The chapter provides both a qualitative and quantitative overview of the natural tectonic seismicity of Central European Variscides during the historical observation period. With respect to sufficiently completely catalogued data, this time span dates back to the thirteenth century, encompassing the strongest magnitudes of observed earthquakes during that period and thus represents an extremely short duration from a geological point of view. Such neoseismic activity is discussed as an expression of continuous tectonic activity in connection with the still ongoing Alpine orogenesis. The discussion of this causal relationship necessitates expanding the scope of consideration beyond the Central European part of the Variscides. It is being viewed to what extent the observed seismicity can be related to large-scale structural tectonic elements in connection with the currently acting tectonic regime. This only succeeds to a certain extent, so that the obviously geologically old laid out N–S structural elements, which can be detected predominantly by means of photolineations, are considered in the light of various example regions. A condensed overview of induced, man-made seismicity, being of considerable social relevance, and reassessments of the seismic hazard for use in building codes for earthquake-resistant design round off the contribution.