Society for Orphaned Armenian Relief (SOAR) Austria Chapter

Vienna joined the SOAR family in May 2018. The history of Armenians in Austria dates back to Vienna’s liberation from the Turkish siege at the end of the 17th century, when several Armenian merchants found a new market in the Habsburg Empire. In the beginning of the 19th century, Austrian Armenians enjoyed their status as an autonomous religious community. The Armenian community in Vienna grew constantly, so that by 1896 the first efforts were made to found an Armenian-Apostolic community. After the appointment of the first Armenian pastor in Vienna in the 1920s, the number of Armenians in Austria continued to grow, boosted by refugees from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Turkey and, most recently, the Republic of Armenia. In 1968, the Soorp Hripsime Armenian Apostolic Church of Vienna was consecrated, giving a new impetus to the ever growing Armenian community in Austria. There are approximately 3,000 Armenians in Vienna today.