Leopold I’s official historiographer, the Jesuit Franz Wagner. The Austrian Jesuits were famous for their scientific and geographic researches, most notably the exploration of China.

Among the achievements of Baroque poetry, mention should be made of Wolf Helmhart of Hohberg, whose works offer interesting insights into the life of the nobility, and of Katharina of Greiffenberg, a Protestant whose intensely spiritual poems reflected the pressures of the Counter-Reformation. The theatre of the Baroque was remarkable for the splendour of its decorations and the ingenuity of its stage machinery. The plays produced ranged from the elaborate Italian opera to the blunt humour of the popular play. Music attained an especially high standard, encouraged by three emperors who were themselves composers (Ferdinand III, Leopold I, and Joseph I). Charles VI was also a skillful musician, and he engaged the services of Johann Joseph Fux, who came from eastern Steiermark and developed into an important composer and teacher.

Austrian Baroque culture is most clearly revealed by the splendours of its architecture. At first the field was dominated by the Italians, but soon native architects stepped forth. Preeminent among them was Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach (whose works included the first plan of the Schloss Schönbrunn in Vienna, Karls Church in Vienna, and Kollegien Church in Salzburg) and his son Josef Emanuel Fischer von Erlach (who designed the Hof Library, in Vienna). They were rivaled by Jakob Prandtauer (whose works included monasteries in Herzogenburg and Melk) and especially by Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt (who designed the Schwarzenberg and Belvedere palaces in Vienna, Peters Church in Vienna, and the monastery of Göttweig). Among native sculptors, Georg Raphael Donner was the first in rank and quality of work. Fresco painting was best represented by Johann Michael Rottmayr from Salzburg, Daniel Gran from Vienna, and Paul Troger from the Tirolean Pustertal valley. (See also Baroque period.)