This synthesis traces the development of the German- and Czech-speaking inhabitants of the Danube and Sudeten regions into a neighborhood from the ninth to the beginning of the twenty-first century. The narrative takes into account the political, economic, and social developments over the centuries as well as the history of culture and thought. First, the continuities and discontinuities in the Holy Roman Empire under the various ruling families, especially the Premyslids, Babenbergs, Luxembourgers, and early Habsburgs are compared, starting from 1526 with their common history in the Habsburg monarchy and working through the conflicts in the Thirty Years' War and the reforms under Maria Theresa and Joseph II. The "community of national conflict"- the Austro-Czech as well as the Czech-German - between 1848 and 1948 is particularly emphasized, as well as the age of Franz Joseph, the First World War, the First Republic in Austria and Czechoslovakia, and the ruptures in civilization during the Nazi regime and the Second World War. Finally, expulsion and forced resettlement after 1945 are examined. The 1919 Treaty of Saint-Germain, the 1938 Munich Agreement, and the "BeneS Decrees" represent particular focal points. Finally, the separation caused by the "Iron Curtain" in 1948, the socio-political turning point of 1989/90, and the new neighborhood in the EU are discussed.