Do majority of Austrians have German ancestry?

Question

I just wanted to know if its true that the majority of Austrians have German ancestry because i am half Austrian myself.

Answer 1

Yes, or the other way around. Austrians are Germans. Being German before modern day meant that you lived in the German speaking lands(including Germany, east Prussia(now Poland), Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Sudetenland, Netherlands. So being Austrian is their citizenship to the country Austria, but they are really German in ethnicity, living in the German country(because there is not just on German country.

Answer 2

All were part of the Holy Roman Empire as an above poster stated under the Habsburg.

After the empire broke up Germany was a mixture of small kingdoms and states, with Prussia becoming the dominant state.  In 1871 the German states were united under the Prussian Hohenzollerns.  Austria was part of the AustoHungarian Empire still ruled by the Habsburgs which was dissolved after WWI.

Answer 3

There are dozens of nations in central and northern Europe who descend from Teutonic peoples. The entire region was denoted "Germania" by the Romans, and was home to Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Gauls, Franks, Lombards, Goths, Visigoths - among many others - all of whom were Teutonic, Germanic people. These evolved into duchys (dukedoms) and small city states (e.g., Mecklenburg) and some into nation states.  None were called "Germany" as a country until after World War I.  Germany was a region, not a country. So the ancestors of Austrians could be Hungarian, could be people of the Steppes (nomadics), but were heavily Teutonic, Germanic people.  If you read about the Hohenzollern and Hapsburg dynasties, and the Austro-Hungarian and Prussian Empires, you will have a much more complete understanding of how these peoples evolved into what we know today, and dominated all the crown families of Europe.  Pomerania, Thuringia, Lichtenstein, Mecklenburg, Brandenburg, Bavaria, etc. were many of the smaller but very important players as well, to name just a few.  Frederick the Great's unification of all of these kingdoms, duchies, regions is a key element to the information you seek. Napoleon regarded him as the greatest military strategist of all time.  No small compliment - and stresses the importance of his actions, like them or not, to our understanding today of Germanic peoples and their governmental evolution.

Ultimately the Teutonic/Germanic people all "originated" from what we know today as the Scandinavians who invaded/influenced/populated and ruled northern England through Normandy ("Norse"mandy) - those who conquered England under William the Conqueror, and yet others who descended the Volga and ruled Moscow as the Russ (later Russians), and the ruling Germanic tribes of most all of Europe down to Italy and Spain.  These same people first pushed Rome out of the territory north of the Danube, and eventually overthrew Rome over generations in Europe. The original Teutonic Vikings plied the known world in their small, light single mast sailing ships.  A stunningly daring and exploring people.

All the best in researching your heritage.

Answer 4

Probably. I mean, Austria and Germany were both a part of the Holy Roman Empire back in the day.