Constructing the Official Patriotic Myth in Multiethnic and Multilingual society: The Case of Habsburg Monarchy, 1805-1832

Abstract

The paper deals with the issues of constructing a supranational identity in the Austrian Empire. Originally being a reaction to revolutionary ideas transferred from France throughout Europe, conservative ideology appeared to influence the political development of Austria until the downfall of Habsburg monarchy in 1918. The early Austrian conservatism referred to a significant patriotic myth, based on the loyalty towards the ruling dynasty and their empire, represented as the “family of peoples”. The philosophical, political and historical works published by Friedrich von Gentz, Adam von Müller Nitterdorf and Joseph von Hormayr turned into a base for “Dynastic patriotism” with supranational patterns aimed to integrate all the involved peoples into members of the Empire. The myth included the specially constructed historical narrative, political and social philosophy, and the theological support. The myth became a ground for conservative political course of Clemens von Metternich and Francis I and made an impact on the further development of the national problem in the Empire, the Austrian political culture, the German politics of Vienna, and the further development of the AustroPrussian dualism in Germany.