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The dominance of Vienna in almost all spheres of political and cultural life of the Second Republic has meant that the Austrian provinces have received correspondingly less attention in literary and scholarly works. Where such depictions of the provinces in post-1945 literature do exist they have been far from flattering, suggesting in particular a deliberate refusal by those who live beyond Vienna to engage with Austria's painful recent history. The tensions between Vienna and the provinces are discussed in this article, which seeks to show how historical, structural, administrative, and demographic factors have long been at play in creating the antagonism between the former Residenzstadt and non-metropolitan Austria. Current political concerns, especially relating to immigration issues, duplicate the experience of rapid migration trends in Vienna in the nineteenth century and raise the question of how in the twenty-first century the relationship between the Austrian provinces and Vienna, especially in literary and political responses, will draw on those earlier experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]