[KC_Conspirator]

Is'nt Austria land locked?

[Sam the Sham]

Is'nt Austria land locked?

Actually, it's "isn't". Basic history lesson. By "Austria" here is meant the Hapsburg Holy Roman Empire which embraced Spain, Austria, the Low Countries, and much of Germany and Italy. The world's first global superpower.

[wideawake]

The Habsburg monarchs ruled from Vienna, Austria, but as Holy Roman Emperors they ruled over lands including Spain, Sicily and Croatia which have substantial seacoasts.

Austrian-ruled territory has only been landlocked since 1919.

[libstripper]

It is now, but it wasn't then. Then it was a part of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by the Catholic Hapsburgs. The Empire had several ports on the Mediterranean. Lepanto was one of the two huge, significant battles that stopped the advance of Islam into Europe. The other was the battle of Vienna about a century later, where the Turkish (Islamic) siege of Vienna was broken.