A brief history of the Austrian navy

Whenever somebody mentions Austria´s naval history one will most likely hear one of the following standard reactions: - Yes, of course, I know, Austria’s famous mountain navy; probably a few ships from the Danube River lost their way and ended up in the open seas… ha, ha, what fun! - Or some persons well versed in history will offer you a lesson in history stating that Austria had been an influential and important naval power for many, many centuries. In my opinion, both reactions do not really hit the core of the issue. Even among those well-versed in history, there still exists a lot of a misunderstanding and misinterpretation on the Austrian navy. The only reason to write this book was my intention to provide the English speaking reader with a short, comprehensive and moreover realistic approach to Austria's history as a naval power. This book does not contain anything new. I just tried to put the Austrian navy in the right historical context in terms of European history as well as in terms of naval history.