It would be relatively easy to produce two small reviews on two volumes, unified by one and the same editor (Friedrich Stadler), but diverse in their topics, the one being devoted to the centenary of Felix Kaufmann, the other to Austria's contribution to modernity. At first sight, it seems impossible to unite both reviews into a single article going beyond a superficial composition of two heterogeneous topics. However, a "common theme" can be established which may serve as the indispensable unifying background. This common background theme can be found in the concept of "knowledge bases" which stands, consequently, in the title of the following review.