Norbert Christian Wolf

The Enlightenment is regarded as a crucial process and developmental phase in European cultural history that enabled the formation of modern, secular societies. What characterizes the specificity of the Austrian Enlightenment? How and why does its popular public sphere differ from the learned public sphere of the German Enlightenment? Why are there hardly any significant literary Enlightenment texts in Austria? Based on rich historical material, the book demonstrates that this process in 18th-century Austria, particularly in its capital Vienna, began slowly and then accelerated. The hurried and ultimately stifled catch-up movement led to long-lasting peculiarities in Austrian culture, for which the book presents theoretically grounded theses. Starting from the economic, political, social, media, and cultural conditions, important texts and debates of this time are introduced and historically contextualized. The presentation concludes with a critical reading of three exemplary texts, including the libretto of The Magic Flute, in which the contradictory tendencies of the era are characteristically reflected.