Early
The city of Vienna was founded c. 500 BC as a Celtic settlement, Vendunia, (forest stream). All that remains of this society is the May Poles that every Austrian village and some Viennese districts erect in their squares. By 15 BC the migrations of peoples brought the Germanic tribes and the Romans, the latter of which referred to the area as Vindobona. The fortification wall of that ancient post is remembered to this day by significant streets in the city center. The Romans saw the Danube as the line between the civilized world of the Empire and the Germanic tribes to the north. Charlemagne also considered the region, the Avarian Mark, as a last out post of his empire. Remaining artifacts from the time include the remnants of the first Christian churches; however, most were probably destroyed by pagan Germanic tribes who warred with the Eastern Frankish Christians.
Vienna was first mentioned by its current German name, Wien, in 881 during the turbulent times of Magyar (Hungarian) expansion. The first historical reference to Austria as a kind of political region was in 996 AD when the Babenberg Family was given margrave authority over Ostarrichi, (Eastern Kingdom). The establishment of a margravate encouraged settlement and of course trade in the area, but Vienna continued to sit on the Magyar frontier until 1150 when the Austrian margraves, who were also dukes of Bavaria, transferred their residence to Vienna. In 1156 Fredrick I elevated the Babenburg territory to a duchy, thereby giving the dukes some autonomy from the emperor. Frederick also gave the Austrian people the red-white-red flag from him battle banner as well as a black eagle from his family crest.
A fortified wall was built around with city c.1200 and by 1221 Vienna was the second principal city of the Frankish Empire after Cologne, due to its trade network on the Danube and connections with Venice. A major improvement for the city came with the Stapelrecht (merchant regulating laws) which allowed for a middle class to develop. There was growing construction at the time even outside the walls along the major arteries around Vienna. The city walls completion was timely because Vienna came under threat from the Mongolian Empire in the 13th century. Mongol forces were moving toward Vienna as part of a large scale winter campaign in order to take control of Europe, when Ögedei Khan, son of Genghis Khan, died. Some historians claim that if he had not died, Vienna could have been one of the first of the Western European nations to fall under Mongol rule of the entire continent.
