In 976 AD, the Margraviate of Austria came under control of the Babenberg family, who ruled Austria and developed Vienna throughout the Middle Ages. Vienna was located near the Austrian-Hungarian border and became an important point of commerce as early as in the year 1000. The Margraviate was a Medieval province ruled by a Margrave. Its territory at this time corresponded to present-day Lower Austria. Vienna became the capital of the province in 1155, received the status of a duchy under the Privilegium Minus a year later and became the seat of the duke. Also, the Schottenstift, a Roman Catholic monastery, was founded at this time, after Henry II brought Scottish-Irish monks to the city.

The Third of the Holy Crusades was a turning point in the history of Vienna. In 1192, Duke Leopold V captured Richard the Lionheart, and demanded a ransom of 50,000 silver marks that facilitated the creation of a mint around 1200. However, Leopold’s actions got him excommunicated by the pope and he died soon thereafter. Around this time, also the city walls of Vienna were built; their remains can be still seen today at the Stubentor underground station.

Vienna received its city charter in 1221 and also gained the rights of a staple port, which meant that all merchants passing through the city had to sell their goods there, making Vienna a kind of a middleman in trade. Soon after, the city established a network of trade connections, including connections with some cities along the Danube and with Venice. In 1278, Rudolf I of the Habsburg dynasty, took control over Austrian lands. The first chronicle of the city was written two years later by Jans der Enikel. Around a century later, Vienna entered a Golden Age under the rule of the emperor Rudolf IV, whose stable economic policies brought about increased prosperity. Rudolf was nicknamed The Founder because he established the University of Vienna and initiated the construction of the Gothic nave of St Stephan’s Cathedral, a major landmark of present-day Vienna. In 1469, Vienna became the seat of a bishop, and in 1556 also of the emperor.

The first Ottoman attack against Vienna took place in 1529, when the city barely withstood the incursion. The decision was made to further fortify the city by adding a moat and eleven bastions, which allowed for a strong defense against the second Turkish siege in 1683. Eventually, the Turks were defeated by Jan III Sobieski, King of Poland, which proved to be a turning point in the Ottoman wars, as the Turks were pushed farther and farther back in the decades that followed.