Austria

Austria,formally theRepublic of Austria,is alandlocked countryinCentral Europe, lying in theEastern Alps.It is afederationof ninestates, of which the capitalViennais themost populous cityand state. Austria is bordered byGermanyto the northwest, theCzech Republicto the north,Slovakiato the northeast,Hungaryto the east,SloveniaandItalyto the south, andSwitzerlandandLiechtensteinto the west. The country occupies an area of 83,879 km(32,386 sq mi) and hasa populationof around 9 million.
The area of today's Austria has been inhabited since at least thePaleolithic period. Around 400 BC, it was inhabited by theCeltsand then annexed by theRomansin the late 1st century BC.Christianizationin the region began in the 4th and 5th centuries, during the lateRoman period, followed by the arrival of numerousGermanic tribesduring theMigration Period.Austria, as a unified state, emerged from the remnants of theEasternandHungarian Marchat the end of thefirst millennium, first as afrontier marchof theHoly Roman Empire, it then developed into aDuchyin 1156, and was made anArchduchyin 1453. Being the heartland of theHabsburg monarchysince the late 13th century, Austria was a major imperial power in Central Europe for centuries and from the 16th century, Vienna also served as the Holy Roman Empire's administrative capital.Before thedissolution of the empiretwo years later, in 1804, Austria establishedits own empire, which became agreat powerand one of the largest states in Europe. The empire's defeat in wars and the loss of territories in the 1860s paved the way for theestablishmentofAustria-Hungaryin 1867.
After theassassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinandin 1914, EmperorFranz Josephdeclared war onSerbia, which rapidly escalated intoWorld War I. The empire's defeat and subsequent collapse led to the proclamation of theRepublic of German-Austriain 1918 and theFirst Austrian Republicin 1919. During theinterwar period, anti-parliamentarian sentiments culminated in theformationofan Austrofascist dictatorshipunderEngelbert Dollfussin 1934. A year before the outbreak ofWorld War II, Austria wasannexedintoNazi GermanybyAdolf Hitler, and it becamea sub-national division. Afterits liberationin 1945 and a decade ofAllied occupation, the countryregained its sovereigntyand declaredits perpetual neutralityin 1955.
Austria is asemi-presidentialrepresentative democracy with a popularly electedpresidentas head of state and achancelloras head of government and chief executive. Austria has the 13th highestnominal GDP per capitawith high standards of living. The country has been a member of theUnited Nationssince 1955and of theEuropean Unionsince 1995.It hosts theOrganization for Security and Co-operation in Europe(OSCE) and theOrganization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC) and is a founding member of theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development(OECD) andInterpol.It also signed theSchengen Agreementin 1995,and adopted theeurocurrency in 1999.
The native name for Austria,Österreich, derives from theOld High GermanOstarrîchi, which meant "eastern realm" and which first appeared in the "Ostarrîchi document" of 996.This word is probably a translation ofMedieval LatinMarchia orientalisinto a local (Bavarian) dialect.
Austria was a prefecture of Bavaria created in 976. The word "Austria" is a Latinisation of the German name and was first recorded in the 12th century.At the time, the Danube basin of Austria (UpperandLower Austria) was the easternmost extent of Bavaria.
The area that is now Austria was settled in pre-Roman times by variousCeltictribes, having been the core of theHallstatt cultureby the6th century BC.The city ofHallstatt, in fact, has the oldest archaeological evidence of the Celts in Europe.
The CelticKingdom of Noricumthat included most of modern Austria and parts of modern Slovenia was conquered by theRoman Empirein 16 BC and made aprovincecalledNoricumwhich lasted until 476.The regions of today's Austria which were not located within the province of Noricum were divided between the Roman provinces ofPannonia, which encompassed parts of eastern Austria, andRaetia, which encompassed the areas of present-dayVorarlbergandTyrol.
Present-day Petronell-Carnuntumin eastern Austria was an important army camp turned capital city in what became known as thePannonia Superior. Carnuntum was home to 50,000 people for nearly 400 years.
After thefall of the Roman Empire, the area was first invaded by the GermanicRugiiwhich made this region part of their "Rugiland".In 487, most of modern Austria was conquered byOdoacer, abarbariansoldier and statesman from theMiddle Danube, which incorporated most of today's Austria in hisKingdom of Italy. By 493, it was conquered by theGermanicOstrogothswhich created their own kingdom, theOstrogothic Kingdom.Following the Kingdom's fall the area was invaded by theAlemanni,Baiuvarii,Slavs, andAvars.
Charlemagne, King of theFranks, conquered the area in 788, encouraged colonisation, and introduced Christianity.As part ofEastern Francia, the core areas that now encompass Austria were bequeathed to the house ofBabenberg. The area was known as themarchia Orientalisand was given toLeopold of Babenbergin 976.
The first record showing the name Austria is from 996, where it is written asOstarrîchi, referring to the territory of the Babenberg March.In 1156, thePrivilegium Minuselevated Austria to the status of a duchy. In 1192, the Babenbergs also acquired the Duchy ofStyria. With the death ofFrederick IIin 1246, the line of the Babenbergs was extinguished.
As a result,Ottokar II of Bohemiaeffectively assumed control of the duchies of Austria, Styria, andCarinthia.His reign came to an end with his defeat atDürnkrutat the hands ofRudolph I of Germanyin 1278.Thereafter, until World War I, Austria's history was largely that of its ruling dynasty, theHabsburgs.
In the 14th and 15th centuries, theHabsburgsbegan to accumulate other provinces in the vicinity of the Duchy of Austria. In 1438, DukeAlbert V of Austriawas chosen as the successor to his father-in-law, EmperorSigismund. Although Albert himself only reigned for a year, henceforth every emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was a Habsburg, with only one exception.
The Habsburgs began also to accumulate territory far from the hereditary lands. In 1477, ArchdukeMaximilian, only son of EmperorFrederick III, married the heiress Maria ofBurgundy, thus acquiring most of theNetherlandsfor the family.In 1496, his sonPhilip the FairmarriedJoanna the Mad, the heiress ofCastileandAragon, thus acquiring Spain and its Italian, African,Asian, andNew Worldappendages for the Habsburgs.
In 1526, following theBattle of Mohács,Bohemiaand the part ofHungarynot occupied by the Ottomans came under Austrian rule.Ottoman expansioninto Hungary led tofrequent conflictsbetween the two empires, particularly evident in theLong Warof 1593 to 1606. The Turks made incursions intoStyrianearly 20 times,of which some are cited as "burning, pillaging, and taking thousands of slaves".In late September 1529,Suleiman the Magnificentlaunched the firstsiege of Vienna, which unsuccessfully ended, according to Ottoman historians, with the snowfalls of an early beginning winter.
During the long reign ofLeopold I, Holy Roman Emperorfollowing the successfuldefence of Viennaagainst the Turks in 1683, under the command of the King of PolandJohn III Sobieski,theGreat Turkish Warresulted in most of Hungary being controlled by Austria. This arrangement was formalized in theTreaty of Karlowitzin 1699.
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperorrelinquished many of the gains the empire made in the previous years. He enjoyed the imminent extinction of theHouse of Habsburg. Charles VI was willing to offer concrete advantages in territory and authority in exchange for recognition of thePragmatic Sanction of 1713. Therefore, his daughterMaria Theresawas recognized as his heir. With the rise ofPrussia, theAustria–Prussia rivalrybegan in Germany. Austria participated, together with Prussia and Russia, in the first and the third of the threePartitions of Polandin 1772 and 1795 respectively.
From that time, Austria became the birthplace ofclassical musicand played host to different composers includingJoseph Haydn,Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,Ludwig van Beethoven, andFranz Schubert.
Austria later became engaged in a war withRevolutionary France, which was highly unsuccessful in the beginning, with successive defeats at the hands ofNapoleonBonaparte, meaning the end of the oldHoly Roman Empirein 1806. Two years earlier,theEmpire of Austriawas founded. From 1792 to 1801, the Austrians had suffered 754,700 casualties.In 1814, Austria was part of the Allied forces that invaded France and brought to an end theNapoleonic Wars.
It emerged from theCongress of Viennain 1815 as one of the continent's four dominant powers and a recognisedgreat power. The same year, theGerman Confederation(Deutscher Bund) was founded under the presidency of Austria. Because of unsolved social, political, and national conflicts, the German lands were shaken by the1848 revolutionsaiming to create a unified Germany.
The various different possibilities for a united Germany were: aGreater Germany, or aGreater Austriaor just the German Confederation without Austria at all. As Austria was not willing to relinquish its German-speaking territories to what would become theGerman Empire of 1848, the crown of the newly formed empire was offered to the Prussian KingFriedrich Wilhelm IV. In 1864, Austria and Prussia fought together againstDenmarkand secured the independence from Denmark of the duchies ofSchleswigandHolstein. As they could not agree on how the two duchies should be administered, though, they fought theAustro-Prussian Warin 1866. Defeated by Prussia in theBattle of Königgrätz,Austria had to leave the German Confederation and no longer took part in German politics.
After the defeatedHungarian Revolution of 1848, theAustro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, theAusgleich, provided for a dual sovereignty, theAustrian Empireand theKingdom of Hungary, underFranz Joseph I.The Austrian-Hungarian rule of this diverse empire included various groups, includingGermans,Hungarians, Croats, Czechs,Poles,Rusyns, Serbs, Slovaks, Slovenes, and Ukrainians, as well as large Italian and Romanian communities.
As a result, ruling Austria-Hungary became increasingly difficult in an age of emerging nationalist movements, requiring considerable reliance on an expanded secret police. Yet, the government of Austria tried its best to be accommodating in some respects: for example, theReichsgesetzblatt, publishing the laws and ordinances ofCisleithania, was issued in eight languages; and all national groups were entitled to schools in their own language and to the use of their mother tongue at state offices.
Many Austrian Germans of all different social circles such asGeorg Ritter von Schönererpromoted strongpan-Germanismin the hope of reinforcing an ethnic German identity amongst Austrian Germans and the annexation of Austria to Germany (Anschluss).Some Austrians such asKarl Luegeralso used pan-Germanism as a form of populism to further their own political goals. Although Bismarck's policies excluded Austria and the German Austrians from Germany, many Austrian pan-Germans idolised him and wore blue cornflowers, known to be the favourite flower of German EmperorWilliam I, in their buttonholes, along with cockades in the German national colours (black, red, and yellow), although they were both temporarily banned in Austrian schools, as a way to show discontent towards the multi-ethnic empire.
Austria's exclusion from Germany caused many Austrians a problem with their national identity and prompted the Social Democratic LeaderOtto Bauerto state that it was "the conflict between our Austrian and German character".The Austro-Hungarian Empire caused ethnic tension between the German Austrians and the other ethnic groups. Many Austrians, especially those involved with the pan-German movements, desired a reinforcement of an ethnic German identity and hoped that the empire would collapse, which would allow anannexation of Austria by Germany.
Many Austrian pan-German nationalists protested passionately against minister-presidentKasimir Count Badeni's language decree of 1897, which made German and Czech co-official languages in Bohemia and required new government officials to be fluent in both languages. This meant in practice that the civil service would almost exclusively hire Czechs because most middle-class Czechs spoke German but not the other way around. The support ofultramontaneCatholic politicians and clergy for this reform triggered the launch of theAway from Romemovement, which was initiated by supporters of Schönerer and called on "German" Christians to leave the Roman Catholic Church.
As theSecond Constitutional Erabegan in theOttoman Empire, Austria-Hungary took the opportunity to annexBosnia and Herzegovinain 1908.Theassassinationof ArchdukeFranz FerdinandinSarajevoin 1914 by Bosnian SerbGavrilo Principwas used by leading Austrian politicians and generals to persuade the emperor to declare war on Serbia, thereby risking and prompting the outbreak of World War I, which eventually led to the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Over one million Austro-Hungarian soldiers died in World War I.
On 21 October 1918, the elected German members of theReichsrat(parliament of Imperial Austria) met in Vienna as the Provisional National Assembly for German Austria (Provisorische Nationalversammlung für Deutschösterreich). On 30 October the assembly founded theRepublic of German-Austriaby appointing a government, calledStaatsrat. This new government was invited by the Emperor to take part in the decision on the planned armistice with Italy but refrained from this business.
This left the responsibility for the end of the war, on 3 November 1918, solely to the emperor and his government. On 11 November, the emperor, advised by ministers of the old and the new governments, declared he would not take part in state business any more; on 12 November, German-Austria, by law, declared itself to be a democratic republic and part of the new German republic. The constitution, renaming theStaatsratasBundesregierung(federal government) andNationalversammlungasNationalrat(national council) was passed on 10 November 1920.
TheTreaty of Saint-Germainof 1919 (for Hungary theTreaty of Trianonof 1920) confirmed and consolidated the new order of Central Europe which to a great extent had been established in November 1918, creating new states and altering others. The German-speaking parts of Austria which had been part of Austria-Hungary were reduced to a rump state named the Republic of German-Austria (German:Republik Deutschösterreich), though excluding the predominantly German-speakingSouth Tyrol.The desire for the annexation of Austria to Germany was a popular opinion shared by all social circles in both Austria and Germany.On 12 November, German-Austria was declared a republic, and named Social DemocratKarl Renneras provisional chancellor. On the same day it drafted a provisional constitution that stated that "German-Austria is a democratic republic" (Article 1) and "German-Austria is an integral part of the German reich" (Article 2).The Treaty of Saint Germain and theTreaty of Versaillesexplicitly forbade union between Austria and Germany.The treaties also forced German-Austria to rename itself as "Republic of Austria" which consequently led to the firstAustrian Republic.
Over three million German-speaking Austrians found themselves living outside the new Austrian Republic as minorities in the newly formed or enlarged states ofCzechoslovakia,Yugoslavia,Hungary, and Italy.These included the provinces ofSouth Tyrol, andGerman Bohemia. The status of German Bohemia andSudetenlandlater played a role in World War II.
The border between Austria and theKingdom of Yugoslaviawas settled with theCarinthian Plebiscitein October 1920 and allocated the major part of the territory of the former Austro-Hungarian Crownland ofCarinthiato Austria. This set the border on theKarawanksmountain range, with many Slovenes remaining in Austria.
After the war, inflation began to devalue the Krone, which was still Austria's currency. In the autumn of 1922, Austria was granted an international loan supervised by theLeague of Nations.The purpose of the loan was to avert bankruptcy, stabilise the currency, and improve Austria's general economic condition. The loan meant that Austria passed from an independent state to the control exercised by the League of Nations. In 1925, theAustrian schillingwas introduced, replacing the Krone at a rate of 10,000:1. Later, it was nicknamed the "Alpine dollar" due to its stability. From 1925 to 1929 the economy enjoyed a short high before nearly crashing afterBlack Tuesday.
TheFirst Austrian Republiclasted until 1933, when ChancellorEngelbert Dollfuss, using what he called"self-switch-off of Parliament", established an autocratic regime tending towardsItalian fascism.The two big parties at this time, the Social Democrats and the Conservatives, had paramilitary armies;the Social Democrats'Republikanischer Schutzbundwas now declared illegal, but was still operativeas the 12–15 February 1934Austrian Civil Warbroke out.
In February 1934, several members of theSchutzbundwere executed,the Social Democratic party was outlawed, and many of its members were imprisoned or emigrated.On 1 May 1934, theAustrofascistsimposed a new constitution ("Maiverfassung") which cemented Dollfuss's power, but on 25 July he was assassinated in anAustrian Nazicoup attempt.
His successorKurt Schuschniggacknowledged the fact that Austria was a "German state" and he also believed that Austrians were "better Germans" but he wished that Austria would remain independent.He announced areferendumon 9 March 1938, to be held on 13 March, concerning Austria's independence from Germany.
On 12 March 1938, Austrian Nazis took over the government, while German troops occupied the country, which prevented Schuschnigg's referendum from taking place.On 13 March 1938, theAnschluss(lit.'joining'or'connection') of Austria was officially declared. Two days later, Austrian-bornAdolf Hitlerannounced what he called the "reunification" of his home country with the "rest of theGerman Reich" on Vienna'sHeldenplatz. He established a referendum which confirmed the union with Germany in April 1938.
Parliamentary elections were held in Germany (including recently annexed Austria) on 10 April 1938. They were the final elections to the Reichstag during Nazi rule, and they took the form of a single-question referendum asking whether voters approved of a single Nazi-party list for the 813-member Reichstag, as well as the recent annexation of Austria (theAnschluss). Jews, Roma and Sinti were not allowed to vote.Turnout in the election was officially 99.5%, with 98.9% voting "yes". In the case of Austria, Adolf Hitler's native soil, 99.71% of an electorate of 4,484,475 officially went to the ballots, with a positive tally of 99.73 percent.Although most Austrians favoured theAnschluss, in certain parts of Austria, the German soldiers were not always welcomed with flowers and joy, especially in Vienna, which had Austria's largest Jewish population.Nevertheless, despite the propaganda and the manipulation and rigging which surrounded the ballot box result, there was massive genuine support for Hitler for fulfilling theAnschluss,since many Germans from both Austria and Germany saw it as completing the long overdue unification of all Germans into one state.
On 13 March 1938, Austria was annexed by theThird Reichand ceased to exist as an independent country (theAnschluss). TheAryanisationof the wealth of Jewish Austrians started immediately in mid-March, with a so-called "wild" (i.e. extra-legal) phase, but it was soon structured legally and bureaucratically so the assets which Jewish citizens possessed could be stripped from them. At that time,Adolf Eichmann, who grew up in Austria, was transferred to Vienna and ordered to persecute the Jews. During the November pogrom in 1938 ("Reichskristallnacht"), Jews and Jewish institutions such as synagogues were subjected to violent attacks in Vienna, Klagenfurt, Linz, Graz, Salzburg, Innsbruck and several cities in Lower Austria.Otto von Habsburg, a vehement opponent of the Nazis, the last Crown Prince of Austria-Hungary, an honorary citizen of hundreds of places in Austria and partly envisaged by Schuschnigg as a monarchical option, was in Belgium at the time. He spoke out against the Anschluss and was then wanted by the Nazi regime and his property would have been expropriated and he would have been shot immediately if he were caught.In 1938, the Nazis renamed Austria the "Ostmark",a name which it had until 1942, when it was renamed the "Alpine and Danubian Gaue" (Alpen-und Donau-Reichsgaue).
Though Austrians made up only 8% of the population of the Third Reich,some of the most prominent Nazis were native Austrians, includingAdolf Hitler,Ernst Kaltenbrunner,Arthur Seyss-Inquart,Franz Stangl,Alois Brunner,Friedrich Rainer, andOdilo Globocnik,as were over 13% of the members of theSSand 40% of the staff at the Naziextermination camps.In theReichsgau, besides the main campKZ-Mauthausen, there were numerous sub-camps in all provinces where Jews and other prisoners were killed, tortured and exploited.At this time, because the territory was outside the operational radius of Allied aircraft, the armaments industry was greatly expanded through the forced labour of concentration camp prisoners, this was especially the case with regard to the manufacture of fighter planes, tanks and missiles.
Most of theresistance groupswere soon crushed by theGestapo. While the plans of the group aroundKarl Burianto blow up the Gestapo's headquarters in Vienna were uncovered,the important group around the later executed priestHeinrich Maiermanaged to contact theAllies. This so-called Maier-Messner group was able to send the Allies information about armaments factories whereV-1 flying bombs,V-2 rockets,Tiger tanks, and aircraft (Messerschmitt Bf 109,Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet, etc.) were manufactured, information which was important to the success ofOperation CrossbowandOperation Hydra, both of which were preliminary missions before the launch ofOperation Overlord. This resistance group, which was in contact with the American secret service (OSS), soon provided information about mass executions andconcentration campssuch asAuschwitz. The group's aim was to cause Nazi Germany to lose the war as quickly as possible and re-establish an independent Austria.
Vienna fell on 13 April 1945, during theSovietVienna offensive, just before the total collapse of the Third Reich. The invading Allied powers, in particular the Americans, planned for the supposed "Alpine Fortress Operation" of a national redoubt, that was largely to have taken place on Austrian soil in the mountains of theEastern Alps. However, it never materialised because of the rapid collapse of the Reich.
Karl RennerandAdolf Schärf(Socialist Party of Austria [Social Democrats and Revolutionary Socialists]), Leopold Kunschak (Austria's People's Party [former Christian Social People's Party]), and Johann Koplenig (Communist Party of Austria) declared Austria's secession from the Third Reich by the Declaration of Independence on 27 April 1945 and set up aprovisional governmentin Vienna under state Chancellor Renner the same day, with the approval of the victoriousRed Armyand backed byJoseph Stalin.(The date is officially named the birthday of the second republic.) At the end of April, most of western and southern Austria were still under Nazi rule. On 1 May 1945, theFederal Constitutional Lawof 1920, which had been terminated by dictator Dollfuss on 1 May 1934, was declared valid again. The total number ofAustrian military deathsfrom 1939 to 1945 was 260,000.The total number of JewishAustrian Holocaustvictims was 65,000.About 140,000 Jewish Austrians had fled from the country in 1938–39. Thousands of Austrians had taken part in serious Nazi crimes (hundreds of thousands of people died in theMauthausen-Gusen concentration campalone), a fact which was officially acknowledged by ChancellorFranz Vranitzkyin 1992.
Allied-occupied Austriawas afterWorld War IIdivided intomilitary occupationzones. Austria was governed by theAllied Commission for Austria.As stipulated in theMoscow Declarationof 1943 a subtle difference was seen in the treatment of Austria by the Allies.
The Austrian government, consisting of Social Democrats, Conservatives, and Communists resided inVienna, which was surrounded by the Soviet zone. This Austrian government was recognised by theallies of World War IIin October 1945 despite concerns thatKarl Rennercould be Stalin's puppet.On 26 July 1946 the Austrian Parliament passed its firstnationalizationlaw and approximately 70 mining and manufacturing companies were seized by the Austrian state. The Ministry of Property Protection and Economic Planning (Ministerium für Vermögenssicherung und Wirtschaftsplanung) was responsible for directing the nationalized industries under the directorship of MinisterPeter Krauland(party ÖVP).
On 15 May 1955, after talks which lasted for years and were influenced by theCold WarAustria regained full independence by concluding theAustrian State Treatywith the allies of World War II. On 26 October 1955, all occupation troops had left and Austria declared itspermanent neutralityby an act of parliament.This day is now Austria'sNational Day, a public holiday.
The status ofTyrolwas a lingering problem between Austria andItaly. To this day, there are 20 different squares in Austrian cities called "Südtiroler Platz" (South Tyrolean Square) in memory of the supposed loss of the Austrian territories. Terrorist acts by theSouth Tyrolean independence movementhave been documented in the 1950s and 1960s. A great degree of autonomy was granted to Tyrol by the Italian national government.
The political system of theSecond Republicis based on the constitution of 1920 and 1929, which was reintroduced in 1945. The system came to be characterised byProporz, whereby most posts of political importance were split proportionately between members of theSocial Democratic Party of Austria(SPÖ) and theAustrian People's Party(ÖVP).Interest group "chambers" with mandatory membership (e.g. for workers, business people, farmers) grew to considerable importance and were usually consulted in the legislative process, so hardly any legislation was passed that did not reflect widespread consensus.
Since 1945, governing via a single-party government has occurred twice: 1966–1970 (ÖVP) and 1970–1983 (SPÖ). During all other legislative periods, either agrand coalitionof SPÖ and ÖVP or a "small coalition" (one of these two and a smaller party) ruled the country.
Kurt Waldheim, the former secretary-general of theUnited Nations, was elected President of Austria from 1986 to 1992. He had been a Wehrmacht officer in the Second World War and wasaccused of war crimes.
Following areferendum in 1994, at which consent reached a majority of two-thirds, the country became a member of theEuropean Unionon 1 January 1995.
The major parties SPÖ and ÖVP have contrary opinions about the future status of Austria's military nonalignment: While the SPÖ in public supports a neutral role, the ÖVP argues for stronger integration into the EU's security policy; even a future NATO membership is not ruled out by some ÖVP politicians (ex. Werner Fasslabend (ÖVP) in 1997).In reality, Austria is taking part in the EU'sCommon Foreign and Security Policy, participates inpeacekeepingand peace creating tasks, and has become a member ofNATO's "Partnership for Peace"; the constitution has been amended accordingly.SinceLiechtensteinjoined theSchengen Areain 2011, none of Austria's neighbouring countries performs border controls towards it anymore.
TheParliament of Austriais located inVienna, the country's capital and most populous city. Austria became afederal,representative democraticrepublicthrough theFederal Constitutional Lawof 1920. The political system of the Second Republic with itsnine federal statesis based on the constitution of 1920, amended in 1929, which was re-enacted on 1 May 1945.
Thepresident of Austriais the head of state. The president is directly elected by popular majority vote, with a run-off between the top-scoring candidates if necessary. Thechancellor of Austriais head of thegovernment. The chancellor is selected by the president and tasked with forming a government based on the partisan composition of the lower house of parliament.
The government can be removed from office by either a presidential decree or byvote of no confidencein the lower chamber of parliament, theNationalrat. Voting for the president and for the parliament used to be compulsory in Austria. The compulsion was abolished in steps from 1982 to 2004.
Austria's parliament consists of two chambers. The composition of the Nationalrat (183 seats) is determined every five years (or whenever the Nationalrat has been dissolved by the federal president on a motion by the federal chancellor, or by the Nationalrat itself) by a general election in which every citizen over the age of 16 has theright to vote. The voting age was lowered from 18 in 2007.
While there is a general threshold of 4% of the vote for all parties in federal elections (Nationalratswahlen) to participate in the proportional allocation of seats, there remains the possibility of being elected to a seat directly in one of the 43 regional electoral districts (Direktmandat).
The Nationalrat is the dominant chamber in the legislative process in Austria. However, the upper house of parliament, theBundesrat, has a limited right of veto (the Nationalrat can—in almost all cases—ultimately pass the respective bill by voting a second time; this is referred to as aBeharrungsbeschluss, lit. "vote of persistence"). A constitutional convention, called theÖsterreich -Konventwas convened on 30 June 2003 to consider reforms to the constitution, but failed to produce a proposal that would command a two-thirds majority in the Nationalrat, the margin necessary for constitutional amendments or reform.
While the bicameral Parliament and the Government constitute the legislative and executive branches, respectively, the courts are the third branch of Austrian state powers. The Constitutional Court (Verfassungsgerichtshof) exerts considerable influence on the political system because of its power to invalidate legislation and ordinances that are not in compliance with the Constitution. Since 1995, theEuropean Court of Justicemay overrule Austrian decisions in all matters defined in the laws of the European Union. Austria also implements the decisions of theEuropean Court of Human Rights, since theEuropean Convention on Human Rightsis part of the Austrian constitution.
After general elections held in October2006, theSocial Democratic Party(SPÖ) emerged as the strongest party, and theAustrian People's Party(ÖVP) came in second, having lost about 8% of its previous polling.Political realities prohibited any of the two major parties from forming a coalition with smaller parties. In January 2007 the People's Party and SPÖ formed a grand coalition with the social democratAlfred Gusenbaueras Chancellor. This coalition broke up in June 2008.
Elections in September2008further weakened both major parties (SPÖ and ÖVP) but together they still held 70% of the votes, with the Social Democrats holding slightly more than the other party. They formed a coalition withWerner Faymannfrom the Social Democrats as Chancellor. TheGreen Partycame in third with 11% of the vote. The FPÖ and the deceasedJörg Haider's new partyAlliance for the Future of Austria, both on the political right, were strengthened during the election but taken together received less than 20% of the vote. On 11 October 2008, Jörg Haider died in a car accident.
In thelegislative elections of 2013, the Social Democratic Party received 27% of the vote and 52 seats; the People's Party 24% and 47 seats, thus controlling together the majority of the seats. The Freedom Party received 40 seats and 21% of the votes, while the Greens received 12% and 24 seats. Two new parties, Stronach and the NEOS, received less than 10% of the vote, and 11 and nine seats respectively.
On 17 May 2016,Christian Kernfrom Social Democrats (SPÖ) was sworn in as the new chancellor. He continued governing in a "grand coalition" with the conservative People's Party (ÖVP). He took the office after the former chancellor, also from SPÖ,Werner Faymann's resignation.
On 26 January 2017,Alexander Van der Bellenwas sworn in as the mostly ceremonial – but symbolically significant – role of Austrian president.
After the Grand Coalition broke in Spring 2017 a snap election was proclaimed forOctober 2017. The Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) with its new young leaderSebastian Kurzemerged as the largest party in the National Council, winning 31.5% of votes and 62 of the 183 seats. The Social Democratic Party (SPÖ) finished second with 52 seats and 26.9% votes, slightly ahead of the Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ), which received 51 seats and 26 percent. NEOS finished fourth with 10 seats (5.3% of votes), and PILZ (which split from the Green Party at the start of the campaign) entered parliament for the first time and came in fifth place with 8 seats and 4.4% The Green Party failed with 3.8% to cross the 4% threshold and was ejected from parliament, losing all of its 24 seats.The ÖVP decided to form a coalition with the FPÖ. The new government between the centre-right wing and the right-wing populist party under the new chancellor Sebastian Kurz was sworn in on 18 December 2017,but the coalition government later collapsed in the wake of the"Ibiza" corruption scandalandnew electionswere called for 29 September 2019. The elections led to another landslide victory (37.5 percent) of the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP) which formed a coalition government with the reinvigorated (13.9 percent) Greens, which was sworn in with Kurz as chancellor on 7 January 2020.
On 11 October 2021, Chancellor Sebastian Kurz resigned, after pressure triggered by a corruption scandal. Foreign MinisterAlexander Schallenbergof ÖVP succeeded him as chancellor.Following a corruption scandal involving the ruling People's Party, Austria had its third conservative chancellor in two months afterKarl Nehammerwas sworn into office on 6 December 2021. His predecessor Alexander Schallenberg had left the office after less than two months. ÖVP and the Greens continued to govern together.
The 1955Austrian State Treatyended the occupation of Austria following World War II and recognised Austria as an independent and sovereign state. On 26 October 1955, theFederal Assemblypassed a constitutional article 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 has shaped its foreign policy on the basis of neutrality, but rather different from the neutrality of Switzerland.
Austria began to reassess its definition ofneutralityfollowing the fall of theSoviet Union, granting overflight rights for the UN-sanctioned action againstIraqin 1991, and since 1995, it has developed participation in the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy. Also in 1995, it joined NATO'sPartnership for Peace(although it was careful to do so only after Russia joined) and subsequently participated in peacekeeping missions in Bosnia. Meanwhile, the only part of the Constitutional Law on Neutrality of 1955 still fully valid is not to allow foreign military bases in Austria.Austria signed the UN'sNuclear Weapon Ban Treaty,which was opposed by all NATO members.
Austria attaches great importance to participation in theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Developmentand other international economic organisations, and it has played an active role in theOrganization for Security and Cooperation in Europe(OSCE). As an OSCE-participating state, Austria's international commitments are subject to monitoring under the mandate of theU.S. Helsinki Commission.
In December 2022, Austria preventedBulgaria's andRomania's accession to theSchengen Area.In the two countries, the Austrian veto caused considerable outrage. Because of the controversial vote,Romaniawithdrew its ambassador fromVienna.Citizens ofRomaniawere advised by the government not to travel to Austria for skiing, and a boycott against Austrian companies likeOMVandRaiffeisenbegan.As of 9 December 2024, Austria had lifted its veto, allowing Romania and Bulgaria to become part of the Schengen free-travel zone on 1 January 2024.
The manpower of the Austrian Armed Forces (Austrian German:Bundesheer) mainly relies onconscription.All males who have reached the age of eighteen and are found fit have to serve a six months compulsorymilitary service, followed by an eight-year reserve obligation. Both males and females at the age of sixteen are eligible for voluntary service.Conscientious objectionis legally acceptable and those who claim this right are obliged to serve an institutionalised nine monthscivilian serviceinstead. Since 1998, women volunteers have been allowed to become professional soldiers.
The main sectors of the Bundesheer are Joint Forces (Streitkräfteführungskommando, SKFüKdo) which consist of Land Forces (Landstreitkräfte), Air Forces (Luftstreitkräfte), International Missions (Internationale Einsätze) and Special Forces (Spezialeinsatzkräfte), next to Joint Mission Support Command (Kommando Einsatzunterstützung; KdoEU) and Joint Command Support Centre (Führungsunterstützungszentrum; FüUZ). Austria is alandlocked countryand has no navy.
In 2012, Austria's defence expenditures corresponded to approximately 0.8% of its GDP. The Army currently has about 26,000soldiers, of whom about 12,000 are conscripts. As head of state, theAustrian presidentis nominally the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. Command of the Austrian Armed Forces is exercised by the minister of defence, as of May 2020:Klaudia Tanner.
Since the end of theCold War, and more importantly the removal of the former heavily guarded "Iron Curtain" separating Austria and itsEastern Blocneighbours (Hungaryand formerCzechoslovakia), the Austrian military has been assisting Austrian border guards in trying to prevent border crossings byillegal immigrants. This assistance came to an end when Hungary andSlovakiajoined the EUSchengen Areain 2008, for all intents and purposes abolishing "internal" border controls between treaty states. Some politicians have called for a prolongation of this mission, but the legality of this is heavily disputed. In accordance with the Austrian constitution, armed forces may only be deployed in a limited number of cases, mainly to defend the country and aid in cases of national emergency, such as in the wake ofnatural disasters.They may only exceptionally be used as auxiliary police forces.
Within itsself-declared status of permanent neutrality, Austria has a tradition of engaging in UN-led peacekeeping and other humanitarian missions. TheAustrian Forces Disaster Relief Unit(AFDRU), in particular, an all-volunteer unit with close ties to civilian specialists (e.g. rescue dog handlers) enjoys a reputation as a quick (standard deployment time is 10 hours) and efficientSARunit. Currently, larger contingents of Austrian forces are deployed inBosniaandKosovo.According to the 2024Global Peace Index, Austria is the 3rd most peaceful country in the world.
Austria is afederal republicconsisting ofnine federal states(Austrian German:Bundesländer).The federal states are sub-divided intodistricts(Bezirke) and statutory cities (Statutarstädte). Districts are subdivided intomunicipalities(Gemeinden). Statutory Cities have the competencies otherwise granted to both districts and municipalities. Vienna is unique in that it is both a city and a federal state. The European Commission's Directorate-General for Translation calls the federal statesprovinces.
Austria is a largely mountainous country because of its location in theAlps.TheCentral Eastern Alps,Northern Limestone Alps, andSouthern Limestone Alpsare all partly in Austria. Of the total area of Austria (83,871 kmor 32,383 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 Alps of western Austria give way somewhat into low lands and plains in the eastern part of the country.
Austria lies between latitudes46°and49° N, and longitudes9°and18° E.
It can be divided into five areas, the biggest being theEastern Alps, which constitute 62% of the nation's total area. The Austrian foothills at the base of the Alps and theCarpathiansaccount for around 12% and 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 Austriangraniteplateau, it is located in the central area of the Bohemian Mass and accounts for 10% of Austria. The Austrian portion of theVienna basinmakes up the remaining 4%.
In Austriaforest coveris around 47% of the total land area, equivalent to 3,899,150 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, up from 3,775,670 hectares (ha) in 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered 2,227,500 hectares (ha) and planted forest covered 1,671,500 hectares (ha). Of the naturally regenerating forest 2% was reported to beprimary forest(consisting of native tree species with no clearly visible indications of human activity) and around 23% of the forest area was found within protected areas. For the year 2015, 18% of the forest area was reported to be underpublic ownership, 82%private ownershipand 0% with ownership listed as other or unknown.
Phytogeographically, Austria belongs to the Central European province of theCircumboreal Regionwithin theBoreal Kingdom. According to theWWF, the territory of Austria can be subdivided into four ecoregions: theCentral European mixed forests,Pannonian mixed forests,Alps conifer and mixed forests, andWestern European broadleaf forests.Austria had a 2018Forest Landscape Integrity Indexmean score of 3.55/10, ranking it 149th globally out of 172 countries.
The greater part of Austria lies in the cool/temperateclimate zone, where humid westerly winds predominate. With nearly three-quarters of the country dominated by the Alps, thealpine climateis predominant. In the east—in thePannonian Plainand along theDanube valley—the climate shows continental features with less rain than the alpine areas. Although Austria is cold in the winter (−10 to 0 °C), summer temperatures can be relatively high,with average temperatures in the mid-20s and a highest temperature of 40.5 °C (105 °F) in August 2013.
According to theKöppen Climate ClassificationAustria has the following climate types:Oceanic (Cfb),Cool/Warm-summer humid continental (Dfb),Subarctic/Subalpine (Dfc),Tundra/Alpine (ET), andIce-Cap (EF). It is important to note though that Austria may experience very cold, severe winters, but most of the time they are only around as cold as those in somewhat comparable climate zones, for example, Southern Scandinavia or Eastern Europe. As well, at higher altitudes, summers are usually considerably cooler than in the valleys/lower altitudes. The subarctic and tundra climates seen around the Alps are much warmer in winter than what is normal elsewhere due in part to the Oceanic influence on this part of Europe.
Climate change in Austriahas already caused temperature rises of almost 2 °C since 1880, and temperatures are expected to increase further whileheat wavesbecome more common. Extreme precipitation events have become more frequent, and associatedfloodsandlandslidescould threaten Austria's electricity supply security.Austria's mountainous regions are highly sensitive to climate change and are experiencing reduced snowfall, earliersnowmeltandglacierloss.
Austria consistently ranks high in terms ofGDP per capita,due to its highly industrialised economy, and well-developedsocial market economy. Until the 1980s, many of Austria's largest industry firms were nationalised; in recent years, however,privatisationhas reduced state holdings to a level comparable to other European economies.Labour movementsare particularly influential, exercising a large influence on labour politics and decisions related to the expansion of the economy. Next to a highly developed industry, international tourism is the most important part of theeconomy of Austria.
Germany has historically been the main trading partner of Austria, making it vulnerable to rapid changes in theGerman economy. Since Austria became a member state of theEuropean Union, it has gained closer ties to other EU economies. Membership of the EU has drawn an influx of foreign investors attracted by Austria's access to the single European market and proximity to the aspiring economies of the European Union. Growth in GDP reached 3.3% in 2006.At least 67% of Austria's imports come from other European Union member states.
TheFinancial crisis of 2007–2008dented the economy of Austria in other ways as well. It caused, for example, theHypo Alpe-Adria-Bank Internationalto be purchased in December 2009 by the government for 1 euro owing to credit difficulties, thus wiping out the €1.63bn ofBayernLB. As of February 2014, the HGAA situation was unresolved,causing ChancellorWerner Faymannto warn that its failure would be comparable to the 1931Creditanstaltevent.
Austria indicated on 16 November 2010 that it would withhold the December instalment of its contribution to the EU bailout of Greece, citing the material worsening of the Greek debt situation and the apparent inability of Greece to collect the level of tax receipts it had previously promised.
Since thefall of communism,Austrian companieshave been quite active players and consolidators in Eastern Europe. Between 1995 and 2010, 4,868mergers and acquisitionswith a total known value of 163 billion EUR with the involvement of Austrian firms have been announced.The largest transactions with involvement of Austrian companieshave been: the acquisition ofBank AustriabyHypoVereinsbankfor 7.8 billion EUR in 2000, the acquisition ofPorsche Holding SalzburgbyVolkswagen Groupfor 3.6 billion EUR in 2009,and the acquisition ofBanca Comercială RomânăbyErste Groupfor 3.7 billion EUR in 2005.
Tourism in Austriaaccounts for almost 9% of its gross domestic product.In 2007, Austria ranked 9th worldwide in international tourism receipts, with 18.9 billion US$.Ininternational tourist arrivals, Austria ranked 12th with 20.8 million tourists.
In 1972 the country began construction of anuclear power plantto produce electricity atZwentendorfon the RiverDanube, following a unanimous vote in parliament. However, in 1978 areferendumvoted 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 although the nuclear power plant had already finished.
Austria currently produces more than half of its electricity byhydropower.Together with otherrenewable energysources such aswind power,solar power, andbiomass, the electricity supply from renewable energy amounts to 62.89 percent.
Compared to most European countries, Austria is ecologically well endowed. It'sbiocapacity(or biologicalnatural capital) is more than double of the world average: In 2016 Austria had 3.8 global hectaresof biocapacity per person within its territory, compared to the world average of 1.6 global hectares per person. By contrast, in 2016 they used 6.0 global hectares of biocapacity which amounts to Austria'secological footprintof consumption. This means that Austrians use about 60% more biocapacity than Austria contains. As a result, Austria is running a biocapacity deficit.
Rail transport in Austriais primarily provided by the national carrierAustrian Federal Railways(Österreichische Bundesbahnen, ÖBB). It operates mostcommuter rail systemsand long-distance trains.
Austria's population was estimated to be 9,170,647 in April 2024 byStatistik Austria.The population of the capital,Vienna, exceeds 2 million, representing about a quarter of the country's population.It is known for its cultural offerings and high standard of living.
Vienna is the country's largest city.Grazis second in size, with 291,007 inhabitants, followed byLinz(206,604),Salzburg(155,031),Innsbruck(131,989), andKlagenfurt(101,303). All other cities have fewer than 100,000 inhabitants.
According to Statistic Austria, at the beginning of 2024, there were 1.8 millionforeign-bornresidents in Austria, corresponding to 22.3% of the total population. There are more than 620,100 descendants of foreign-born immigrants.
Turksform one of the largest ethnic groups in Austria, numbering around 350,000.However, due to the recent migration trends, number of Romanian nationals surpassed the number of Turkish nationals in the country.Together,Serbs,Croats,Bosniaks,Macedonians, andSlovenesmakeup about 5.1% of Austria's total population. The Council of Europe estimates that approximately 25,000Romani peoplelive in Austria.
Thetotal fertility rate(TFR) in 2017 was estimated at 1.52 children born per woman,below the replacement rate of 2.1, it remains considerably below the high of 4.83 children born per woman in 1873.In 2015, 42.1% of births were to unmarried women.Austria hadthe 14th oldest population in the worldin 2020, with the average age of 44.5 years.Thelife expectancyin 2016 was estimated at 81.5 years (78.9 years male, 84.3 years female).
Statistics Austria estimates that the population will grow to 10.55 million people by 2080 due to immigration.
The official language of Austria has beenGermansince 1920, based on article 8 ofits constitution the same year.Austrian Germanor Austrian (a variety ofStandard High German) is usually written in Austria and ItalianSouth Tyrol, it has been standardized in Austria since theMinistry of Education, Science and Researchpublished theÖsterreichisches Wörterbuchin 1951, though used primarily just in education, publications, announcements, and websites. However, thede factocommon spoken languages of Austria are not Austrian German taught in schools butBavarianandAlemannicdialects: TwoUpper Germanlocal languages or collection of dialects with varying degrees of difficulty being understood by each other as well as by speakers of non-Austrian German dialects. Taken as a collective whole,German languages or dialectsare thus spoken natively by 88.6% of the population, which includes the 2.5% German-born citizens who reside in Austria, followed by Turkish (2.28%), Serbian (2.21%), Croatian (1.63%), English (0.73%), Hungarian (0.51%), Bosnian (0.43%), Polish (0.35%), Albanian (0.35%), Slovenian (0.31%), Czech (0.22%), Arabic (0.22%), and Romanian (0.21%).
The Austrian federal state ofCarinthiais home to a significant indigenousSlovene-speaking minoritywhile in the easternmost federal state,Burgenland(formerly part of the Hungarian portion ofAustria-Hungary), there are significantHungarian- andCroatian-speaking minorities.Burgenland Croatian, Hungarian, andSloveneare also recognized asofficial languagesbeside German in parts of Carinthia and Burgenland.
According to census information published byStatistik Austriafor 2001there were a total of 710,926 foreign nationals living in Austria. Of these, the largest by far are 283,334 foreign nationals from theformer Yugoslavia(of whom 135,336 speak Serbian; 105,487 Croatian; 31,591 Bosnian–i.e. 272,414 Austrian resident native speakers in total, plus 6,902 Slovenian and 4,018Macedonianspeakers).
Historically, before 1945,Austrianswere regarded as ethnicGermansand viewed themselves as such, although this national identity was challenged byAustrian nationalismin the decades after the end of World War I and even more so after World War II.Austria was part ofEast Francia(Kingdom of Germany) and theHoly Roman Empire of the German Nationfrom 996 to 1806 and was part of theGerman Confederation, a looseconfederationof 39 predominantly German-speakingsovereign states, from 1815 until theAustro-Prussian warin 1866, which resulted in the dissolution of the German Confederation and the creation of theNorth German Confederationled by Prussia and excluding Austria. In 1871, Germany wasfounded as a nation-state, Austriawas not a part of it. After World War I and the breakup of the Austrian monarchy, politicians of the new republic declared its name to be "Deutschösterreich" (Republic of German-Austria) and that it was part of theGerman Republic. A unification of the two countries was forbidden by the1919 Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Layeas one of the conditions imposed by the victoriousAllies of World War Iupon the vanquished nation, to prevent the creation of a territorially extensive German state. In 1938, Austria became part of Nazi Germany. After the events of World War II andNazism, Austria declared independence from Germany on 27 April 1945 andAustriannational identityhas been popular in Austria since then, and nowadays Austrians do not consider themselves as Germans but as ethnic Austrians.
Austrians today may be described either as anationalityor as a homogeneousGermanicethnic group,that is closely related to neighbouringGermans,Liechtensteiners, andGerman-speakingSwiss.Today 91.1% of the population are regarded as ethnic Austrians.
TheTurksare the largest single immigrant group in Austria,closely followed by theSerbs.Serbs form one of the largest ethnic groups in Austria, numbering around 300,000 people.Historically, Serbian immigrants moved to Austria during the time of theAustro-Hungarian Empire, whenVojvodinawas under Imperial control. FollowingWorld War IIthe number of Serbs expanded again, and today the community is very large. The Austrian Serbian Society was founded in 1936. Today, Serbs in Austria are mainly found inVienna,Salzburg, andGraz.
Of the remaining number of Austria's people who are of non-Austrian descent, many come from surrounding countries, especially from the formerEast Blocnations.Guest workers(Gastarbeiter)and their descendants, as well as refugees from theYugoslav warsand other conflicts, also form an importantminority groupin Austria. Since 1994 theRomani peopleandSintihave been an officially recognised ethnic minority in Austria.
An estimated 13,000 to 40,000Slovenesin the Austrian federal stateCarinthia(theCarinthian Slovenes) as well asCroats(around 30,000)andHungariansin Burgenland were recognised as a minority and have had special rights following the Austrian State Treaty (Staatsvertrag) of 1955.
Austria was historically a strongly Roman Catholic country as the centre of theHabsburg monarchy, which championed Roman Catholicism.Although in the 16th century many Austrians converted toother denominations(Lutheranism, in particular) as the ProtestantReformation(begun in 1517) spread across Europe, the Habsburgs enacted measures ofCounter-Reformationas early as 1527 and harshly repressed Austrian evangelicalism; only a minority of Austrians remained Protestant.At least since the 1970s, a few decades after the fall of the Habsburg monarchy and the transformation of Austria into afederalrepublic, there has been a continuous decline of Christianity (with the exception of Orthodox churches) and a proliferation of other religions, a process which has been particularly pronounced inVienna, with its large foreign and immigrant populations.
In 2001, about 74% of Austria's population were registered as Roman Catholic,while about 5% considered themselvesProtestants.Austrian Christians, both Roman Catholic and Protestant,are obliged to pay a mandatory membership fee (calculated by income – about 1%) to their churches; this payment is called theKirchenbeitrag("ecclesiastical contribution").
From the second half of the 20th century, the number of adherents and churchgoers has declined. Data for 2023 list 4,638,000 members of the Catholic Church, or around 50% of the total Austrian population, yet Sundaychurch attendancewas only 347,000, or 3.7% of the total Austrian population.Additionally, the Lutheran church recorded a loss of 74,421 adherents between 2001 and 2016.
The 2001 census reported that about 12% of the population declared themselveswithout a religion;according to ecclesiastical information, this share had grown to 20% by 2015and further increased to 22.4% (1,997,700 people) in 2021.Of the remaining population, around 340,000 were registered as members of various Muslim communities in 2001, originating chiefly fromTurkey,Bosnia-Herzegovina, andKosovo;the number of Muslims doubled in the fifteen years to 2016, to 700,000,and reached 745,600 in 2021.In 2021, another 436,700 residents of Austria (mostlySerbs) were members ofEastern Orthodox Churches, 26,600 wereBuddhists, 10,100 wereHindus, about 21,800 were activeJehovah's Witnesses, and 5,400 wereJews.
According to theEurobarometer2010,
Education in Austria is entrusted partly to theAustrian federal statesand partly to the national government. School attendance iscompulsoryfor nine years, i.e. usually to the age of fifteen.
Pre-schooleducation (calledKindergartenin Austrian German), free in most federal states, is provided for all children between the ages of three and six years and, whilst optional, is considered a normal part of a child's education due to its high takeup rate. The maximum class size is around 30, each class normally being cared for by one qualified teacher and one assistant.
Primary education, orVolksschule, lasts for four years, starting at age six. The maximum class size is 30, but may be as low as 15. It is generally expected that a class will be taught by one teacher for the entire four years and the stable bond between teacher and pupil is considered important for a child's well-being. The3Rs(Reading, writing and arithmetic) dominate lesson time, with less time allotted to project work than in the UK. Children work individually and all members of a class follow the same plan of work. There is nostreaming.
Standard attendance times are 8 am to 12 pm or 1 pm, with hourly five- or ten-minute breaks. Children are given homework daily from the first year. Historically there has been no lunch hour, with children returning home to eat. However, due to a rise in the number of mothers at work, primary schools are increasingly offering pre-lesson and afternoon care.
Secondary education consists of two main types of schools, attendance at which is based on a pupil's ability as determined by grades from the primary school. TheGymnasiumcaters for the more able children, in the final year of which theMaturaexamination is taken, which is a requirement for access to university. TheHauptschuleprepares pupils for vocational education but also for various types of further education (Höhere Technische LehranstaltHTL = institution of higher technical education; HAK = commercial academy; HBLA = institution of higher education for economic business; etc.). Attendance at one of these further education institutes also leads to theMatura. Some schools aim to combine the education available at the Gymnasium and the Hauptschule, and are known asGesamtschulen. In addition, a recognition of the importance of learning English has led some Gymnasiums to offer a bilingual stream, in which pupils deemed able in languages follow a modified curriculum, a portion of the lesson time being conducted in English.
As at primary school, lessons at Gymnasium begin at 8 am and continue with short intervals until lunchtime or early afternoon, with children returning home to a late lunch. Older pupils often attend further lessons after a break for lunch, generally eaten at school. At the primary level, all pupils follow the same plan of work. Great emphasis is placed on homework and frequent testing. Satisfactory marks in the end-of-the-year report ("Zeugnis") are a prerequisite for moving up ("aufsteigen") to the next class. Pupils who do not meet the required standard re-sit their tests at the end of the summer holidays; those whose marks are still not satisfactory are required to re-sit the year ("sitzenbleiben").
It is not uncommon for a pupil to re-sit more than one year of school. After completing the first two years, pupils choose between one of two strands, known as "Gymnasium" (slightly more emphasis on arts) or "Realgymnasium" (slightly more emphasis on science). Whilst many schools offer both strands, some do not, and as a result, some children move schools for a second time at age 12. At age 14, pupils may choose to remain in one of these two strands or to change to a vocational course, possibly with a further change of school.
The Austrian university system had been open to any student who passed theMaturaexamination until recently. A 2006 bill allowed the introduction of entrance exams for studies such as Medicine. In 2001, an obligatory tuition fee ("Studienbeitrag") of €363.36 per term was introduced for all public universities. Since 2008, for all EU students, the studies have been free of charge, as long as a certain time limit is not exceeded (the expected duration of the study plus usually two terms tolerance).When the time-limit is exceeded, the fee of around €363.36 per term is charged. Some further exceptions to the fee apply, e.g. for students with a year's salary of more than about €5000. In all cases, an obligatory fee of €20.20 is charged for the student union and insurance.
Even though Austria has a 0.9 health index and alife expectancyof 81 years,the country still faces numerous problems when it comes to health, one example being that 2 in 5 Austrians have achronic condition. Cancer is a big problem in the country, as about 21,500 people died of this condition in 2019, having lung cancer as the primary cause of cancer deaths, probably linked to several risk factors in the country's population, as it is estimated that 40% of deaths in the country are caused by smoking, dietary risks, alcohol, low physical activity, and air pollution.
One of the most costly health services in the EU is located in Austria. In 2019, health spending per capita ranked third in the EU. Health-relatedout-of-pocket expendituresare higher than the EU average.
With 5.2 physicians per 1,000 inhabitants, Austria has among the highest physician density inOECDcountries. Overall, the country has 271 hospitals with a total of 45,596 physicians (data from 2017), about 54% of which work (also or primarily) in hospitals. Although Austria has the second highest physician rate in theEU, a large share of physicians is tropical to retirement age (55 years and older), and may thus be at a higher risk of developing severe conditions in a specimen ofCOVID-19infection.
The number of nurses in Austria has been subject to debate in recent years with regard to definitions of qualifications and their interpretation in cross-country comparisons. A new mandatory health professional registry was set up in 2018. However, due to the elapsing of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, compulsory registration has been suspended. This implies that professional activities in long-term superintendency are moreover possible without registration until the end of the pandemic by late spring 2022 (Transition without the pandemic is still to be defined).
Austria's past as a European power and its cultural environment generated a broad contribution to various forms of art, most notably among them music.Austria was the birthplace of manyfamous composerssuch asJoseph Haydn,Michael Haydn,Franz Liszt,Franz Schubert,Anton Bruckner,Johann Strauss Sr., andJohann Strauss Jr., as well as members of theSecond Viennese Schoolsuch asArnold Schoenberg,Anton Webern,andAlban Berg.Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartwas born inSalzburg, then an independent Church Principality of theHoly Roman Empire, which later became part of Austria, and much of Mozart's career was spent in Vienna.
Vienna was for a long time an important centre of musical innovation. 18th- and 19th-century composers were drawn to the city due to the patronage of the Habsburgs, and made Vienna the European capital of classical music. During theBaroque period, Slavic and Hungarian folk forms influenced Austrian music.
Vienna's status began its rise as a cultural centre in the early 16th century and was focused around instruments, including thelute.Ludwig van Beethovenspent the better part of his life in Vienna. Austria's currentnational anthem, attributed to Mozart, was chosen afterWorld War IIto replace thetraditional Austrian anthemby Joseph Haydn.
AustrianHerbert von Karajanwas principal conductor of theBerlin Philharmonicfor 35 years. He is generally regarded as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, and he was a dominant figure in European classical music from the 1960s until his death.
Austria was the cradle of numerous scientists with international reputation. Among them areLudwig Boltzmann,Ernst Mach,Victor Franz Hess, andChristian Doppler, prominent scientists in the 19th century. In the 20th century, contributions byLise Meitner,Erwin Schrödinger, andWolfgang Paulito nuclear research andquantum mechanicswere key to these areas' development during the 1920s and 1930s. Prominent present-dayquantum physicistsareAnton ZeilingerandPeter Zollerrenown for important developments inquantum opticsandquantum information.
In addition tophysicists, Austria was the birthplace of two of the most noteworthy philosophers of the 20th century,Ludwig WittgensteinandKarl Popper. In addition to them, biologistsGregor MendelandKonrad Lorenzas well as mathematicianKurt Gödeland engineers such asFerdinand PorscheandSiegfried Marcuswere Austrians.Bertha von Suttnerbecame the first woman to be awarded theNobel Peace Prize, and the first Austrian laureate.
A focus of Austrian science has always been medicine and psychology, starting inmedieval timeswithParacelsus. Eminent physicians likeTheodore Billroth,Clemens von Pirquet, andAnton von Eiselsberghave built upon the achievements of the 19th-century Vienna School of Medicine. Austria was home toSigmund Freud, founder ofpsychoanalysis,Alfred Adler, founder ofIndividual psychology, psychologistsPaul WatzlawickandHans Asperger, and psychiatristViktor Frankl. Austria was ranked 17th in theGlobal Innovation Indexin 2024.
TheAustrian Schoolof Economics, which is prominent as one of the main competitive directions for economic theory, is related to Austrian economistsCarl Menger,Joseph Schumpeter,Eugen von Böhm-Bawerk,Ludwig von Mises, andFriedrich Hayek. Other noteworthy Austrian-born émigrés include the econimic anthropologistKarl Paul Polanyi, management thinkerPeter Drucker, sociologistPaul Felix Lazarsfeld, and scientistSir Gustav Nossal.
Austria's cuisine is derived from that of theAustro-Hungarian Empire. Austrian cuisine is mainly the tradition of Royal-Cuisine ("Hofküche") delivered over centuries. It is famous for its well-balanced variations of beef and pork and countless variations of vegetables. There is also the "Mehlspeisen" tradition of bakeries, which created particular delicacies such as Sachertorte, "Krapfen" which are doughnuts usually filled with apricot jam or custard, and "Strudel" such as "Apfelstrudel" filled with apple, "Topfenstrudel" filled with a type of cheese curd called "topfen", and "Millirahmstrudel" (milk-cream strudel).
In addition to native regional traditions, the cuisine has been influenced byHungarian,Czech,Polish,Jewish,Italian,Balkan, andFrenchcuisines, from which both dishes and methods of food preparation have often been borrowed. The Austrian cuisine is therefore one of the most multicultural and transcultural in Europe.
Typical Austrian dishes includeWiener Schnitzel, Schweinsbraten,Kaiserschmarren,Knödel,Sachertorte, andTafelspitz. There are also Kärntner Kasnudeln, which are pockets of dough filled with Topfen, potatoes, herbs and peppermint which are boiled and served with a butter sauce. Kasnudeln are traditionally served with a salad.Eierschwammerldishes are also popular. The sugar block dispenserPezwas invented in Austria, as well asMannerschnitten. Austria is also famous for itsMozartkugelnand its coffee tradition. With over 8 kg per year it has the sixth highest per capita coffee consumption worldwide.
Beer is sold in 0.2-litre (aPfiff), 0.3-litre (aSeidel,kleines BierorGlas Bier) and 0.5-litre (aKrügerlorgroßes BierorHalbe) measures. At festivals one litreMaßand two-litreDoppelmaßin theBavarianstyle are also dispensed. The most popular types of beer arelager(known asMärzenin Austria), naturally cloudyZwicklbierandwheat beer. At holidays like Christmas and Easterbockbeer is also available.
The most important wine-producing areas are inLower Austria,Burgenland,Styria, and Vienna. TheGrüner Veltlinergrape provides some of Austria's most notable white winesandZweigeltis the most widely planted red wine grape.
InUpper Austria, Lower Austria, Styria, andCarinthia,Most, a type ofciderorperry, is widely produced.
ASchnappsof typically up to 60% alcohol or fruitbrandyis drunk, which in Austria is made from a variety of fruits, for exampleapricotsandrowanberries. The produce of small private schnappsdistilleries, of which there are around 20,000 in Austria, is known asSelbstgebrannterorHausbrand.
Local soft drinks such asAlmdudlerare very popular around the country as an alternative to alcoholic beverages. Another popular drink is the so-called "Spezi", a mix between Coca-Cola and the original formula ofOrange Fantaor the more locally renownedFrucade.Red Bull, the highest-selling energy drink in the world, was introduced byDietrich Mateschitz, an Austrian entrepreneur.
Due to the mountainous terrain,alpine skiingis a prominent sport in Austria and is extremely valuable in the promotion and economic growth of the country.Similar sports such assnowboardingorski-jumpingare also widely popular. Austrian athletes such asAnnemarie Moser-Pröll,Franz Klammer,Hermann Maier,Toni Sailer,Benjamin Raich,Marlies Schild, andMarcel Hirscherare widely regarded as some of the greatest alpine skiers of all time,Armin Kogler,Andreas Felder,Ernst Vettori,Andreas Goldberger,Andreas Widhölzl,Thomas Morgenstern, andGregor Schlierenzaueras some of the greatest ski jumpers of all time.Bobsleigh,luge, andskeletonare also popular events with a permanent track located inIgls, which hosted bobsleigh and luge competitions for the1964and1976 Winter Olympicsheld inInnsbruck. Thefirst Winter Youth Olympicsin 2012 were held in Innsbruck as well.
Football in Austria is governed by theAustrian Football Association.Austria was among the most successful football playing nations on the European continent, placing 4th at the1934 FIFA World Cup, 3rd at the1954 FIFA World Cupand 7th at the1978 FIFA World Cup. However, Austrian football has not been internationally successful since the mid 20th century. Austria co-hosted the2008 UEFA European Football Championshipwith Switzerland. The national Austrian football league is theAustrian Bundesliga, which includes teams such as record-championsSK Rapid Wien,FK Austria Wien,Red Bull Salzburg, andSturm Graz.
Besides football, Austria also has professional national leagues for most major team sports, including theAustrian Hockey Leagueforice hockey,Österreichische Basketball Bundesligafor basketball and theAustrian Football Leaguefor American football. Horseback riding is also popular; the famedSpanish Riding School of Viennais located in Vienna.
Niki Laudawas aFormula Onedriver who was three times F1 World Champion, winning in 1975, 1977 and 1984. He is currently the only driver to have been champion for both Ferrari and McLaren, the sport's two most successful constructors. Other known Austrian F1 drivers includeGerhard BergerandJochen Rindt. Austria also hosts F1 races (Austrian Grand Prix); now held at theRed Bull Ring, in the past also at theÖsterreichringand theZeltweg Airfield.
Thomas Musteris a formertennisplayer and was one of the world's leadingclay courtplayers in the 1990s. He won the1995 French Openand in 1996 was rankednumber 1in theATP ranking.2020 US OpenwinnerDominic Thiemis also another prominent tennis player having been as high as world number 3 and also been in the finals of theFrench OpenandAustralian Open. Other well known Austrian tennis players includeHorst SkoffandJürgen Melzer.
Sport played a significant role in developing national consciousness and boosting national self-confidence in the early years of the Second Republic after World War II, through events such as theTour of Austriacycle race and through sporting successes such as the national football team's run to third at the 1954 World Cup and the performances of Toni Sailer and the rest of the "Kitzbühel Miracle Team" in the 1950s.
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47°20′N13°20′E﻿ / ﻿47.333°N 13.333°E﻿ /47.333; 13.333