Sapere Aude

To celebrate its 175th anniversary in 2022, this source-based and chronologically arranged history of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW) since 1918 summarises the development of the academy over a hundred year period against an ever-changing political, ideological, social and financial background. The aim of the two authors was to present the temporal watersheds, the structural changes, the continuity and breaks in the development of the OeAW, as well as the structure and work of the individual research institutions. The focus is also on the constantly changing conditions with regard to science policy since the Republic of Austria was founded, and the gradual development of the academy from what was primarily a learned society to a modern research(-funding) organisation comprising 25 large and medium-sized institutes for the life sciences, the natural, social and cultural sciences, and the humanities, of a type that is found in only a few European academies of sciences. For the first time ever the financial aspects are also addressed in a structured manner, insofar as the available sources permit this. Furthermore, the scientific achievements of individual researchers at the OeAW are also highlighted.