page_title: History of Vienna
section_title: Modern history since independence (1955)
hierarchical_section_title: History of Vienna / The Second Republic / Modern history since independence (1955)
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Wien, Panorama vom "Am Himmel" aus gesehen Français&#160;: Panorama sur Vienne en Autriche depuis le pré "Am Himmel".
context_page_description: The history of Vienna has been long and varied, beginning when the Roman Empire created a military camp in the area now covered by Vienna's city centre. From that humble beginning, Vienna grew from the Roman settlement known as Vindobona to be an important trading site in the 11th century. It became the capital of the Babenberg dynasty and subsequently of the Austrian Habsburgs, under whom it became one of Europe's cultural hubs. During the 19th century as the capital of the Austrian Empire and later Austria-Hungary, it temporarily became one of Europe's biggest cities. Since the end of World War I, Vienna has been the capital of the Republic of Austria.
context_section_description: On May 15, 1955, the country regained its political independence and sovereignty with the "Austrian State Treaty".  The Austrian Parliament immediately amended the treaty to establish Austria's future neutrality and non-alignment (similar to that of Switzerland).  This peace treaty was called a state treaty because Austria had temporarily ceased to exist in 1938.
  After the war, as everywhere in Western Europe, there was an enormous economic boom, among other things because of the economic aid resulting from the Marshall Plan.
  Public transport in Vienna was improved by the introduction of the new U-Bahn network, the first part of which was opened in 1978. In 1979, the second Strategic Arms Limitation Talks treaty was signed in Vienna. During the 1970s, Vienna became the third official seat of the United Nations, and the UNO-City was built. At the end of the 20th century, a skyline consisting of several skyscrapers was created with, among others, the Andromeda Tower and Millennium Tower on the left and right sides of the Danube. Furthermore, a complex of skyscrapers was planned at the site of the Wien Mitte railway station, which might have endangered the position of Vienna's centre as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The project has since been redesigned.
  The city has about 17,000 diplomats, many assigned to international organizations. Because of their presence and Austria's neutrality, Vienna became an important center for espionage, as depicted in The Third Man; during the Cold War the city allegedly had more spies than Austrian soldiers. Vienna was the capital of the surrounding Bundesland of Lower Austria (German: Niederösterreich) until 1986, when it was replaced by Sankt Pölten. As Vienna was not a geographical part of Lower Austria it was a capital outside of the territory it served.
  In the municipal elections of 2001, the Social Democrats regained an absolute majority. With the Liberal Forum not gaining enough votes, only four parties have been represented in the municipal council since then. In the 2005 elections, the Social Democrats further increased their majority.
caption: Panoramic view of Vienna towards the east, seen from "Himmel" (Heaven)
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