Austria
Austria (
German language:
Österreich,
Croatian:
Austrija,
Hungarian:
Ausztria,
Slovenian:
Avstrija,
Slovak:
Rakúsko) 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 is the
city of
Vienna.
Austria is a
parliamentary
representative democracy consisting of nine federal states and is one of six European countries that have declared permanent
neutrality and together with
Switzerland only one of two countries that included the concept of everlasting neutrality in its constitution. Austria is a member of the
United Nations (since 1955) and the
European Union (since 1995).
The
German name
Österreich can be translated into
English as the "eastern empire", which is derived from the
Old German Ostarrîchi. The name was wrongly or carelessly translated into
Latin as "Austria", so it has no etymological commonness with
Australia (which means correctly
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 borderland", 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
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 Deutsch-Österreich), 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 Crown of St. Stephen (
Die im Reichsrat vertretenen Königreiche und Länder und die Länder der heiligen ungarischen Stephanskrone) was the correct official name for Austria-Hungary.
Austria and the Holy Roman Empire
The territory of Austria, originally known as the
Celtic kingdom of
Noricum, was a long time ally of Rome. It was occupied rather than conquered by the
Romans during the reign of
Augustus and made the province Noricum in 16 BC. Later it was conquered by
Huns, Rugii,
Lombards,
Ostrogoths,
Slavs,
Bavarii,
Avars (until c. 800), and
Franks (in that order). Finally, after 48 years of Hungarian rule (907 to 955), the core territory of Austria was awarded to
Leopold of Babenberg in 976 after the revolt of
Henry II, Duke of Bavaria. Being part of the
Holy Roman Empire the Babenbergs ruled and expanded Austria from the 10th century to the 13th century.
After
Frederick II, Duke of Austria died in 1246 and left no successor,
Rudolf I of Habsburg gave the lands to his sons marking the beginning of the line of the
Habsburgs, who continued to govern Austria until the 20th century.
With the short exception of
Charles VII Albert of
Bavaria, Austrian Habsburgs held the position of German Emperor beginning in 1438 with
Albert II of Habsburg until the end of the
Holy Roman Empire. During the 14th and 15th century Austria continued to expand its territory until it reached the position of a European imperial power at the end of the 15th century.
Modern history
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. The empire was split into several independent states in 1918, 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 democratic republic lasted until 1933 when the chancellor
Engelbert Dollfuß established an autocratic regime oriented towards Italian fascism (
Austrofascism).
Austria became part of
Germany in 1938 through the
Anschluss and remained under
Nazi rule until the end of
World War II. After the defeat of the
Axis Powers, the
Allies occupied Austria until 1955, when the country became a fully independent republic under the condition that it would remain neutral in the growing conflict between the Communist East Block and the free non-Communist West (see:
Austrian State Treaty). Austria also became a member of the UN in the same year. After the collapse of
communist states in
Eastern Europe, Austria became increasingly involved in European affairs, in 1995 joining the
European Union, and in 1999 adopting the
Euro monetary system.
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Austrian Parliament in Vienna |
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.
A federal republic, Austria is divided into nine
states, (
German:
Bundesländer). These states are divided into
districts (
Bezirke) and cities (
Statutarstädte). Districts are subdivided into municipalities (
Gemeinden). Cities have the competencies otherwise granted to both districts and municipalities. The states are not mere administrative divisions, but have some distinct legislative authority separate from the federal government.
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.
Austria may be divided into 5 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:
Austria has a well-developed
social market economy and a high
standard of living. Until the 1980s many of Austria's largest industry firms were nationalised, however in recent years privatisation has reduced state holdings to a level comparable to other European economies. Labour movements are particularly strong in Austria and have large influence on labour politics.
Germany has historically been the main trading partner of Austria, making it vulnerable to rapid changes in the
German economy. Slow growth in Germany and elsewhere in the world affected Austria, slowing its growth to 0.8% in 2001. But since Austria became a member state of the
European Union it has gained closer ties to other
European Union economies, reducing its economic dependence on Germany. In addition, 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 aspiring economies. Therefore estimates of growth in 2006 (about 2.6%) are much more favourable than in the crippling German economy.
See also:
List of Austrian companiesAustria's population was estimated in July, 2005 as 8,184,691 persons. The population of the capital,
Vienna, exceeds 1.6 million (2 million with suburbs), representing about a quarter of the country's population, and is said to constitute a
melting pot of citizens from all over Central and Eastern Europe. In contrast to the capital, other cities do not exceed 1 million inhabitants: the second largest
city Graz is home of 240,000 people, followed by
Linz with 187,000,
Salzburg with 147,000, and
Innsbruck with 116,000. 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. However, just a small minority of Austrians view themselves as ethnically German. 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 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 also form an important
minority group in Austria.
According to the 2001
census, the mother tongue of the population by prevalance, is German (88.6%) followed by Turkish (2.3%), Serbian (2.2%), Croatian (1.6%), Hungarian (0.5%) and Bosnian (0.4%)
[[ftp://www.statistik.at/pub/neuerscheinungen/vzaustriaweb.pdf Statistik Austria, Die Bevölkerung nach Umgangssprache, Staatsangehörigkei und Geburtsland (PDF) Page 75]]. 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.
Politics concerning ethnic groups (Volksgruppenpolitik)
An estimated 25,000–40,000
Slovenians in the Austrian state of
Carinthia 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 still show parts of Carinthia as Slovenian cultural territory. The current governor,
Jörg Haider, has made this fact a matter of public argument in fall 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" [
2] stating that the Slovenians can be split in two groups: actual Slovenians and Windische, 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. To the latter group the term "Windische" (originally the German word for Slovenians) was applied, claiming that they were a different ethnic group. This theory was never generally accepted and has been ultimately rejected several decades ago.
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Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Austrian Habsburg ruler and one of the major figures within the Counter-Reformation. |
While northern and central Germany was the origin of the
Reformation, Austria (and Bavaria) were the heart of the
Counter-Reformation in the 16th and 17th century, when the absolute monarchy of
Habsburg imposed a strict regime to maintain
Catholicism's power and influence among Austrians. The
Habsburgs always saw themselves as the spearhead 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
Calvinists and
Lutheran Protestants.
Still Austria remained 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 has nearly vanished.
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 of the church. Austrian Catholics are obliged to pay a mandatory tax (calculated by income—ca. 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 â€" Vienna alone counted more than 200,000, of which solely 4,000 to 5,000 remained 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 the
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 Austrians are still among the countries with the strongest belief in
God. 84% of all Austrians do state they believe in God, with only
Poland (97%),
Portugal (90%) and
Russia (87%) in front of the countries surveyed. This is a much larger figure than the European average of 71% or
Germany with 67%. [
3]
See also:
Buddhism in Austria,
Hinduism in Austria,
Islam in Austria,
Paganism in the Eastern Alps,
Roman Catholicism in Austria |
Ludwig Wittgenstein |
Although Austria is a small country, its history as a world power and its cultural environment have generated a broad contribution to art and science. It has been the professional 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.
Ludwig van Beethoven spent the bigger part of his live in Vienna
Complementing its status as a land of artists, 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
Elfriede Jelinek and
Peter Handke. 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.
Austria was the cradle of numerous scientists including physicists
Ludwig Boltzmann,
Lise Meitner,
Erwin Schrödinger,
Ernst Mach,
Wolfgang Pauli,
Richard von Mises and
Christian Doppler, philosophers
Ludwig Wittgenstein and
Karl Popper, biologists
Gregor Mendel and
Konrad Lorenz as well as mathematician
Kurt Gödel. It was home to psychologists
Sigmund Freud,
Alfred Adler,
Paul Watzlawick and
Hans Asperger, psychiatrist
Viktor Frankl, economists
Joseph Schumpeter,
Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk,
Ludwig von Mises, and
Friedrich Hayek (
Austrian School) and
Peter Drucker, and engineers such as
Ferdinand Porsche and
Siegfried Marcus.
*
List of Austrians*
Music of Austria*
Austrian folk dancing*
Austrian German*
Communications in Austria*
Cuisine of Austria*
Education in Austria*
Foreign relations of Austria*
Media in Austria*
Military of Austria*
Pfadfinder und Pfadfinderinnen Österreichs*
Public holidays in Austria*
Spanish Riding School*
Stamps and postal history of Austria*
Tourism in Austria*
Transportation in Austria*
List of cities in Austria* References and bibliography can be found in the more detailed articles linked to in this article
*
Travel information on Wikitravel* The
aeiou Encyclopedia (
Homepage |
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Search)
*
Austria.info Official homepage of the Austrian National Tourist Office
*
Austrian Cooking What do Austrians eat?
*
History of Austria: Primary Documents*
Federal Chancellery of Austria*
Austrian Law Information on Austrian Law
*
Library of Congress Portals on the World - Austria
*
Photoglobe.info Library of Congress - Country Studies - Austria Info
*
US Department of State Facts and Information (updated February 2005)
*
Physical Map of Austria*
Pictures of Austria*
Language in Austriands-nl:Oostnriekfiu-vro:Austria
