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The Republic of Austria (German Republik Österreich) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is a parliamentary democracy. Austria has been a member of the UN since 1955 and the European Union since 1995. It borders Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west.
Republik Österreich
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National motto: none
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Official languages |
German, Slovenian, Croatian, Hungarian
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Capital |
Vienna
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Largest city |
Vienna |
President |
Heinz Fischer
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Chancellor |
Wolfgang Schüssel
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Area
- Total:
- % water: |
Ranked 112th
83,858 km²
1.3%
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Population
- Total:
- Density:
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Ranked 86th
8,150,836 (2000)
97/km²
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GDP (2003)
- Total
- Total
- GDP/capita
- GDP/capita |
$580 billion (16th) (PPP)
$518 billion (13th)
$29,972 (9th) (PPP)
$31,202 (11th)
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Independence |
27 July 1955
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Currency |
Euro (€)¹ = 100 cents
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Time zone
- in summer:
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CET (UTC+1)
CEST (UTC+2)
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National anthem |
Land Der Berge, Land Am Strome |
Internet TLD |
.at
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Calling Code |
+43 |
¹ prior to 2002, Austrian Schilling |
[ |
History
Main article: History of Austria
After being conquered by the Romans, Huns, Lombards, Ostrogoths, Bavarii and Franks, Austria was under the rule of the Babenbergs from the 10th to the 13th century. The Babenbergs were then succeeded by the Habsburgs, whose line continued to govern Austria until the 20th century.
After the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the Empire of Austria was founded, which was transformed in 1867 into the double-monarchy Austria-Hungary. The empire was split into several independent states after the defeat of the Central Powers in World War I, leading to Austria as it is today.
In 1918 Austria became a republic, which lasted until 1934 when the chancellor Engelbert Dollfuß established a dictatorship.
Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938 (the Anschluss). After the defeat of the Nazis, the Allies occupied Austria at the end of World War II until 1955, when the country again became a fully independent republic under the condition that it remained neutral (see also: Austrian State Treaty). However, after the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, Austria became increasingly involved in European affairs, and in 1995, Austria joined the European Union, and the Euro monetary system in 1999.
Origin of name
The German name Österreich can be translated into English as the "eastern realm", which is derived from the Old German Ostarrîchi. The term probably originates in a vernacular translation of the Medieval Latin name for the region: Marchia orientalis, which translates as "eastern border," as it was situated at the eastern edge of the Holy Roman Empire, that was also mirrored in the name Ostmark applied after Anschluss to the Third Reich. Interestingly, the derivation of the Latin name from the original Old German gives rise to the use of "Aust-" for east, rather than south as in Classical Latin.
Politics
Main article: Politics of Austria
Austria has been a federal, parliamentary democracy republic since the Federal Constitution of 1920, which was again reintroduced in 1945 to the nine states of the Federal Republic. The head of state is the Federal President, who is directly elected. The chairman of the Federal Government is the Federal Chancellor, who is appointed by the president and voted into office by the majority of the Nationalrat, the National Council of Austria. The government can be recalled by a vote of no confidence in the National Council.
The Austrian parliament consists of two chambers. The composition of the Nationalrat is determined every four years by a free general election in which every citizen is allowed to vote to fill its 183 seats. A "Four Percent Hurdle" prevents a large splintering of the political landscape in the Nationalrat by awarding seats only to political parties that have received at least four percent of the general vote, or alternatively, have won a direct seat, or Direktmandat, in one of the 43 regional election districts. The Nationalrat is the dominate chamber in the formation of legislation in Austria. However, the upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat has the right of veto (Though a very limited form as the Nationalrat can pass the respective bill a second time cancelling out the Bundesrat altogether). A convention, called the Österreich Konvent [1] http://www.konvent.gv.at/ was convened in June 30, 2003 to decide upon suggestions to reform the constitution.
See also: List of political parties in Austria
Federal States and cities
The nine Austrian states are divided into districts known as Bezirke.
The largest cities in Austria are:
|
Name |
State |
Population |
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Name |
State |
Population |
1 |
Vienna
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Vienna
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1,550,123 |
11 |
Steyr
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Upper Austria
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39,340 |
2 |
Graz
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Steiermark
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226,244 |
12 |
Wiener Neustadt
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Lower Austria
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37,627 |
3 |
Linz
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Upper Austria
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183,504 |
13 |
Feldkirch
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Vorarlberg
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28,607 |
4 |
Salzburg
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Salzburg
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142,662 |
14 |
Bregenz
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Vorarlberg
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26,752 |
5 |
Innsbruck
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Tyrol
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113,392 |
15 |
Leoben
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Steiermark
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25,804 |
6 |
Klagenfurt
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Carinthia
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90,141 |
16 |
Wolfsberg
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Carinthia
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25,301 |
7 |
Villach
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Carinthia
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57,497 |
17 |
Klosterneuburg
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Lower Austria
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24,797 |
8 |
Wels
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Upper Austria
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56.478 |
18 |
Baden bei Wien
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Lower Austria
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24,502 |
9 |
St. Pölten
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Lower Austria
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49,121 |
19 |
Krems
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Lower Austria
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23,713 |
10 |
Dornbirn
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Vorarlberg
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42,301 |
20 |
Traun |
Upper Austria
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23,470 |
Source of population data: Statistics Austria - Census 2001 http://www.statistik.at/blickgem/index.jsp
See also: States of Austria
Administrative divisions
Main article: States of Austria
A federal republic, Austria is divided into nine states, or Bundesländer (singular Bundesland).
Geography
Main article: Geography of Austria
Around 60 percent of Austria is mountainus due to its location in the Central Eastern Alps, which can be subdivided into the Tirolean Alps, the High and Low Tauern , Northern Limestone Alps, Southern Limestone Alps, and the Wienerwald.
The Five Regions of Austria
- Austrian granite plateau, located in the central mountainous area of the Bohemian Mass (8500 km², 10.1% of the total area)
- Austrian portion of foothills of the the Alps and the Carpathians (9500 km², 12.3%)
- Austrian portion of the Alps (52600 km², 62.8%)
- Austrian portion of the Viennese basin (3700 km², 4.4%)
- Foothills in the east, Austrian area around the periphery of the Pannoni low country . (9500 km², 12.3%)
Out of the total area of Austria (84,000 km²) only about a quarter can be considered low lying, and only 32 percent of the country is below 500 metres.
The five highest mountains in Austria are:
Economy
Main article: Economy of Austria
Austria, with its well-developed market economy and high standard of living, is closely tied to other European Union economies, especially Germany's. Membership in the EU has drawn an influx of foreign investors attracted by Austria's access to the single European market and proximity to EU aspirant economies. Slow growth in Germany and elsewhere in the world affected Austria, slowing its growth to 1.2% in 2001. To meet increased competition from both EU and Central European countries, Austria will need to emphasize knowledge-based sectors of the economy, continue to deregulate the service sector, and lower its tax burden.
The town of Kaprun in the state of Salzburg
See also: List of Austrian companies
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Austria
Austrians, by far the country's largest ethnic group, form between 85% and 89% of Austria's population. Around ten percent of Austria's people are of non-Austrian descent, many from surrounding countries, especially from the former East Bloc nations. The Austrian federal states of Carinthia and Styria are home to a significant (indigenous) Slovenian minority with around 18,000 members. So-called guest workers (Gastarbeiter) and their descendants also form an important minority group in Austria.
The official language, German, is spoken by almost all residents of the country. Austria's mountainous terrain lead to the development of many distinct German dialects. All of the dialects in the country, however, belong to Austro-Bavarian groups of German dialects, with the exception of the dialect spoken in its west-most Bundesland, Vorarlberg, which belongs to the group of Alemannic dialects.
There is also a distinct grammatical standard for Austrian German with a few differences to the German spoken in Germany.
Religion
73.6% of the native population identify themselves as Roman Catholic, while 4.7% consider themselves Protestant. About 12% of the population does not belong to any church or religious community. Of the remaining people, about 180,000 are members of the Eastern Orthodox Church, about 7,300 are Jewish, around 300,000 are members of different Muslim religious communities.
Well-known Austrians
Main article: List of Austrians
Austria has been the birthplace for several famous composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Anton Bruckner, Johann Strauss, Sr., Johann Strauss, Jr. and Gustav Mahler; it is also the home of members of the Second Viennese School such as Arnold Schoenberg, Anton Webern, and Alban Berg.
Adolf Hitler was born in Braunau, Austria.
Other famous Austrians include physicists Ludwig Boltzmann, Erwin Schrödinger, Wolfgang Pauli and Christian Doppler (Doppler effect), as well as philosophers Ludwig Wittgenstein or Karl Popper, mathematician Kurt Gödel, psychoanalysts Sigmund Freud or Alfred Adler, economists Joseph Schumpeter or Friedrich Hayek, poet Peter Rosegger, painter Gustav Klimt, and engineer Ferdinand Porsche. Famous contemporary playwrights and novelists are Elfriede Jelinek and Peter Handke.
Being situated in the Alps, Austria has been the homeland of many great alpine skiers, such as Toni Sailer, Hermann Maier, Annemarie Moser-Pröll and Anita Wachter.
Also the current governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is Austrian.
Also the inventor and owner of the famous soft-drink Red Bull, Dietrich Mateschitz was born in Austria.
Culture
Miscellaneous topics
Much of the material in these articles comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website.
External links
- Website of the Federal Chancellery of Austria (German, English) http://www.bundeskanzleramt.at/
- "Alltag raus, Österreich rein" http://www.austria-tourism.at/ Official homepage of the Austrian National Tourist Office (German, English and other languages)
- Aeiou - Austrian cultural information system of the Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Culture http://www.aeiou.at/ Hyperwave-based cultural information system, a bit like a moderated culture wiki.
- Library of Congress Portals on the World - Austria http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/european/austria/au.html
- CIA's Factbook on Austria http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/au.html
- The Symbols of Austria http://peter-diem.at/default_e.htm
- Austria travel guide http://www.tiscover.at/
- Austria Pictures http://austria.europe-countries.com
- ORF - Austria Radio stations (live feed) http://radio.orf.at/
- 0RF.at - 0€stria nonopoly http://0rf.at/
- Country Studies - Austria http://www.photoglobe.info/ebooks/austria/
Last updated: 02-09-2005 18:23:52
Last updated: 05-06-2005 01:27:49