Austria: Country in Central Europe

Republic of Austria Republik Österreich  (German)
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem:  Bundeshymne der Republik Österreich  (German) (English: "National Anthem of the Republic of Austria")
Location of  Austria  (dark green) – on the European continent  (green & dark grey) – in the European Union  (green)  —  [Legend]
Capital and largest city	Vienna 48°12′N 16°21′E / 48.200°N 16.350°E / 48.200; 16.350
Official languages	German (also in national language as Austrian German)
Recognised regional languages	Hungarian Slovene Burgenland Croatian
Ethnic groups (2012)	81.1% Austrians 6.3% Ex-Yugoslavs 2.7% Germans 2.2% Turks 8.7% Other
Religion (2018)	69.0% Christianity —57.0% Catholicism —8.7% Orthodoxy —3.3% Other Christian 22.0% No religion 7.9% Islam 1.1% Other
Demonym(s)	Austrian
Government	Federal parliamentary republic
• President	Alexander Van der Bellen
• Chancellor	Karl Nehammer
• Vice Chancellor	Werner Kogler
Legislature	Parliament
• Upper house	Federal Council
• Lower house	National Council
Establishment history
• Margraviate of Austria	976
• Duchy of Austria	1156
• Archduchy of Austria	1453
• Austrian Empire	1804
• Austro-Hungarian Empire	1867
• First Republic	1918
• Federal State	1934
• Anschluss	1938
• Second Republic	since 1945
• State Treaty in effect	27 July 1955
• Admitted to the United Nations	14 December 1955
• Joined the European Union	1 January 1995
Area
• Total	83,883 km2 (32,387 sq mi) (113th)
• Water (%)	0.84 (as of 2015)
Population
• October 2020 estimate	8,935,112 (97th)
• Density	106/km2 (274.5/sq mi) (106th)
GDP (PPP)	2018 estimate
• Total	$461.432 billion
• Per capita	$51,936 (17th)
GDP (nominal)	2019 estimate
• Total	$446,315 billion (27th)
• Per capita	$50,277 (15th)
Gini (2019)	27.5 low · 14th
HDI (2019)	0.922 very high · 18th
Currency	Euro (€)[c] (EUR)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+43
ISO 3166 code	AT
Internet TLD	.at[d]
^ There is an official dictionary, the Österreichisches Wörterbuch, published on commission by the Austrian Ministry of Education. ^ Croatian, Czech, Hungarian, Romani, Slovak, and Slovene are officially recognised by the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages (ECRML). ^ Austrian schilling before 1999; Virtual Euro since 1 January 1999; Euro since 1 January 2002. ^ The .eu domain is also used, as it is shared with other European Union member states.

Austria (/ˈɒstriə/ (listen), /ˈɔːs-/; German: Österreich [ˈøːstɐʁaɪç] (listen)), officially the Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich [ʁepuˈbliːk ˈʔøːstɐʁaɪç] (listen)), is a country in Central Europe. Around Austria there are the countries of Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein.

The people in Austria speak German, a few also speak Hungarian, Slovenian and Croatian. The capital of Austria is Vienna (Wien).

Austria is more than a thousand years old. Its history can be followed to the ninth century. At that time the first people moved to the land now known as Austria. The name "Ostarrichi" is first written in an official document from 996. Since then this word has developed into the Modern German word Österreich, which literally means "East Empire."

Ancient times

There has been human settlement in the area that is now Austria for a long time. The first settlers go back to the Paleolithic age. That was the time of the Neanderthals. They left works of art such as the Venus of Willendorf. In the Neolithic age people were living there to dig for mineral resources, especially copper. Ötzi, a mummy found in a glacier between Austria and Italy, is from that time. In the Bronze Age people built bigger settlements and fortresses, especially where there were mineral resources. Salt mining began near Hallstatt. At that time, Celts began to form the first states.

The Romans

 

The Romans came 15 B.C. to Austria and made the Celtic Regnum Noricum to a province. Modern Austria was part of three provinces, Raetia, Noricum and Pannonia. The border in the north was the Danube.

Holy Roman Empire

From the early Middle Ages, the area of modern-day Austria was a part of the Holy Roman Empire. The capital of the Holy Roman Empire was the Austrian city Vienna. The Austrian Habsburg family were the rulers of the Empire and the son of the Holy Roman Emperor held the title of Archduke of Austria.

In 1806, France defeated the Holy Roman Empire and replaced it with the Confederation of the Rhine. Former Holy Roman Emperor Francis II became the Emperor of the new Austrian Empire, which later became Austria-Hungary.

Modern history

In 1914, Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and this led to World War I. In 1918, both Austria and Hungary became republics. They also both split into two separate countries.

During World War II, Austria was part of Nazi Germany. It became independent in May 1945.

 

Austria is a mountainous country since it is partially in the Alps. Grossglockner is the tallest mountain in Austria. The high mountainous Alps in the west of Austria flatten somewhat into low lands and plains in the east of the country where the Danube flows.

Climate

Austria has a continental climate.

The highest temperature ever recorded in Austria was 40.5 °C (104.9 °F), on 8 August 2013 in Bad Deutsch-Altenburg. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Austria was −52.6 °C (−62.7 °F), on 19 February 1932 at Grünloch doline.

 

Austria is a democratic republic. The President of Austria is the head of state and the Chancellor of Austria is the head of government.

It is a neutral state, that means it does not take part in wars with other countries. It has been in the United Nations since 1955 and in the European Union since 1995.

Austria is also a federal state and divided into nine states (German: Bundesländer):

1. Burgenland (Burgenland)
2. Carinthia (Kärnten)
3. Lower Austria (Niederösterreich)
4. Upper Austria (Oberösterreich)
5. Salzburg(erland) (Salzburg)
6. Styria (Steiermark)
7. Tyrol (Tirol)
8. Vorarlberg (Vorarlberg)
9. Vienna (Wien)

More information: States of Austria.

Currently, the chancellor is Karl Nehammer The previous chancellor was Alexander Schallenberg (2021). Austria has been a member-state of the United Nations since 1955, the European Union since 1995 and OPEC since 2019.

Music and Arts

Many famous composers were Austrians or born in Austria. There are Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert, Anton Bruckner, Johann Strauss, Sr., Johann Strauss, Jr. and Gustav Mahler. In modern times there were Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern and Alban Berg, who belonged to the Second Viennese School.

Austria has many artists, there are Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka, Egon Schiele or Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Inge Morath or Otto Wagner and scienc.

Food

Famous Austrian dishes are Wiener Schnitzel, Apfelstrudel, Schweinsbraten, Kaiserschmarren, Knödel, Sachertorte and Tafelspitz. But you can also find a lot of local dishes like Kärntner Reindling (a kind of cake), Kärntner Nudeln (also called "Kärntner Kasnudeln", you may write it "...nudln" too), Tiroler Knödl (may be written "...knödel"; ), Tiroler Schlipfkrapfen (another kind of "Kärntner Nudeln"), Salzburger Nockerl (also may be written ..."Nockerln"), Steirisches Wurzelfleisch (..."Wurzlfleisch") or Sterz ("Steirischer Sterz").

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Austria

1. Historic Centre of Salzburg — 1996
2. Schönbrunn Palace — 1996
3. Hallstatt–Dachstein Salzkammergut Cultural Landscape — 1997
4. Semmering Railway — 1998
5. Historic Centre of Graz and Schloss Eggenberg — 1999 (extended in 2010)
6. Wachau Cultural Landscape — 2000
7. Historic Centre of Vienna — 2001
8. Lake Neusiedl — 2001

Gallery

•  
  Schönbrunn palace
•  
  Graz
•  
  Wachau

•  
  Hallstatt
•  
  Salzburg
•  
  Semmering railway
•  
  Schloss Eggenberg
•  
  Vienna
•  
  Neusiedler See

• List of rivers of Austria