The “Little Greece” of Vienna and the first newspaper published in Austria in Greek

When we refer to its core communities Greek diasporathe Vienna it rarely comes to mind. However, if we want to consider historically important communities for modern Hellenism, the Austrian capital should definitely be on the list with its own Greek enclave, Little Greece.

Like other Greek communities in the former Austrian Empire, the large-scale migration of Greeks to the seat of Habsburg power followed the wars between the Austrian and Ottoman Empires.

After the two failed attempts of the Ottomans to occupy the Viennathe Austrians, at the head of a multinational European force, pushed the Ottoman Turks south and east to the gates of Belgrade, now the capital of Serbia.

Greek traders open shop in Little Greece of Vienna

Like Austria itself, the Greek community of Vienna is a shadow of its former size, but still prosperous and elegant. Like America’s Greektowns, today’s Greeks in Vienna rarely live in the original area where their ancestors settled.

Still, some have businesses there, and the church and community center, as always, act as the community’s center of gravity.