Editing History of Styria (section)

==Political history==

===Prehistory to Charlemagne===
[[File:Steiermark Wappen.svg|thumb|367x367px|Coat of arms of the Dukes of Styria, crowned with the [[Ducal hat of Styria|ducal hat]].]]
The [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] history of Styria is as part of [[Noricum]] and [[Pannonia]], with the romanized [[Celt]]ic population of the [[Taurisci]]. During the [[migrations period|great migrations]], various Germanic tribes settled and/or traversed the region using the river valleys and low passes, but about 600 CE the [[Slavs]] took possession of the area and settled assimilating the remaining autochthonous romanized population.

When Styria came under the hegemony of [[Charlemagne]] as a part of [[Carantania]] ([[Carinthia (duchy)|Carinthia]]), erected as a border territory against the [[Avars (Carpathians)|Avars]] and Slavs, there was a large influx of [[Bavarii]] and other [[Christianized]] Germanic peoples, whom the bishops of [[Salzburg]] and the [[patriarchs of Aquileia]] kept faithful to [[Rome]]. Bishop [[Vergilius of Salzburg]] (745-84), was largely instrumental in establishing a church hierarchy in the Duchy and gained for himself the name of "Apostle of Carantania." In 811 Charlemagne made the [[Drave]] River the boundary between the [[diocese]]s of Salzburg and Aquileia.

===Middle Ages===
{{Main|March of Styria|Duchy of Styria}}
The [[March of Styria]] was created in the [[Duchy of Carinthia]] in the late 10th century as a defence against the [[Magyars]]. Long called the Carantanian or [[March of Carinthia|Carinthian March]] it was soon ruled by a margravial dynasty called the [[Otakars]] that originated from [[Steyr]] in Upper Austria thus giving the land its name: "Steiermark". This march was raised to become a [[duchy]] by the Emperor [[Frederick Barbarossa]] in 1180 after the fall of [[Henry the Lion|Henry the Lion of Bavaria]].

With the death of Ottokar the first line of rulers of Styria became extinct; the region fell successively to the [[Babenberg]] family, [[rulers of Austria]], as stipulated in the [[Georgenberg Pact]]; after their extinction to the control of Hungary (1254–60); to King [[Premysl Ottokar II|Ottokar of Bohemia]]; in 1276 to the [[Habsburgs]], who provided it with Habsburgs for Styrian dukes during the years 1379-1439 and 1564–1619.

At the time of the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] invasions in the 16th and 17th centuries the land suffered severely and was depopulated. The Turks made incursions into Styria nearly twenty times; churches, monasteries, cities, and villages were destroyed and plundered, while the population was either killed or carried away into slavery.

===Modern era===
[[File:023 Grenzmaut zwischen Kärnten und Steiermark bei der Ruine Dürnstein - J.F.Kaiser Lithografirte Ansichten der Steiermark 1825.jpg|thumb|Historical view of the border between Styria and Carinthia, 1830]]
The [[Semmering Railway]], completed in 1854, was a triumph of engineering in its time, the oldest of the great European mountain railways.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gehrer|first=Elisabeth|date=1998-05-12|title=The World Heritage Documentation for the Nomination of Semmering Railway – cultural site Semmeringbahn (Kulturlandschaft)|url=https://whc.unesco.org/uploads/nominations/785.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151010105558/http://whc.unesco.org/uploads/nominations/785.pdf|archive-date=2015-10-10|access-date=2021-06-11|website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre|page=13}}</ref> It was remarkable for its numerous and long tunnels and viaducts spanning mountain valleys, running from Gloggnitz in Lower Austria to Mürzzuschlag in Styria, and passing through the area's scenery.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gehrer|first=Elisabeth|date=1998-05-12|title=The World Heritage Documentation for the Nomination of Semmering Railway – cultural site Semmeringbahn (Kulturlandschaft)|url=https://whc.unesco.org/uploads/nominations/785.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151010105558/http://whc.unesco.org/uploads/nominations/785.pdf|archive-date=2015-10-10|access-date=2021-06-11|website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre|pages=4–5}}</ref> The railway brought tourists to alpine lake resorts and mineral springs at [[Rogaška Slatina|Rohitsch]] (today's Rogaška Slatina) and [[Bad Gleichenberg]], the brine springs of [[Bad Aussee]], and the thermal springs of [[Laško|Tuffer]] (today's Laško), [[Neuhaus am Klausenbach]] and [[Haselsdorf-Tobelbad|Tobelbad]].

Following [[World War I]], Styria was divided by the [[Treaty of Saint Germain]]. [[Lower Styria]] with the cities of [[Celje]] and [[Maribor]] became part of the [[Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes]], while the rest remained with Austria as the [[Styria|State of Styria]]. Other than in [[Carinthia (duchy)|Carinthia]], no fighting resulted from this, in spite of a German minority in Slovenia (the larger cities of Lower Styria were largely German-speaking).

Lower Styria was reattached to the [[Reichsgau]] Steiermark from 1942 to 1945, whence it was annexed by Germany. After [[World War II]], Styria became part of the British [[Allied-occupied Austria|occupation zone in Austria]]. The lower third was returned to [[Yugoslavia]] and today, it makes up about the eastern third of [[Slovenia]].