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| Capital | Vienna | ||
| Language | German | ||
| Area | 83 871 km² | ||
| Population | 8 292 322 | ||
| Currency | euro (EUR, €) | ||
| Electricity | 230V / 50Hz | ||
| Tel. pre-code | 43 | ||
| Horizon | UTC 1 | ||
Austria or Austria (German Austria / ˈʔœstɐˌʀaɪ̯ç /) is a country in Central Europe. The country is known especially for the mountains and the culture.
Regions
Cities
- Vienna (Wien)
- Graz
- Lynx (Linz)
- Salzburg (Salzburg - t.e. "city / fortification of the salt")
- Insbruko (Innsbruck - t.e. "bridge over Yen")
Esperanto cities
- Vienna - with an Esperanto museum
Other destinations
Understand
Austria lies north of the eastern Alps, as far as the plain of Danube. So it contains a vast mountainous area, with several peaks above 3000m, and a wide flat zone to the north, in which is also located the capital, Vienna. It is a land without coasts.
Austria is, compared to other European countries, a medium-sized state, comparable to Ireland or Portugal.
Austria is part of the German-speaking area, but is located on its southeastern border with Slavic and Romance languages - and in addition with the Hungarian language. For several centuries it was the core of an empire ruling a vast part of Central Europe, with several multilingual ethnic groups. After the First World War it lost such a role and was limited to current borders, but Vienna still retains the appearance of a former imperial capital.
Terrain
The Alps in Austria are low from west to east. The main mountain ranges and valleys also run from west to east.
It is possible to understand the terrain of Austria considering five main rivers: the northernmost Danube (German Donau), the southernmost Dravo (Drau), meze Eno (Inn), Salzach and Wall (Mur). The valleys of the last three rivers are largely lined up, though not precisely.
South of Drava is the southernmost mountain range, on the border with or near Italy (Friuli); its highest peak is the Great Sandspitze (2772m).
South of the Inn-Salzach-Mur succession, but north of Drava, is the highest mountain range in Austria, partly on the border with Italy (South Tyrol) and partly entirely in Austria. The highest peak is the Great Glokner (Großglockner), high 3798m. Also noteworthy are the Wildspitze (3768m) and the White Ball (Weißkugel, 3738m), further west, at or near the border with South Tyrol, and the Großvenediger (i.e. "Great Venetian"), 3657m, the highest peak of Salzburg, closer to the Great Glokner.
Finally, north of Inn-Salzach-Mur are lower mountain ranges, but very beautiful due to the abundance of lakes left behind by the ice age. Among them is worth mentioning the Zugspitze (2962m) at the border with Germany; it is the highest mountain in Germany. The largest lake in this area is Attersee (46km²) - remember however that Austria also has a short shore at the Bodenlago (Bodensee), which was also left behind by an ancient glacier.
To the north of the Alps is a vast flat valley around Dabubo, and further north again mountains, low, near the border with the Czech Republic. The Danube plain widens in eastern Austria, and continues into the vast Hungarian plain. Right on the border with Hungary is the largest lake in Austria after Lake Constance, named in German. Neusiedler and Hungarian Fertő (315 km², of which 240 in Austria and 75 in Hungary); it is a shallow lake, mostly less than 1m deep, originated from an ancient lake that before c. 10 million years ago it covered the entire Hungarian plain, and is one of the few naturally run-off lakes in Europe.
History
Austria was originally a duchy within the Holy Roman Empire. Since the end of the Middle Ages, the dukes were both German kings and Roman emperors. Until the 19th century Austria was considered part of Germany. After the war of 1866, Austria was outside the German federation, but still a great European power. Since 1867 it has consisted of two imperial parts, Austria and Hungary. Austria has had its current borders essentially since the end of the First World War, when it became a republic.
Ethnic groups
Climate
The Austrian climate is highly dependent on altitude. In low-lying areas, it is a continental climate with rainfall in all seasons.
Enter
The Schengen Treaty has been in force in the state since 1 December 1997. Thus the border controls for travelers coming from many countries in Europe fell.
> For more information on border controls in Europe click here.
