Ostarrîchi#

Ostarrîchi, earliest documented name for Austria, mentioned in a document dated November 1, 996, issued by Emperor Otto III and presented to Bishop Gottschalk of Freising (kept in the Bavarian Main State Archives in Munich) which certifies the donation of the estate "Niuuanhova" (Neuhofen an der Ybbs), "in regione vulgari vocabulo Ostarrîchi " ("a region popularly called O."). Etymologically the word means "territory" or "land in the East" (as related to the area inhabited by the Bavarians). In 998 it is again mentioned as "Osterrîche", and later also as "Osterlant". It appears to have been the name for the territory ruled by the Babenbergs, which, in the 11th and 12th centuries, became Austria.

Literature#