Vienna loves to pose as the beacon-light of the empire somewhat as
Paris, the recognized centre of everything French, or Berlin, the
pivotal city of Germany. Yet Vienna forgets that it lacks all of the
historical, geographical, economic essentials of Paris and, for that
matter, of Berlin. What is Vienna? The residence of the sovereign and
the seat of the government and the capital--not of the empire, mind
you, but of the Archduchy of Lower Austria. The capital of Hungary is
Budapest; the centre of attraction of the Poles is Cracow; the heart
of the Bohemians is Prague. What has been the attitude of Vienna toward
the non-German peoples and their national needs? The good-natured
Viennese has for decades seen the Slavs caricatured on the stage, or
in the humorous journals, as hopeless simpletons, while the Bohemian
Wenzel was chosen by common consent as the quintessence of stupidity.
Several years ago a Bohemian Bank purchased palatial quarters on a
leading thoroughfare, but it had to cover with cloth a Bohemian sign
on the building until the municipality gave its consent thereto. A few
years ago a company of actors, attached to the National Theatre at
Prague, arranged to give in Vienna representative plays. Anti-Bohemian
demonstrations, ending in riots, were the result.
Vienna, the capital of an empire that is inhabited by a dozen different
races, and which counts among its inhabitants upward of 300,000
Bohemians, objected to a business sign in Bohemian, because it might
mar the beauty of its looks as a German city! A few years ago the
municipality ordered the closing of the Komenský Bohemian elementary
school, ostensibly because it failed to comply with building and health
ordinances. The real reason, however, was known to be political and
racial antipathy. Is it any wonder, then, that the sentiment “Away
from Vienna” is strong and that it grows stronger every year among
non-Germans? “Vienna has always been to us,” remarked a noted Bohemian
writer, “a cruel, unforgiving step-mother.”