Salzburg (federal state)

Salzburg (federal state)
Salzburg (also known as Salzburgerland) is an Austrian federal state. In German it is called a Bundesland, a German-to-English dictionary translates that to federal state and the European Commission calls it a province. In German, its official name is Land Salzburg, to distinguish it from its eponymous capital Salzburg City. For centuries, it was an independent Prince-Bishopric of the Holy Roman Empire.
Geography
Location
Salzburg State covers an area of . It stretches along its main river — the Salzach – which rises in the Central Eastern Alps in the south to the Alpine foothills in the north. It is located in the north-west of Austria, close to the border with the German state of Bavaria; to the northeast lies the federal state Upper Austria; to the east the federal state Styria; to the south the federal states Carinthia and Tyrol. With 561,714 inhabitants, it is one of the country's smaller federal states in terms of population.
Running through the south are the main ranges of the Alpine divide (incl. the Hohe Tauern mountains) with numerous three-thousanders. The Dachstein massif and the Berchtesgaden Alps ranges of the Northern Limestone Alps border Salzburg State to the east and north.
Regions
The federal state is traditionally subdivided in five major regions (Gaue), congruent with its political districts (Bezirke, see administrative divisions).
In the northern part:
Flachgau (Salzburg city and environs), the flat Salzburg Basin around the confluence of Salzach and Saalach, stretching from the slopes of the Salzkammergut Mountains in the east to the Untersberg massif and the Chiemgau Alps in the west.
Tennengau (district capital Hallein), named after the Tennen Mountains, including the broad Salzach Valley south of Salzburg and the surrounding ranges of the Limestone Alps.
The southern, mountainous (colloquially Innergebirg) part is divided into:
Pinzgau (Zell am See) in the southwest,
Pongau (Sankt Johann im Pongau) on Salzach and Enns, and
Lungau (Tamsweg) in the southeast, separated by the Niedere Tauern range.
Major cities and towns
Salzburg municipalities with town privileges:
Salzburg city (pop. 148,521)
Hallein (20,022)
Saalfelden (16,046)
Sankt Johann im Pongau (10,740)
Bischofshofen (10,352)
Zell am See (9,683)
Seekirchen (9,945)
Neumarkt am Wallersee (5,846)
Oberndorf bei Salzburg (5,600)
Mittersill (5,443)
Radstadt (4,864)
Wals-Siezenheim, a common municipality with about 12,000 inhabitants, is known as 'Austria's largest village'.
History
Salt has played an important role in the region's development; Salzburg means "salt castle".
Salzburg as an independent state
Independence from Bavaria was secured in the late 14th century. The Archbishopric of Salzburg was an independent prince-bishopric and State of the Holy Roman Empire until German Mediatisation in 1803.
Electorate of Salzburg
The territory was secularized and, as the Electorate of Salzburg, given as compensation to Ferdinand III, former Grand Duke of Tuscany, the brother of Emperor Francis II.
The end of independence
Following the Austrian defeat at Austerlitz in 1805, Salzburg was annexed by Austria as compensation for the loss of Tyrol to the Kingdom of Bavaria, and Ferdinand was transferred to the Grand Duchy of Würzburg.
Bavarian Salzburg
After Austria's defeat in 1809, the federal state was handed over to Bavaria in 1810.
The country divided between Bavaria and Austria
In 1816, following the defeat of Napoleon and the provision of adequate compensation to Bavaria at the Congress of Vienna, it was returned to Austria with the exception of the north-western Rupertiwinkel which remained Bavarian. The Salzburger Land was administered as the department of Salzach from Linz, the capital of Upper Austria. In 1849 the Duchy of Salzburg was established as a crown land of the Austrian Empire and, after 1866, Austria-Hungary.
World War I
Salzburg participated in World War I, as part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. 49,000 Salzburgers were called to arms, of whom 6,000 were killed.
Post-World War I Austrian republics
In 1918 after World War I, the Duchy of Salzburg was dissolved and replaced with the State of Salzburg, as a component part initially of German Austria and subsequently of the First Republic of Austria, the separate state which was mandated by the Allied powers.
Salzburg in Germany
As a result of Germany's annexation of Austria in 1938, Austria, including Salzburg State, was incorporated into Nazi Germany.
American control
After the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, the Allies occupied the territory of Austria, being recognized as an independent territory under their rule. Salzburg State was occupied by the United States.
Salzburg as an Austrian federal state
In 1955, Austria was again declared an independent state and Salzburg was once again one of the reconstituted federal states of the Second Republic of Austria.
Demographics
The historical population is given in the following chart:
Politics
Salzburg adopted its current provincial constitution in 1999. The provincial government (Landesregierung) is headed by a governor (Landeshauptmann), who is elected by a majority in the provincial parliament Landtag. Provincial elections are held every five years.
After World War II, most provincial governments were led by the conservative Austrian People's Party (ÖVP). ÖVP politician Josef Klaus (1910-2001), later chancellor of Austria, served as governor of Salzburg from 1949 till 1961. In 2004 Gabi Burgstaller became the first Social Democratic (and first female) governor of Salzburg.
The last results, in April 2023 (Compared to 2018) were:
The current governor of Salzburg, Wilfried Haslauer (ÖVP), entered into coalition discussions with the FPÖ, after his proposition of a ÖVP-FPÖ-SPÖ coalition was rejected by the Social Democrats. Haslauer said "I regret that we could not implement the Alliance for Salzburg". If this coalition goes ahead, Salzburg State will join Lower Austria and Upper Austria as the third black-blue coalition provincial government. The ÖVP will have four seats in the government, while the FPÖ will have three. The current president (speaker) of the Salzburg federal state parliament is Brigitta Pallauf.
Government
Government ministers and their portfolios from the 2018 provincial election until the 2023 provincial election. Because coalition negotiations are underway, the ministry has not been announced, meaning this section is yet to change.
Governor Wilfried Haslauer (ÖVP)
Economy
Tourism
Employment market
Municipality administration
Education
Internal affairs
Fire departments
Public safety
Governor's office
European affairs.
1st Deputy Astrid Rössler (Greens)
Conservation
Environmentalism
Water protection
Trade
Regional development
Building law.
2nd Deputy Christian Stöckl (ÖVP)
Finance
Provincial properties and interests
Public health and hospitals.
Members of the provincial government
Hans Mayr (TS): Transport, infrastructure, housing
Martina Berthold (Greens): Childcare, adult education, universities, research, science, youth, family affairs, intergenerational relationships, desegregation, migration, sports, women's affairs, equal opportunities
Josef Schwaiger (ÖVP): Agriculture, forestry, water management, energy, personnel management
Heinrich Schellhorn (Greens): Social policy, care nursing, culture, folk culture, museums.
Administrative divisions
Districts
Salzburg State comprises six districts, known as Bezirke or vernacularly Gaue:
Hallein District (Tennengau region)
St. Johann im Pongau District (Pongau region)
Salzburg-Umgebung District (Salzburg environs) (Flachgau region)
Tamsweg District (Lungau region)
Zell am See District (Pinzgau region)
Salzburg city is its own administrative district.
Municipalities
The federal state is divided into 119 municipalities, including Salzburg City. 11 of them have city status (Städte), 24 are market towns (Marktgemeinden) and the other 84 are simple municipalities (Gemeinden). Below is a list of all the municipalities divided by district:
Hallein District (Tennengau) (13 municipalities): Abtenau, Adnet, Annaberg-Lungötz, Bad Vigaun, Golling an der Salzach, Hallein, Krispl, Kuchl, Oberalm, Puch bei Hallein, Rußbach am Paß Gschütt, Sankt Koloman, Scheffau am Tennengebirge.
Salzburg-Umgebung District (Flachgau) (37 municipalities): Anif, Anthering, Bergheim, Berndorf, Bürmoos, Dorfbeuern, Ebenau, Elixhausen, Elsbethen, Eugendorf, Faistenau, Fuschl am See, Großgmain, Göming, Grödig, Hallwang, Henndorf, Hintersee, Hof bei Salzburg, Koppl, Köstendorf, Lamprechtshausen, Mattsee, Neumarkt am Wallersee, Nußdorf am Haunsberg, Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Obertrum, Plainfeld, Sankt Georgen, Sankt Gilgen, Schleedorf, Seeham, Seekirchen, Straßwalchen, Strobl, Thalgau, Wals-Siezenheim.
St. Johann im Pongau District (Pongau) (25 municipalities): Altenmarkt im Pongau, Bad Gastein, Bad Hofgastein, Bischofshofen, Dorfgastein, Eben im Pongau, Filzmoos, Flachau, Forstau, Goldegg, Grossarl, Hüttau, Hüttschlag, Kleinarl, Mühlbach am Hochkönig, Pfarrwerfen, Radstadt, Sankt Johann im Pongau, Sankt Martin am Tennengebirge, Sankt Veit im Pongau, Schwarzach im Pongau, Untertauern, Wagrain, Werfen, Werfenweng.
Tamsweg District (Lungau) (15 municipalities): Göriach, Lessach, Mariapfarr, Mauterndorf, Muhr, Ramingstein, Sankt Andrä im Lungau, Sankt Margarethen im Lungau, Sankt Michael im Lungau, Tamsweg, Thomatal, Tweng, Unternberg, Weißpriach, Zederhaus.
Zell am See District (Pinzgau) (28 municipalities): Bramberg am Wildkogel, Bruck an der Großglocknerstraße, Dienten am Hochkönig, Fusch an der Großglocknerstraße, Hollersbach im Pinzgau, Kaprun, Krimml, Lend, Leogang, Lofer, Maishofen, Maria Alm, Mittersill, Neukirchen am Großvenediger, Niedernsill, Piesendorf, Rauris, Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Saalfelden, Sankt Martin bei Lofer, Stuhlfelden, Taxenbach, Unken, Uttendorf, Viehhofen, Wald im Pinzgau, Weißbach bei Lofer, Zell am See.
Economy
The federal state'sgross domestic product (GDP) was 29 billion € in 2018, accounting for 7.5% of the Austria's economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 46,500 € or 154% of the EU27 average in the same year. Salzburg is the federal state with the highest GDP per capita in Austria before Vienna.
Architecture
The Salzburg Cathedral was the first Baroque building in the German-speaking artistic world. Two other important buildings initiated by the Salzburg archbishops were Hohenwerfen Castle and Hohensalzburg Fortress. The first Archbishop of Salzburg was Arno of Salzburg (785–821), in whose honor the world-famous hiking circuit — the Arnoweg — is named.
The predominant stylistic elements of Salzburg's architecture have their origins in the Baroque and the Rococo periods.
Salzburg City's historic centre was named by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.
Language
Austrian German is the local written language, and it can be heard especially in the cities. Austro-Bavarian is also spoken, especially in the rural areas and the common language of Salzburgerland.
Visitors' attractions
Eisriesenwelt: the largest ice cave in the world
Großglockner Hochalpenstraße: a panoramic road, called Grossglockner High Alpine Road
Salzkammergut: a lake district situated in Salzburg State, Upper Austria and Styria
Liechtensteinklamm: Salzburg is home to one of the longest and deepest gorges of the Alps, the Liechtensteinklamm. It is located near Sankt Johann im Pongau or St.Johann/Pg., a small town in the centre of the federal state.
Nonnberg Abbey: a Benedictine monastery that was immortalized in the movie The Sound of Music
Sports
Salzburgring, a permanent racing circuit, north east of the city of Salzburg
Ski Amadé
Kitzsteinhorn, skiing the year round on a glacier
Icespeedway in St. Johann im Pongau
Aperschnalzen, an old tradition of competitive whipcracking
Ski resorts
Altenmarkt im Pongau, Flachau, Wagrain, St. Johann, Zell am See (Saalbach-Hinterglemm), Obertauern, Bad Gastein, Rauris, Lofer, Hochkönig, Krispl
Assorted statistics
Tourist Regions: 21
Resort Towns: 115
Guest Beds: 192,000
Lakes: 185
Biggest lake: Wolfgangsee
Longest river: Salzach
Highest mountain: Großvenediger — elevation
Hiking paths:
Hill farms: 1,800 — 550 of them serving refreshments
National parks: 1
Marked cycle paths:
Mountainbike trails (including cross-border routes):
Golf courses: 13
Ski slopes:
Cross-country ski trails:
Night slopes: 14
Winter hiking paths:
Notes
References
External links
Salzburg State Tourist Board
Salzburg federal state government (in German)
Salzburg State Travel Guide with entries for all municipalities
Pictures from Salzburg
Tours in and around Salzburg
Tours
NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union
States of Austria