Abstract

This papers aims at an overview of the Austrian contributions to parapsychology - researchers as well as psychics - during the past 150 years, from the Austrian Empire to the Republic of Austria. The main themes are Baron Reichenbach and the `Od', Baron Hellenbach and his philosophical concept similar to the later one of du Prel, the

Occult Wave after World War I, the era of Great Mediums, the Schneider brothers - in particular Rudi Schneider, perhaps the most important personality ever in physical mediumship -, parapsychology entering Vienna University (K. C. Schneider) and leaving it again, the eventual establishment of the Austrian S.P.R., a short history of the latter, etc. Due to constraint of space those aspects that are believed to be widely known (e.g. the mediumship of Rudi Schneider, which is well covered in Anita Gregory's book) have been kept short in favour of lesser known facets of the history of parapsychology in Austria. On several occasions, the connection of the past to the present is pointed out specifically.