The essence of Austria is not the center but the periphery

Of course, it is the Slovenes, the Polish and Ruthenian Galicians, the caftan Jews from Boryslaw, the horse traders from Bacska, the Muslims from Sarajevo, the Maroni crickets from Mostar who sing our national anthem 'Gott Erhalte.' But the German students from Brunn and Eger, the dentists, pharmacists, hairdresser's assistants, art photographers from Linz, Graz, Knittelfeld, the goiters from the Alpine valleys, they all sing 'Die Wacht am Rhein.' Austria will perish for this loyalty to the Nibelung, gentlemen! The essence of Austria is not the center but the periphery. Austria is not to be found in the Alps, where you find chamois, edelweiss, and gentians, but hardly any trace of a double eagle.

J. Roth, The Emperor's Tomb (1938), loc. 168