What is the capital of Austria?

Vienna sits on the Danube in eastern Austria, at the foot of the easternmost spurs of the Alps, and grew from the Roman frontier camp of Vindobona.

Vienna is the capital and seat of government of Austria, a role it has held since 1804. Austria itself has an estimated population of 9,208,163 (2025).

Vienna is also the largest city in Austria, which is the usual arrangement, though it is far from universal: see the countries where capital and largest city differ.

Vienna has been the capital of Austria since 1804, when it became the capital of the newly proclaimed Austrian Empire; it had already been the seat of the Habsburg monarchy and the Holy Roman Emperors for centuries.

Vienna is by far Austria's largest city, home to roughly a fifth of the country's population.

For centuries it was one of Europe's leading political and cultural centres, as the capital of the Habsburg realms and later Austria-Hungary until 1918.

Vienna regularly tops global quality-of-life and liveability rankings, and it has a long musical heritage tied to composers such as Mozart, Beethoven and Strauss.

City facts sourced from Wikipedia: Vienna.

Frequently asked questions

Capitals of neighbouring countries

See the full profile of Austria on its country page, or browse every capital city.