STYRIA (

See also:

• GERMAN
• GERMAN, DUTCH AND SCANDINAVIAN

German, Steiermark or Steyermark)  , a duchy and crownland of Austria, bounded E. by Hungary and Croatia, S. by Carniola, W. by Carinthia and Salzburg, and N. by Upper and Lower Austria . It has an area of 867o sq. in . Almost all the district is mountainous, and is distinguished by the beauty of its scenery and by its mineral wealth . Geographically it is divided into northern or Upper Styria, and southern or Lower Styria, and is traversed by various ramifications of the eastern Alps . To the north of the Enns are ramifications of the Salzkammergut and Enns Alps, which include the Dachstein (983o ft.), and the Grimming (7713 ft.), and the groups of the Todtes Gebirge (6890 ft.) and of the Pyrgas with the Grosser Pyrgas (7360 ft.) . The last two groups are separated by the Pyhrn Pass (3100 ft.), traversed by a road constructed in the Roman period . Then comes the Buchstein group with the Grosser Buchstein (7294 ft.) . This group forms the northern flank of the celebrated Gesause, a defile 12 M. long, between Admont and Hieflau, through which the Enns forces its course, forming a series of rapids . The southern flank is formed by the massif of the Reichensteiner Gebirge, which culminates in the Hochthor (7780 ft.) and belongs to the north Styrian Alps, also called Eisenerzer Alps . This group extends east of the Enns, and contains the Erzberg (500o ft.) celebrated for its iron ores . Other groups of the north Styrian Alps are the Hochschwab, with the highest peak the Hochschwab (7482 ft.) and the Hochveitsch with the Hohe Veitsch (65or ft.) . Then come the Lower Austrian Alps with the groups of the Voralpe (5800 ft.), of the Schneealpe (6245 ft.), and the Raxalpe, with the Heukuppe (695o ft.) .

All these mountains belong to the northern

zone of the eastern branch is the making of scythes and sickles which• are exported Alps . South of the Enns, Styria is traversed by groups of the cen- in large quantities . Among its other industrial products are tral zone of the eastern Alps: the Niedere Tauern, the primitive glass, paper. cement, cotton goods, chemicals and gunpowder . Alps of Carinthia and Styria and the Styrian Nieder Alps . The Linen-weaving is a household industry . principal divisions of the Niedere Tauern are: the Radstadter The population of Styria in 1900 was 1,356,058, which is equivalent to 156 inhabitants per square mile . This proportion is considerably above the rate in the other mountainous regions of Austria . Nearly all (98.74%), profess the Roman Catholic faith and are under the bishops of Seckau and of Lavant . The Protestants number only a little over 13,000, while there are about 2500 Jews . Two-thirds of the inhabitants are Germans; the remainder, chiefly found in the valleys of the Drave and Save, are Slays (Slovenes) . At the head of the educational institutions of the province stands the university of Graz . The local Diet, of which the two Roman Catholic bishops and the rector of the university of Graz are members ex officio, is composed of 63 members, while Styria sends 27 deputies to the Reichsrat at Vienna .

For administrative purposes, the province is divided into 21 districts and 4 towns with autonomous municipalities, namely Graz (pop . 138,370), the

capital, Cilli (6743), Marburg (24,501) and Pettau (4227) . Other important places are Leoben (10,204), Bruck on the Mur (7527), Mariazell (1263), Murzzuschlag (4856), Eisenerz (6494), Vordernberg (3111), Judenburg (4901), Trifail (ro,851), Eggenberg (9570), Donawitz (13,093), Koflach (3345) and Voitsberg (3321) . In the Roman period Styria, which even thus early was famed for its iron and steel, was inhabited by the Celtic Taurisci, and divided geographically between Noricum and Pannonia . Subsequently it was successively occupied or traversed by Visigoths, Huns, Ostrogoths, Langobardi, Franks and Avars . Towards the end of the 6th century the last-named began to give way to the Slays, who ultimately made themselves masters of the entire district . Styria was included in the conquests of Charlemagne, and was henceforth comprised in the German marks erected against the Avar and the Slay . At first the identity of Styria is lost in the great duchy of Carinthia, corresponding more or less closely to the Upper Carinthian mark . This duchy, however, afterwards fell to pieces, and a distinct mark of Styria was recognized, taking its name from the margrave Ottacar of Steier (io56) . A century or so later it was created a duchy . In 1192 the duchy of Styria came by inheritance to the house of Austria, and from that time it shared the fortunes of Upper and Lower Austria, passing like them to the Habsburgs in 1282 . The Protestant Reformation met an early and general welcome in Styria, but the dukes took the most stringent measures to stamp it out, offering their subjects recantation or expatriation as the only alternatives .

At least 30,000 Protestants preferred

exile, and it was not till the edict of tolerance of 178r granted by Joseph II. that religious liberty was recognized . See Die Osterreichisch-ungarische Monarchie in Wort and Bild, vol. vii . (24 vols., Wien, 1885–1902); A. von Muchar, Geschichte des Herzogtums Steiermark (8 vols., Graz, 1844–1867) . It treats the history till 1558 . F . M . Mayer, Geschichte der Steiermark mit besonderer Riicksicht auf des Kulturleben (Graz, 1898) ; J. von Zahn, Styriaca (Graz, 1894–1896) .