Republik Österreich
Republic of Austria
Flag
Coat of arms
Motto
none
Anthem
Land der Berge, Land am Strome (German)
Land of Mountains, Land on the River
Location of Austria (orange)
– on the European continent (camel & white)
– in the European Union (camel)
Capital
(and largest city)
Official languages
Recognised
regional languages
Government
President
-
Chancellor
[Legend]
Vienna
48°12′N, 16°21′E
German
Slovene, Croatian,
Hungarian1
Parliamentary republic
Heinz Fischer
Alfred Gusenbauer
Independence
- Austrian State Treaty in
force
July 27, 1955
- Declaration
of Neutrality
October 26, 1955
January 1, 1995
Accession to EU
Area
83,871 km² (115th)
Total
32,378 sq mi
Water (%)
1.3
Population
-
2006 estimate
8,292,322 (92nd)
2001 census
8,032,926
Density
99 /km² (99th)
256 /sq mi
Austria, officially the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. 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.
Its capital city is Vienna.
The origins of modern Austria date back to the ninth century, when the countryside of upper and
lower Austria became increasingly populated. The name "Ostarrichi" is first documented in an
official document from 996. Since then this word has developed into the German word
Österreich.
Austria is a largely mountainous country due to its location in the Alps. The Central Eastern
Alps, Northern Limestone Alps and Southern Limestone Alps are all partly in Austria. Of the
total area of Austria (84 000 km² or 32,000 sq. mi), only about a quarter can be considered low
lying, and only 32% of the country is below 500 metres (1,640 ft). The high mountainous Alps in
the west of Austria flatten somewhat into low lands and plains in the east of the country.
Map of Austria
Austria may be divided into five different areas. The biggest area are the Austrian Alps, which
constitute 62% of Austria's total area. The Austrian foothills at the base of the Alps and the
Carpathians account for around 12% of its area. The foothills in the east and areas surrounding
the periphery of the Pannoni low country amount to about 12% of the total landmass. The second
greater mountain area (much lower than the Alps) is situated in the north. Known as the Austrian
granite plateau, it is located in the central area of the Bohemian Mass, and accounts for 10% of
Austria. The Austrian portion of the Viennese basin comprises the remaining 4%.
Climate
The greater part of Austria lies in the cool/temperate climate zone in which humid westerly
winds predominate. With over half of the country dominated by the Alps the alpine climate is the
predominant one. In the East, in the Pannonian Plain and along the Danube valley, the climate
shows continental features with less rain than the alpine areas.
The six highest mountains in Austria are:
Name
Height (m)
Height (ft)
Großglockner
3,797
12,457
Wildspitze
3,768
12,362
Weißkugel
3,739
12,267
Großvenediger
3,674
12,054
Similaun
3,606
11,831
Großes Wiesbachhorn
3,571
11,715
Range
Hohe Tauern
Ötztal Alps
Ötztal Alps
Hohe Tauern
Ötztal Alps
Hohe Tauern
Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy consisting of nine federal states
State
(Bundesland)
Capital
Population
[2]
Rank
1 Burgenland
Eisenstadt
280,350 9
2
Carinthia
(Kärnten)
Klagenfurt
560,753 6
3
Lower Austria
St. Pölten
(Niederösterreich)
1,588,545 2
4
Upper Austria
(Oberösterreich)
1,405,986 3
5 Salzburg
6
Styria
(Steiermark)
Linz
Salzburg
Graz
529,085 7
1,203,986 4
7 Tyrol (Tirol)
Innsbruck
698,472 5
8 Vorarlberg
Bregenz
364,611 8
9 Vienna (Wien)
Vienna
(Wien)
1,660,534 1
and is one of six European countries that have declared permanent neutrality and one of the few
countries that includes the concept of everlasting neutrality in their constitution. Austria has been
a member of the United Nations since 1955 and joined the European Union in 1995.
Origin and history of the name "Austria"
The German name Österreich can be translated into English as the "eastern empire" or "eastern
realm", which is derived from the Old German Ostarrîchi. The name was Latinized as "Austria",
although it has no etymological connection with the name of Australia (which derives from Latin
Australis meaning The South). Reich can also mean "empire", and this connotation is the one that
is understood in the context of the Austrian/Austro-Hungarian Empire, Holy Roman Empire,
although not in the context of the modern Republic of Österreich. The term probably originates
in a vernacular translation of the Medieval Latin name for the region: Marchia orientalis, which
translates as "eastern marches" or "eastern borderland", as it was situated at the eastern edge of
the Holy Roman Empire, that was also mirrored in the name Ostmark, for a short period applied
after Anschluss to Germany.
The current official designation is the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich). It was
originally known after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1918 as the Republic of
German Austria (Republik Deutschösterreich), but the state was forced to change its name to
"Republic of Austria" in 1919 peace Treaty of Saint-Germain. The name was changed again
during the Austro-fascist regime (1934–1938), into Federal State of Austria (Bundesstaat
Österreich), but restored after regaining independence and the birth of the Second Austrian
Republic (1955–present).
During the monarchy, Austria was known as the Austrian Empire (Kaisertum Österreich),
however no official designation existed since the empire was strongly multiethnic. After the
Ausgleich with Hungary in 1867, the empire became known as Austria-Hungary in reflection
of the dual monarchy character. Some historians argue that the term The Kingdoms and Lands
Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of St.
Stephen
History
Settled in prehistoric times, the central European land that is now Austria was overrun in preRoman times by various tribes, including the Celts. After the fall of the Roman Empire, of which
most of Austria was part (all parts south of the Danube), the area was invaded by Bavarians,
Slavs and Avars. Charlemagne conquered the area in 788 and encouraged colonization and
Christianity. As part of Eastern Francia, the core areas that now encompass Austria were
bequeathed to the house of Babenberg. The area was known as the marchia orientalis and was
given to Leopold of Babenberg in 976.
The first record showing the name Austria is from 996 where it is written as Ostarrîchi, referring
to the territory of the Babenberg March. The term Ostmark is not historically ascertained and
appears to be a translation of marchia orientalis that came up only much later.
The following centuries were characterized first by the settlement of the country. In 1156 the
Privilegium Minus elevated Austria to the status of a duchy. In 1192, the Babenbergs also
acquired the Duchy of Styria.
With the death of Frederick II in 1246, the line of the Babenbergers went extinct. Otakar II of
Bohemia effectively controlled the duchies of Austria, Styria and Carinthia after that. His reign
came to an end with his defeat at Dürnkrut at the hand of Rudolf of Habsburg in 1278.
Thereafter, until World War I, Austria's history was largely that of its ruling house, the
Habsburgs.
Rise of Austria
In the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, the Habsburgs began to accumulate other provinces in
the vicinity of the Duchy of Austria. In 1438, Duke Albert V of Austria was chosen as the
successor to his father-in-law, Emperor Sigismund. Although Albert himself only reigned for a
year, from then on, every emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was a Habsburg, with only one
exception.
The Habsburgs began also to accumulate lands far from the Hereditary Lands. In 1477, the
Archduke Maximilian, only son of Emperor Frederick III, married the heiress of Burgundy, thus
acquiring most of the Low Countries for the family. His son Philip the Fair married the heiress of
Castile and Aragon, and thus acquired Spain and its Italian, African, and New World appendages
for the Habsburgs.
In 1526, following the Battle of Mohács, Austria expanded its territories, bringing Bohemia and
the part of Hungary not occupied by the Ottomans under its rule. Habsburg expansion into
Hungary led to frequent conflicts with the Turks, particularly evident in the so-called Long War
of 1593 to 1606.
Austria as a world power
The Congress of Vienna by Jean-Baptiste Isabey, 1819.
See also: Congress of Vienna, Ausgleich, and Austria-Hungary
The long reign of Leopold I (1657-1705) saw the culmination of the Austrian conflict with the
Turks. Following the successful defense of Vienna in 1683, a series of campaigns resulted in the
return of all of Hungary to Austrian control by the Treaty of Carlowitz in 1699.
The latter part of the reign of Emperor Charles VI (1711-1740) saw Austria relinquish many of
these fairly impressive gains, largely due to Charles's apprehensions at the imminent extinction
of the House of Habsburg. Charles was willing to offer concrete advantages in territory and
authority in exchange for other powers' worthless recognitions of the Pragmatic Sanction that
made his daughter Maria Theresa his heir.
Austria became engaged in the war with Revolutionary France, which lasted until 1797 and at
the beginning proved unsuccessful for Austria. Defeats against Napoleon meant the end of the
old Holy Roman Empire in 1806. Just two years before the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire
in 1806, in 1804 the Empire of Austria was founded, which was transformed in 1867 into the
dual-monarchy Austria-Hungary. However, in 1814 Austria was part of the Allied forces
invading France and conquering it. Following the Napoleon wars Austria emerged from the
Congress of Vienna in 1815 as one of three of the continent's dominant powers (together with
Russia and Prussia).
The Ausgleich of 1867 provided for a dual sovereignty, the empire of Austria and the kingdom
of Hungary, under Franz Joseph I, who ruled until his death on 21 November 1916. The
Austrian-Hungarian minority rule of this immensely diverse empire, which included German,
Czech, Romanian, Serbian, and many other lands, became increasingly difficult in an age of
emerging nationalist movements.
World War I and aftermath
When Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist in Sarajevo in 1914,
World War I, as well as the destruction of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, began. During World
War I, Austria-Hungary was one of the Central powers with Germany, Bulgaria, and Turkey, and
the conflict left the country in political chaos and economic ruin. Austria, shorn of Hungary, was
proclaimed a republic in 1918. The empire was split into several independent states in after the
defeat of the Central Powers in World War I, with most of the German-speaking parts becoming
a republic. (See Treaty of Saint-Germain.)
Between 1918 and 1919 it was officially known as the Republic of German Austria (Republik
Deutschösterreich). After the Entente powers forbade German Austria to unite with Germany,
they also forbade the name, and then it was changed to simply Republic of Austria.
The monarchy was dissolved in 1919. A parliamentary democracy was set up by the constitution
of 10 November 1920.
Austrofascism and the Third Reich
German troops march into Austria on 12 March 1938.
This democratic republic, the First Austrian Republic, lasted until 1933 when the chancellor
Engelbert Dollfuß established an autocratic regime oriented towards Italian fascism
(Austrofascism) to check the power of Nazis advocating union with Germany. Dollfuß was
assassinated by the Nazis on 25 July 1934. Kurt Schuschnigg, his successor, struggled to keep
Austria independent, but on 12 March 1938, German troops occupied the country, and Hitler
proclaimed its Anschluss with Germany, annexing it to the Third Reich.
After World War II, the United States and Britain declared the Austrians a “liberated” people,
but the Soviets prolonged the occupation. Finally Austria concluded a state treaty with the Soviet
Union and the other occupying powers and regained its independence on 15 May 1955. The
second Austrian republic, established 19 December 1945, on the basis of the 1920 constitution
(amended in 1929), was declared by the federal parliament to be permanently neutral.
Recent history
The political system of the Second Republic came to be characterized by the system of Proporz,
meaning that posts of some political importance were split evenly between members of the
Social Democrats and People's Party. Interest group representations with mandatory membership
(e.g. for workers, businesspeople, farmers etc.) grew to considerable importance and were
usually consulted in the legislative process, so that hardly any legislation was passed that did not
reflect widespread consensus. The Proporz and consensus systems largely held even during the
years between 1966 and 1983, when there were non-coalition governments.
Austria became a member of the European Union in 1995, but it retained its strict constitutional
neutrality and forbade the stationing of foreign troops on its soil.
Political system
The Parliament of Austria is located in Vienna, the nation's largest city and capital. Austria
became a federal, parliamentarian, democratic republic through the Federal Constitution of 1920.
It was 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. The government can be removed from
office by either a presidential decree or by vote of no confidence in the lower chamber of
parliament, the Nationalrat.
The Parliament of Austria 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 obtained at least
a four percent threshold 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 dominant
chamber in the formation of legislation in Austria. However, the upper house of parliament, the
Bundesrat has a limited right of veto (the Nationalrat can — in most cases — pass the respective
bill a second time bypassing the Bundesrat altogether). A convention, called the Österreich–
Konvent[1] was convened in June 30, 2003 to decide upon suggestions to reform the constitution,
but has failed to produce a proposal that would receive the two thirds of votes in the Nationalrat
necessary for constitutional amendments and/or reform. However, some important parts of the
final report were generally agreed upon and are still expected to be implemented.
Recent political developments
In February 2000 the conservative People's Party formed a coalition with the far-right Freedom
Party, headed by Jörg Haider. The European Union condemned Austria's new coalition, froze
diplomatic contacts, which were commonly referred to "sanctions", although they were more or
less diplomatic unfriendliness. Given the controversy, Haider chose not to join the government,
but he continued to wield influence from the sidelines.
In September 2002, the coalition between the People's Party and the Freedom Party dissolved
after a shake-up in the Freedom Party. In November 2002, the People's Party made large gains in
general elections. After failed coalition talks with other parties, the People's Party again formed a
government with the Freedom Party in February 2003.
After general elections held in October 2006, the Social Democrats emerged as the largest party,
whereas the People's Party lost about 8% in votes. Political realities prohibited any of the two
major parties from forming a coalition with smaller parties. In January 2007 the People's Party
and Social Democrats formed a Grand Coalition with the social democrat Alfred Gusenbauer as
Chancellor.
Foreign policy
Further information: Foreign relations of Austria
The 1955 Austrian State Treaty ended the occupation of Austria following World War II and
recognized Austria as an independent and sovereign state. In October 1955, the Federal
Assembly passed a constitutional law in which "Austria declares of her own free will her
perpetual neutrality." The second section of this law stated that "in all future times Austria will
not join any military alliances and will not permit the establishment of any foreign military bases
on her territory." Since then, Austria shaped its foreign policy on the basis of neutrality.
Austria began to reassess its definition of neutrality following the fall of the Soviet Union,
granting overflight rights for the UN-sanctioned action against Iraq in 1991, and, since 1995,
contemplating participation in the EU's evolving security structure. Also in 1995, it joined the
Partnership for Peace, and subsequently participated in peacekeeping missions in Bosnia.
Austria attaches great importance to participation in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development and other international economic organizations, and it has played an active
role in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Energy politics
In 1972, the country began constructon of a nuclear-powered electricity-generation station at
Zwentendorf on the River Danube, following a unanimous vote in parliament. However, in 1978,
a referendum voted approximately 50.5% against nuclear power, 49.5% for, and parliament
subsequently unanimously passed a law forbidding the use of nuclear power to generate
electricity.
Austria currently produces more than half of its electricity by hydropower. Together with other
renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and biomass powerplants, the electricity supply
from renewable energy amounts to nearly 80% of total use in Austria. The rest is produced by
gas and oil powerplants.
Military
The main branches of the Austrian Army ("Bundesheer") are Land Forces (Kommando
Landstreitkräfte; KdoLaSK), Air Forces (Kommando Luftstreitkräfte; KdoLuSK), Mission
Support (Kommando Einsatzunterstützung; KdoEU), International Missions (Kommando
Internationale Einsätze; KdoIE), Command Support (Kommando Führungsunterstützung;
KdoFüU) and Special Forces (Kommando Spezialeinsatzkräfte; KdoSEK). In 2004, Austria
expensed about 0.9% of its GDP for defense. The Army currently has about 45,000 soldiers, of
which about half are conscripts. In peacetime the Bundesheer is commanded by the Minister of
Defense, currently Norbert Darabos; in times of war the Austrian President (currently Heinz
Fischer) becomes head of the Army.
With the end of the Cold War, the Austrian military has increasingly assisted the border police in
controlling the influx of illegal immigrants through Austrian borders. Austria has been engaged
in UN peacekeeping missions despite its neutrality. Currently larger contigents of Austrian
forces are deployed in Kosovo and the Golan heights.
The economy of the Republic of Austria may be characterised as a social market economy
similar in structure with Germany's. The country has a very high standard of living in which the
government has played an important role in its citizen's life ever since 1945. Austria is the 4th
richest country within the European Union having a GDP (PPP) per capita of approximately
33,000 USD, with Luxembourg, Ireland and Denmark leading the list. Vienna is ranked the 6th
richest NUTS-2 region within Europe (see Economy of Europe) with 38,000 USD GDP per
capita. Growth has been steady but slow in the years 2002-2005 pendling between 1 and 2.5 %.
Because of its position in central Europe it has gained significance as a gateway to the new EU
memberstates.
Ever since the end of the World War II Austria has achieved sustained economic growth. In the
souring 1950s the rebuilding efforts for Austria lead to an average annual growth rate of more
than five percent in real terms and averaged about four point five percent through most of the
1960s. Following moderate real GDP growth of one point seven percent, two percent and one
point two, respectively, in 1995, 1996, and 1997, the economy rebounded and with real GDP
expansion of two point nine percent in 1998 and two point two in 1999.
Austria became a member of the EU on January 1, 1995. Membership brought economic benefits
and challenges and has drawn an influx of foreign investors attracted by Austria's access to the
single European market.Austria also has made progress in generally increasing its international
competitiveness. As a member of the economic and monetary union of the european union
(EMU), Austria's economy is closely integrated with other EU member countries, especially with
Germany. On January 1, 1999, Austria introduced the new Euro currency for accounting
purposes. In January 2002, Europe notes and coins were introduced and substitute for the
Austria/Austrian Schilling.
Many of the country's largest firms were nationalized in the early post-war period to protect them
from Soviet takeover as war reparations. For many years, the government and its state-owned
industries conglomerate played a very important role in the Austrian economy. However, starting
in the early 1990s, the group was broken apart, state-owned firms started to operate largely as
private businesses, and a great number of these firms were wholly or partially privatized.
Although the government's privatization work in past years has been very successful, it still
operates some firms, state monopolies, utilities, and services. The new government has presented
an ambitious privatization program, which, if implemented, will considerably reduce government
participation in the economy. Austria enjoys well-developed industry, banking, transportation,
services, and commercial facilities.
Austria has a strong labour movement. The Austrian Trade Union Federation (ÖGB) comprises
constituent unions with a total membership of about 1.5 million--more than half the country's
wage and salary earners. Since 1945, the ÖGB has pursued a moderate, consensus-oriented wage
policy, cooperating with industry, agriculture, and the government on a broad range of social and
economic issues in what is known as Austria's "social partnership." The ÖGB has often opposed
the Schüssel government's program for budget consolidation, social reform, and improving the
business climate, and indications are rising that Austria's peaceful social climate could become
more confrontational.
[edit] Agriculture, industry and services
Kitzbühel, one of Austria's famous winter tourist cities
Austrian farms, like those of other west European mountainous countries, are small and
fragmented, and production is relatively expensive. Since Austria's becoming a member of the
EU in 1995, the Austrian agricultural sector has been undergoing substantial reform under the
EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Although Austrian farmers provide about 80% of
domestic food requirements, the agricultural contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) has
declined since 1950 to less than 3%.
Although some industries are global competitors, such as several iron and steel works, chemical
plants and oil corporations that are large industrial enterprises employing thousands of people,
most industrial and commercial enterprises in Austria are relatively small on an international
scale.
Most important for Austria is the service sector generating the vast majority of Austria's GDP.
Vienna has grown to finance and consulting metropole and has established itself as the door to
the East within the last decades. Viennese law firms and banks are among the leading
corporations in business with the new EU memberstates. Very important for Austria's economy
is tourism, both winter and summer tourism; It's the 10th most visited country in the world with
over 18,2 million tourists in 2001. Its dependency on German guests has made this sector of
Austrian economy very dependent on German economy, however recent developments have
brought a change, especially since winter ski resorts such as Arlberg or Kitzbühel are now more
and more frequented by Eastern Europeans, Russians and Americans.
Education
Responsibility for educational oversight in Austria lies partly at the Austrian states
(Bundesländer), partly with the federal government. Optional kindergarten education is provided
for all children between ages four and six years old. School attendance is compulsory for nine
years, usually to the age of fifteen.
Primary education lasts for four years. Alongside Germany, secondary education includes two
main types of schools based on a pupil's ability as determined by grades from the primary
school: the Gymnasium for the more gifted children which normally leads to the Matura which is
a requirement for access to universities and the Hauptschule which prepares pupils for vocational
education.
Austria's educational system principally dates back to the nineteenth century. Due to lack of
funding and a number of problems that have been neglected to address, recent PISA student
assessments demonstrated weaknesses in all subjects when compared to other OECD countries.
Especially pupils who have attended Hauptschulen yielded poor test results.
The Austrian university system had been open to any student who passed the Matura
examination until recently. A 2006 bill allowed the introduction of entrance exams for studies
such as Medicine. Currently all students are charged a fee of about €370 per semester for all
university studies. A recent OECD report critizised the Austrian education system for the low
number of students attending universities and the overall low number of academics compared to
other OECD countries. With 19% academics Austria ranked at the bottom of all OECD countries
together with Turkey.
Demographics
A painting by Canaletto of Vienna during the first half of the eighteenth century.
Austria's population was estimated in October, 2006 as 8,292,322 persons. The population of the
capital, Vienna, exceeds 1.6 million (2.2 million with suburbs), representing about a quarter of
the country's population, and is said to constitute a "melting pot" of citizens mainly from Central
and Eastern Europe but also the rest of the world. In contrast to the capital, other cities do not
exceed 1 million inhabitants: the second largest city Graz is home to 250,099 people, followed
by Linz with 188,968, Salzburg with 150,000, and Innsbruck with 117,346. All other cities have
fewer than 100,000 inhabitants.
German-speaking Austrians, by far the country's largest group, form roughly 90% of Austria's
population. The Austrian federal states of Carinthia and Styria are home to a significant
(indigenous) Slovenian minority with around 14,000 members (Austrian census; unofficial
numbers of Slovene groups speak of about 40,000). Around 20,000 Hungarians and 30,000
Croatians live in the east-most Bundesland, Burgenland (formerly part of the Hungarian half of
Austria-Hungary). The remaining number of Austria's people are of non-Austrian descent, many
from surrounding countries, especially from the former East Bloc nations. So-called guest
workers (Gastarbeiter) and their descendants, as well as refugees from Yugoslav wars and other
conflicts, also form an important minority group in Austria.
According to the 2001 census, the mother tongue of the population by prevalence, is German
(88.6%) followed by Turkish (2.3%), Serbian (2.2%), Croatian (1.6%), Hungarian (0.5%) and
Bosnian (0.4%).
The official language, German, is spoken by almost all residents of the country. Austria's
mountainous terrain led 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.
As of 2006, some of the Austrian states introduced standardised tests for new citizens, to assure
their language and cultural knowledge and accordingly their ability to integrate into the Austrian
society.[4]
Politics concerning ethnic groups (Volksgruppenpolitik)
An estimated 25,000 to 40,000 Slovenians in the Austrian state of Carinthia (the Carinthian
Slovenes) as well as Croatians and Hungarians in Burgenland were recognized as a minority and
have enjoyed special rights following the Austrian State Treaty (Staatsvertrag) of 1955. The
Slovenians in the Austrian state of Styria (estimated at a number between 1,600 and 5,000) are
not recognized as a minority and do not enjoy special rights, although the State Treaty of July 27,
1955 states otherwise.
The right for bilingual topographic signs for the regions where Slovene- and Croat-Austrians live
alongside the Germanic population (as required by the 1955 State Treaty) is still to be fully
implemented. Many Carinthians are afraid of Slovenian territorial claims, pointing to the fact
that Yugoslav troops entered the state after each of the two World Wars and considering that
some official Slovenian atlases show parts of Carinthia as Slovenian cultural territory. The
current governor, Jörg Haider, has made this fact a matter of public argument in autumn 2005 by
refusing to increase the number of bilingual topographic signs in Carinthia. A poll by the
Kärntner Humaninstitut conducted in January 2006 states that 65% of Carinthians are not in
favour of an increase of bilingual topographic signs, since the original requirements set by the
State Treaty of 1955 have already been fulfilled according to their point of view. Another
interesting phenomenon is the so called "Windischen-Theorie"[5] stating that the Slovenians can
be split in two groups: actual Slovenians and Windische (a traditional German name for Slavs),
based on differences in language between Austrian Slovenians, who were taught Slovenian
standard language in school and those Slovenians who spoke their local Slovenian dialect but
went to German schools. The term Windische was applied to the latter group as a means of
distinction. This theory was never generally accepted and fell out of use some decades ago.
Religion
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Austrian Habsburg ruler and one of the major figures of the
Counter-Reformation.
While northern and central Germany was the origin of the Reformation, Austria (and Bavaria)
was the heart of the Counter-Reformation in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when the
absolute monarchy of Habsburg imposed a strict regime to maintain Catholicism's power and
influence among Austrians. The Habsburgs viewed themselves as the vanguard of Roman
Catholicism and all other confessions and religions were oppressed. In 1781, Emperor Joseph II
issued a Patent of Tolerance that allowed other Christian confessions a limited freedom of
worship. Religious freedom was declared a constitutional right in the Austro-Hungarian
Ausgleich in 1867 thus paying tribute to the fact that the monarchy was home of numerous
religions beside Roman Catholicism such as Greek, Serbian, Romanian, Russian, and Bulgarian
Orthodox Christians, Jews, Muslims (Austria neighboured the Ottoman empire for centuries),
Mormons and both Calvinist and Lutheran Protestants.
Austria continued to remain largely influenced by Catholicism. After 1918, First Republic
Catholic leaders such as Theodor Innitzer and Ignaz Seipel took leading positions within or close
to the Austrian Government and increased their influence during the time of the Austrofascism—
Catholicism was treated much like a state religion by dictators Engelbert Dollfuss and Kurt
Schuschnigg. Although Catholic leaders welcomed the Germans in 1938 during the Anschluss of
Austria into Germany, Austrian Catholicism stopped its support of Nazism later on and many
former religious public figures became involved with the resistance during the Third Reich.
After 1945 a stricter secularism was imposed in Austria, and religious influence on politics
declined.
As of the end of the twentieth century, about 73% of Austria's population were registered as
Roman Catholic, while about 5% considered themselves Protestants. Both these numbers have
been on the decline for decades, especially Roman Catholicism, which has suffered an increasing
number of seceders from the church. Austrian Catholics are obliged to pay a mandatory tax
(calculated by income—about 1%) to the Austrian Roman Catholic Church, which might act as
an incentive to leave the church.
About 12% of the population declare that they do not belong to any church or religious
community. Of the remaining people, about 180,000 are members of the Eastern Orthodox
Church and about 7,300 are Jewish. It has to be noted that the Austrian Jewish Community of
1938 – Vienna alone counted more than 200,000 - was reduced to solely 4,000 to 5,000 after the
Second World War. The influx of Eastern Europeans, especially from the former Yugoslav
nations, Albania and particularly from Turkey largely contributed to a substantial Muslim
minority in Austria—around 300,000 are registered as members of various Muslim communities.
The numbers of people adhering to Islam has increased largely during the last years and is
expected to grow in the future. Buddhism, which was legally recognized as a religion in Austria
in 1983, enjoys widespread acceptance and has a following of 20,000 (10,402 at the 2001
census).
A 2005 survey among 8,000 people in various European countries showed that Austria is among
those nations whose populations maintain the strongest belief in God. 84% of all Austrians state
a belief in God, with only the people of Poland (97%), Romania (91%), Portugal (90%) and
Russia (87%) yielding higher numbers. This is a much larger figure than the European average
of 71%, or that of Germany (67%).[6]
Culture
Music
Though Austria is a small country, its history as a European power and its cultural environment
have generated a broad contribution to various forms of art, most notably among them to music.
Austria has been the birthplace of many famous composers such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Joseph Haydn, Franz Schubert, Anton Bruckner, Johann Strauss, Sr., Johann Strauss, Jr. or
Gustav Mahler as well as members of the Second Viennese School such as Arnold Schoenberg,
Anton Webern or Alban Berg.
Especially Vienna has long been an important center of musical innovation. Eighteenth and
nineteenth century composers were drawn to the city due to the patronage of the Habsburgs, and
made Vienna the European capital of classical music. During the Baroque period, Slavic and
Hungarian folk forms influenced Austrian music. Vienna's status began its rise as a cultural
center in the early 1500s, and was focused around instruments including the lute. Ludwig van
Beethoven spent the better part of his life in Vienna.
Art and architecture
Among Austrian artists and architects one can find painters Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka,
Egon Schiele or Friedensreich Hundertwasser, photographer Inge Morath or architect Otto
Wagner.
Science
Austria was the cradle of numerous scientists with international reputations. Among them are
Ludwig Boltzmann (Ludwig Eduard Boltzmann (February 20, 1844 – September 5, 1906) was
an Austrian physicist famous for his founding contributions in the fields of statistical mechanics
and statistical thermodynamics. He was one of the most important advocates for atomic theory
when that scientific model was still highly controversial), Ernst Mach (physicist and
philosopher), Victor Franz Hess (physicist) Christian Doppler, prominent scientists in the
nineteenth century. In the twentieth century, contributions by Lise Meitner, Erwin Schrödinger
and Wolfgang Pauli to nuclear research and quantum mechanics were key to these areas'
development during the 1920s and 1930s. A present-day quantum physicist is Anton Zeilinger,
noted as the first scientist to demonstrate quantum teleportation.
In addition to physicists, Austria was the birthplace of two of the greatest philosophers of the
twentieth century, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Karl Popper. In addition to them biologists Gregor
Mendel and Konrad Lorenz as well as mathematician Kurt Gödel and engineers such as
Ferdinand Porsche and Siegfried Marcus were Austrians.
A focus of Austrian science has always been medicine and psychology, starting in medieval
times with Paracelsus. Austria was home to psychologists Sigmund Freud, Alfred Adler, Paul
Watzlawick and Hans Asperger and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl.
The Austrian School, which is prominent as one of the main competitive directions for economic
theory is related to Austrian economists Joseph Schumpeter, Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk, Ludwig
von Mises, and Friedrich Hayek.
Literature
Complementing its status as a land of artists and scientists, Austria has always been a country of
poets, writers and novelists. It was the home of novelists Arthur Schnitzler, Stefan Zweig,
Thomas Bernhard or Robert Musil, of poets Georg Trakl, Franz Werfel, Franz Grillparzer,
Rainer Maria Rilke or Adalbert Stifter and writer Karl Kraus.
Famous contemporary playwrights and novelists are Nobel prize winner Elfriede Jelinek and
writer Peter Handke.
Cuisine
Austria's cuisine, often incorrectly equated with Viennese cuisine, is derived from the cuisine of
the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In addition to native regional traditions it has been influenced
above all by Hungarian, Czech, Jewish, Italian and Bavarian cuisines, from which both dishes
and methods of food preparation have often been borrowed. The Austrian Cuisine is therefore
one of the most multi and transcultural ones in Europe. Goulash is one example of this(Goulash
is a spicy dish, originally from Hungary, usually made of beef, onions, red peppers, and paprika
powder).
Typical Austrian dishes include Wiener Schnitzel, Kaiserschmarrn, Knödel, Sachertorte and the
imperial favourite Tafelspitz. Less well-known are the Cheese Danish and Salzburger
Nockerln[7].
Sports
The most popular sport in Austria is alpine skiing and Austria shows constant dominance in the
Nations-Cup. Similar sports such as snowboarding or ski-jumping are also widely popular. The
most popular team sport in Austria is football. However, Austria rarely has international success
in this discipline, though the 2008 UEFA European Football Championship is conjointly being
held with Switzerland. Besides football, Austria also has professional national leagues for most
major team sports including ice hockey, and basketball.
Tourism
Visits to Austria mostly include trips to Vienna with its Cathedral, its "Heurigenschenken" (wine
pubs) and romantic Waltz music flair. Worth a visit are Salzburg, birthplace of Mozart,
Innsbruck, capital of Tyrol surrounded by the Alps, and the Danube valley with its vineyards, for
example the Wachau or Dunkelsteinerwald, which are between Melk and Krems. In the western
part of the country the province Vorarlberg reaches the Lake Constance, in the eastern part
Neusiedler See.
Of great touristic importance are the Austrian skiing, hiking and mountaineering resorts in the
Alps as well as family-friendly recreation areas (e.g. the Witches's Water in Tyrol). The same
applies to the numerous Austrian lakes (e.g. Wolfgangsee and other lakes in the Salzkammergut
east of Salzburg or Wörthersee in Carinthia).
Museums
Burgenland
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Uhrenstube Aschau
Mechanical clocks from five centuries (in German)
Österreichisches Jüdisches Museum Eisenstadt
Jewish history and art (in Germ an and English)
Museum für Volkskunde - Ethnographisches Museum Schloss Kittsee
East European ethnography (in German)
Museum Schloss Lackenbac h
Man and nature (in German)
Dorfmuseum Mönchhof
Local history and rural live (in German)
Carinthia
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Gailtaler Heimatmuseum Schloss Mödern dorf bei Hermagor
Folk lore and folk culture in the Carnic region / Carinthia (in German and Italian)
Bergbaumuseum Klagenfurt
Mining museum, mineralogy, palaeontology (in German)
Landesmuseum für Kärnten, Klagenfurt
Regional museum for nature, history and culture of the province Carinthia,
including two open -air Roman museums and a botanical garden (in German)
Museum Moderner Kunst Kärnten, Klagenfurt
Modern and contemporary art
Minimundus, Klagenfurt
Models of famous buildings (open air) (in German and English)
Robert-Musil-Literatur-Museum, Klagenfurt
Austrian literature (in German)
Landwirtschaftsmuseum Schloss Ehrental, Klagenfurt
Rural life in Carinthia (in German)
Museum 1915-18 Kötschach-Mauthen
World War I memorial (in German and Italian)
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Stiftsmuseum Millstatt
Monastery, religious art and culture (in German)
Benediktinerstift St. Paul im Lavanttal
Religious art and treasures (in German)
Museum für mittelalterliche Rechts geschichte, Seeboden
The museum of medieval legal history: The history of torture (in German)
Puppenmuseum Villach
Artistic, contemporary dolls (in German, English and Italian)
Lower Austria
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Benediktinerabtei Altenburg
Monastery (in German)
Das kleine Bahn -Museum Altenmarkt / Triesting
Model rains and railways
Archäologischer Park Carnuntum / Archäologisches Museum Carnuntinum
Archaeology, Roman empire - open air park and museum (in German and English)
Jagdschloss Ecka rtsau
Baroque hunting castle, a residence of Austrian Emperor Charles 1 s t of Habsburg,
shows historic furnishing and pieces of art (in German and English)
Krahuletz-Museum Eggenburg
Earth science s and history - A journey through time (in German)
Das Österreichische Motorradmuseum Eggenburg
Motorcycles through time (in German)
Museum der Fotografie - "Sammlung Schwab", Fischamend
The history of photography (in German)
Nonseum Herrnbaumgarten
A museum for useless inventions (in German, with some pages in English)
Sammlung Essl, Klosterneuburg
Austrian contemporary art (in German)
Schlossmuseum Loosdorf
A small castle museum north of Vienna (in German)
Stadtverkehrsmuseum Mödling
Public transport in the vicinity of Vienna (in German)
Fahrradmuseum Retz
The history of bicy cles since 1820 (in German)
Windmühle Retz
The only windmill ready for operation of Austria (in German)
Eisenbahnmuseum Strasshof
Austria´s railwa y history (in German)
Franz-Kroller-Sternwarte, Traiskirchen
The first and oldest public observatory of Lower Austria (in German)
Flugmuseum Aviaticum Wiener Neustadt
The history of aviation in Austria (In German)
Upper Austria
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Römer-Erlebnismuseum Altheim
Life in the Roman Empire (in German)
KZ-Gedenkstätte und Zeitgeschichtemuseum Ebensee
History of the Nazi concentration camp Ebensee (in German)
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Museum Lauriacum
One of the most important collection of roman archaeology in Austria (in German)
Hirschbacher Bauernmöbelmuseum
Furniture from Upper Austria (in German)
Zoologischer Garten Schmiding und Museum Begegnung der Kultur en,
Krenglbach
Zoo and ethnology (in German)
Turm 9 - Stadtmuseum Leonding
The history of the town and its surroundings back to 26 million years before
present (in German)
Museum im Hafnerhaus Leopoldschlag
Local and etruscan ceramics (in German)
Ars Electronica Center Linz
The museum of the future (in German and English)
Gedenkstätte Konzentrationslager Mauthausen
Concentration camp memorial (in German and English)
Freilichtmuseum Keltendorf Mitterkirchen
Reconstruction of a celtic village (in German)
Schrift- und Heimatmuseum Bartlhaus, Pettenbach
Calligraphy and ExLibris (in German)
Wäschepflegemuseum Rainbach im Mühlviertel
Laundry in former times (in German)
Kriminalmuseum Schloß Scharnstein
Criminality from the late Middle Ages to the Present (In German )
Österreichisches Felsbildermuseum Spital am Pyhrn
Rock engravings world -wide (in German)
Österreichisches Papierma chermuseum Laakirchen - Steyrermühl
The history of paper (in German)
Salzburg
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Keltenmuseum Hallein
Celtic culture in Austria (in German)
Vötters Fahrzeugmuseum Kaprun
Cars of the 1950ies to 1970ies
Freilichterlebnis 7 Mühlen Pfarrwerfen
Historical water mills
Styria
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Styrassic Park Bad Gleichenberg
An open air dinosaur park (in German)
Hanns Schell Collection Graz
The world’s largest museum of locks and keys (In German, English and Italian)
Österreichisches Luftfahrt -Museum Flughafen Graz -Thalerhof
Historical airplanes (In German)
Brahms-Museum Mürzzuschlag
Life and work of the composer Johannes Brahms (In German)
Tyrol
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Glockenmuseum Grassmayr Innsbruck
A unique combination of bell foundry, bell museum and a sound room (in German,
English, French, Spanish, and Italian)
Schau-Silberbergwerk Schwaz
Austria´s oldest mine - now a museum (In German and English)
Vorarlberg
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druckwerk Dornbirn
The art of printing (in German)
Rolls Royce Museum Dornbirn
The largest Rolls -Royce Museum in the world (in German)
The history of electricity (in German)
Frauenmuseum Hittisau
Women and society (in German)
Vienna
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Albertina Wien
The world's largest collection of graphic art (In German)
Gemäldegalerie der Akademie der bild enden Künste Wien
European paintings from the 15th to 18th century (in German)
Architekturzentrum Wien
The presentation site for international developments in architecture (in German
and English)
Geldmuseum der Oesterreichischen Nationalbank
The history and future of money (in German)
Globenmuseum der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek
More than 210 globes and relevant scientific instruments (In English and German)
Heeresgeschichtliches Museum Wien
Military Museum (In German)
Internationales Esperanto -Museum, Sammlung für Plansprachen Wien
Esperanto (In German)
Medizinhistorische Sammlungen
Medicohistorical Collections (In German and English)
Museum für mittelalterliche Rechtsgeschichte, Wien
The museum of medieval legal history: The history of torture (In German)
Orpheon Foundation Wien
Museum of Historical Musical Instruments (In English)
Österreichisches Filmmuseum Wien
The world of the movies (In German)
Österreichisches TheaterMuseum Wien
"All the world´s a stage ..." (In German)
Österreichisches Gesellschafts - und Wirtschaftsmuseum Wien
More than just statistics !
Pathologisches -anatomisches Bundesmuseum in Wien
Pathology and anatomy (In German and English)
Schloss Schönbrunn Wien
Schönbrunn Palace (In German, Englis h, and Japanese)
Wiener Kaffeemuseum
World Of Coffee Vienna (In German)
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Wiener Kriminalmuseum
Criminality from the late Middle Ag es to the Present (In German)
Sigmund Freud -Museum Wien
Online service of the Sigmund Freud Society (In German and English)
Wiener Teddybärenmus eum
Historic Teddy Bears from 1905 to 1960 (in German and English)
ZOOM Kindermuseum Wien
A museum especially for children (In German)