Austria States Vienna At the beginning of the 20th century, Austria was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, or Austria-Hungary. This country included most or all of present-day Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Croatia, about half of Romania, and parts of Southern Poland, Western Ukraine, Northern Yugoslavia, and Northern Italy. It also had administrative control of Bosnia-Herzegovina. At the end of World War I, the treaties of Saint-Germain and Trianon redrew the map of Europe, and Austria emerged looking almost exactly as it does today. During World War II, Austria was annexed by Germany, but the Allies never recognized the annexation, and at the end of the war, the status quo ante was restored. Other names of country: ISO: Codes from ISO 3166-2. FIPS: Codes from FIPS PUB 10-4. NUTS: Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics.

Note: by taking the first three characters of the NUTS codes, the states can be grouped into three regions: AT1 Ostï¿½sterreich, AT2 Sï¿½dï¿½sterreich, and AT3 Westï¿½sterreich. UPU: Province codes from "Postal Addressing Systems". Conv: Conventional abbreviations used in Austria. Population: 2011-10-31 census from population registers (source [5]). Postal Codes: Austrian Postleitzahlen (postal codes, abbreviated PLZ) are four digits. With a few exceptions, the state can be deduced from the first one or two digits. The exceptions are cases where a city is served from a distribution center in a neighboring state. (a) Also 99xx for East Tyrol. Note: postal codes for Austrian addresses can be identified by prefixing them with "A-". Further subdivisions: See the Districts of Austria page. Each state is further subdivided into entities of two types: Politischer Bezirk (district) and Statutarstadt (statutory city, or urban district). (Vienna has only one such subdivision.) There are currently 99 districts.

They are further subdivided into Gemeinden (communes). Territorial extent: Vienna is completely surrounded by Lower Austria. Tyrol consists of two sections, separated by a strip of land belonging to Salzburg. The smaller part, commonly called Osttirol (East Tyrol), is equivalent to the Politischer Bezirk of Lienz. There is also a small area of Tyrol, containing the town of Jungholz, which is connected to the rest of Tyrol at only a single point. The Austrian-German border forms an X there. for Austria lists locations in the country, some of them with their latitudes and longitudes, some with their ISO 3166-2 codes for their subdivisions. This information can be put together to approximate the territorial extent of subdivisions. Origins of names: Burgenland: Named for the three Hungarian counties, known in German as Eisenburg, ï¿½denburg, and Wieselburg, which were cut up to make this state: the Land of the "-burgs." Carinthia: The inhabitants of this region were known as Carantani to the ancient Romans. Lower Austria: Area of Austria which lies downstream along the Danube.

Salzburg: German Salz: salt, Burg: castle. Salt was mined and stored here. Styria: German Steiermark from Steyr, a city name, and Old High German marcha: boundary land. Tyrol: Named for Tyrol Castle near Merano. Upper Austria: Area of Austria which lies upstream along the Danube. Vienna: Latin Vindobona from Indo-European vindo: whiteness and Celtic bona: citadel. Vorarlberg: = Before the Arlberg, a mountain (pass) which divides this state from the rest of Austria. Change history: 1918: The official names of the provinces of ï¿½sterreich ober der Enns and ï¿½sterreich unter der Enns were changed to Oberï¿½sterreich and Unterï¿½sterreich, respectively, to conform to popular usage. 1920-07-16: By the Treaty of Saint-Germain, Austria was created as a fragment of Austria-Hungary. In principle, Austria was to include the ethnic German areas of Austria-Hungary, but some of these areas were given to other countries for political reasons.

The southern part of Tyrol was given to Italy, and is now the region of Trentino-Alto Adige. (The loss of this area left Tyrol in two fragments.) The provinces of Coastland, Carniola, Dalmatia, and the southern part of Styria (6,032 sq. km.) were incorporated in the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, which later became Yugoslavia. Carinthia lost 777 sq. km., part to Italy and part to Yugoslavia. The provinces of Bohemia, Moravia, and most of Silesia became part of Czechoslovakia. Galicia and the rest of Silesia were given to Poland. Bukowina was given to Romania. By the Treaty of Trianon, the western parts of three Hungarian counties were transferred from Hungary to Austria, forming the state of Burgenland. For other transfers of territory, see Hungary.

The capitals of the forfeited provinces, when they were part of Austria-Hungary, were Trieste (Coastland), Laibach (Carniola), Zadar (Dalmatia), Prague (Bohemia), Brunn (Moravia), Troppau (Silesia), Lemberg (Galicia), and Czernowitz (Bukowina). 1921-12-14: Part of Burgenland restored to Hungary, including the city of ï¿½denburg, now known as Sopron. 1922-01-01: Vienna split from Unterï¿½sterreich, leaving the latter without a capital. 1938-03-13: Austria was annexed by Germany in the Anschluss. The Allies never recognized the legality of this act. The German government called the Austrian territory Ostmark. Tirol and Vorarlberg were unified into a single entity called Tirol-Vorarlberg. Burgenland was entirely divided between Lower Austria and Styria. The names of Lower and Upper Austria were changed to Niederdonau and Oberdonau (Lower and Upper Danube), respectively.

The divisions of Ostmark were classified as Reichsgaue (provinces or districts of the empire). An area of 800 sq. km. around Vienna was transferred from Niederdonau to Vienna. Krems was named capital of Niederdonau. 1945-04-29: A provisional government was set up for a liberated Austria, restored to its pre-war borders (both external and internal, except for Vienna). The Allied Council recognized this government on 1945-10-20. 1954: Vienna was restored to its pre-war borders. 1986-07-10: Capital of Lower Austria moved from Vienna to Sankt Pï¿½lten. 1995-01-01: Austria joined the European Union.

Other names of subdivisions: Burgenland: Burgenlï¿½ndia (Portuguese-variant) Carinthia: Carinthie (French, Norwegian); Carï¿½ntia (Portuguese); Carintia (Spanish); Carinzia (Italian); Karintia (Turkish); Karintiï¿½ (Dutch); Kï¿½rnten (Danish, Finnish, German, Swedish); Koroško (Slovenian) Lower Austria: ala-Itï¿½valta (Finnish); Austria Inferiore (Italian); Baixa-ï¿½ustria (Portuguese); Baja Austria (Spanish); Basse-Autriche (French); Nedre ï¿½strig (Danish); Niederdonau, ï¿½sterreich unter der Enns (obsolete-German); Niederï¿½sterreich (Dutch, German, Norwegian, Swedish) Salzburg: Salisburgo (Italian); Salzbourg (French); Salzburgo (Portuguese, Spanish) Styria: Estï¿½ria (Portuguese); Estiria (Spanish); Steiermark (Danish, Finnish, German

, Norwegian, Swedish); Stiermarken (Dutch); Stiria (Italian); Styrie (French) Tyrol: Tirol (Dutch, German, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish); Tiroli (Finnish); Tirolo (Italian); Tyrolen (Swedish) Upper Austria: Alta-ï¿½ustria (Portuguese); Alta Austria (Spanish); Austria Superiore (Italian); Haute-Autriche (French); Oberdonau, ï¿½sterreich ober der Enns (obsolete-German); Oberï¿½sterreich (Dutch, German, Norwegian, Swedish); ï¿½vre ï¿½strig (Danish); ylï¿½-Itï¿½valta (Finnish) Vienna: Viena (Portuguese, Spanish); Vienne (French); Vï¿½n (Icelandic); Viyana (Turkish); Wenen (Dutch); Wien (Danish, German, Norwegian, Swedish); Вена (Russian) Population history: Steiermark | state, Austria | Britannica.com Steiermark Graz Steiermark, English Styria, Bundesland (federal state), southeastern and central Austria , bordering Slovenia

 on the south and bounded by Bundesländer Kärnten (Carinthia) on the south, Salzburg on the west, Oberösterreich and Niederösterreich (Upper and Lower Austria) on the north, and Burgenland on the east.

It has an area of 6,327 square miles (16,387 square km). Upper Steiermark extends in the north from the Limestone Alps to the eastern groups of the Central Alps, embracing the valleys of the Mur, Mürz, Salza, and Upper Enns rivers. The Lower Steiermark upland and hill country consists of the middle Mur Valley with the Grazerfeld “plain” in the centre; the Koralpe and Packalpe rising above 6,500 feet (2,000 metres) in the west; and a gravel, loam-covered hill country in the east. Murau in the Mur valley, Steiermark, Austria. Herbert Ortner, Vienna, Austria Inhabited since the Stone Age and mined as early as the Bronze Age , the region became part of the Celtic kingdom of Noricum , which was incorporated into the Roman Empire c. 15 bc. In the 5th century it was overrun by Germanic tribes, followed by the Avars and their Slav subjects (Slovenes). Subjected by the Bavarians in the 8th century, the country became a mark, or frontier territory, of the Frankish Empire.

Further German colonization led to Germanization by c. 1300, except in the southern countryside. The area of modern Steiermark belonged to the duchy of Carinthia (Kärnten) after 976, but other northern areas of modern Steiermark were acquired in the 11th and 12th centuries by the counts, or margraves, of Traungau, whose main seat was at Styraburg, or modern Steyr (Oberösterreich). In 1180 the entire area became the duchy of Steiermark, or Styria, which passed to the Babenberg duke of Austria in 1192 until the extinction of the Babenberg line in 1246. In 1276 most of the area was ceded to the Habsburgs, and it became a crown land in 1282. Thereafter, its history was merged with that of Austria, although it was ruled only by junior branches of the House of Habsburg from 1379 to 1439 and from 1564 to 1619.

After World War I , 2,329 square miles of southern Steiermark, including Marburg (Maribor), Cilli (Celje), and Pettau (Ptuj), were ceded to Yugoslavia. Steiermark has been a Bundesland ever since, except for the years 1938–45 when most of it formed a Reichsgau (party district) under the Anschluss, or incorporation into Germany. Similar Topics Styria (Austria) This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website Styria (Austria) Description of the flag The shade of green used on the Styrian flag is fir-tree green. The people of Styria are very proud of their well-preserved forests of fir trees. The crowns on the flags of the Austrian states are all different because the Länder have very different historical backgrounds. The Styrian arms are topped by the (still-existent) ducal hat of Styria. Peter Diem, 16 August 2002 Coat of Arms by Dr. Peter Diem Arms: Vert, a heraldic panther argent, armed, horned and breathing flames gules. The shield ensigned of an archducal coronet.

Mike Oettle, 19 August 2002 Concerning the arms of Steiermark/Styria, I consulted the presently best publication referring to the topic: Peter Diem (1995), Die Symbole Österreichs [ die95 ]. On p. 340 you'll find the exact wording of the Styrian Constitution from 1960, paragraph 6: "(1) Die Farben des Landes sind weiss-grün (The country's colors are white and green). (2) Das Wappen des Landes ist in grünem Schild der rotgehoernte und gewaffnete silberne Panther, der aus dem Rachen Flammen hervorstösst. Der Wappenschild trägt den historischen Hut (The country's arms are on a green shield the red-horned and armed silver panther, exhausting flames from his throat. The shield bears the historical hat)." In all the respective laws and descriptions the name of the fictitious animal is always blazoned "Panther". First historical evidence of the panther was revealed on seals of Margrave Otakar III in 1160.

Soon the sign became representative for Styria as well as for Kärnten (= Carinthia). For the first time the "Zürcher Wappenrolle" from c. 1340 depicted it in the still valid colors. Nowadays Styria and the Free State of Bavaria are the only states using the panther on their arms. The original meaning of the fantastic animal is unknown, yet it is assumed to be of Christian source, strengthened by the book "Physiologus". Please note, that the form of the "Panther" doesn't match exactly either a real panther or a tiger or gryphon in British heraldry. The Styrian beast is a symbol of its own, unlike any other fantastic heraldic device. Dieter Linder, 28 April 1997 The animal on the arms of Styria is a "heraldic panther". Styria became a duchy in 1180. Because it was a Carantanian country known as the Carantanian March before, Styria had a black panther in the arms. Later after the dispute with Carinthia, Styria changed colours to green and white which are still in use today.

Usually there is also a crown or so-called "ducal hat" over the arms of Styria. I'm enclosing text from the book about Slovenian symbols written by Jozko Savli: Black Panther - Carantanian coat of arms ************************************************ Carantania, as all historical royalties and principalities, had its own battle-sign. It can be found already in the middle of the 12th century as a coat of arms or signet of Carantanian countries, Carinthia and its Carantanian March (later Styria). This sign on the arms is a black panther on a silver shield, which had been attested for the first time on Margrave Otakar III Trangau's shield (the signet is dated 1160). Previously a panther had been situated also on numerous reliefs, which are from Roman and pre-Roman Noricum. Nevertheless, the symbol of panther is thousands of years old. It can be found on pictures in caverns from Stone Age and later in all early cultures from Asia Minor to Egypt and Greece.

In Greek mythology it is together with God Dionysius, later the Roman Bacchus, and with them it was spread over all Mediterranean countries in the ancient period. In early Christianity the writer Physiologus from Alexandria used the image of a panther in his book about animals, as a symbol for the diffusion of the Gospel, upon the pretext it diffuses a sweet scent (which was a symbol of Gospel) and animals used to follow this scent, which were also caught by him. His only enemy was a dragon (a symbol of evil). The fact that panther became the symbol and also the coat of arms of Carantania and remained for centuries on the flag of Carantanian Austrian countries calls for another examination of the political history of this country and also its inclusion within the Roman Empire. Till now this history has been interpreted as the German enslavement of Carantanians i.e. Slovene people. The coat of arms with the panther and its symbolism reveals a completely different period of political happenings in the Middle Ages in this part of Middle Europe. So, Carantania and Slovene people had a historical role, which has not been known up to now.

Uros Zizmund, 01 May 1997 Styria Styria Please choose Language or Country Language Holiday Information Line urlaubsservice wien Give us a call or chat with us here Monday to Friday from 8am to noon. Outside of our office hours please drop us an email and we'll be happy to answer your questions. *toll-free; calls from mobile networks may incur charges Top activities Order Styria Called the ‘Green Heart’ of Austria with large forests throughout the province and inviting vineyards. Styria has many activities and excursions for visitors such as hiking, skiing, castles and traditional local festivities. Cultural Highlights Plan your trip with us... Holiday Information Line © Österreich Werbung Give us a call or chat with us here Monday to Friday from 8am to noon. Outside of our office hours please drop us an email and we'll be happy to answer your questions. Holiday information Our holiday experts are here to assist you with your holiday planning. Give us a call from 8a to noon or drop us an email and we'll be happy to answer your questions. Austria - Languages | Ethnologue Ethnologue Feedback Alemannic [gsw] Vorarlberg state.

300,000 in Austria (1991 A. Schmidt). Status: 5 (Developing). Dialects: High Alemannisch (Hochalemannisch). Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, High German, German, Upper German, Alemannic. More Information Austrian Sign Language [asq] Scattered. 8,000 (2014 EUD). 8,000–10,000 Deaf sign language users (2014 EUD), 39,500 deaf (2014 IMB). Status: 5 (Developing). Recognized language (2000, Constitution, Section 8(3) as amended). Alternate Names: Carinthian Sign Language, KGS, OEGS, ÖGS, Österreichische Gebärdensprache. Dialects: Substantial regional variation: Vienna, Carinthia, Styria, others. Partially intelligible with French Sign Language [fsl] . Russian Sign Language [rsl] is historically connected to it. Fingerspelling system similar to French Sign Language [fsl] . Classification: Sign language.

Comments: Originated in 1870. Sign language classes for hearing people, including at two universities. Christian. More Information Bavarian [bar] Lower Austria and Salzburg states; Northern Bavarian dialect; Burgenland, Carinthia, and Styria. 7,830,000 in Austria (European Commission 2012). Total users in all countries: 14,089,000. Status: 5 (Developing). Alternate Names: Bairisch, Bavarian Austrian, Bayerisch, Ost-Oberdeutsch. Dialects: Central Bavarian (Danube Bavarian), North Bavarian (Upper Franconian), South Bavarian, Salzburgish. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, High German, German, Upper German, Bavarian-Austrian. Comments: Dialects: North Bavarian north of Regensburg, to Nuremburg and Western Bohemia, Czech Republic; South Bavarian in Bavarian Alps, Tyrol, Styria, including the Heanzian dialect of Burgenland, Carinthia, northern Italy, and part of Gottschee.

More Information Croatian [hrv] Burgenland, Lower Austria and Vienna states. 131,000 in Austria (2003 UNSD). Status: 6b (Threatened). Statutory language of provincial identity in Burgenland, Styria regions (1955, Treaty of Vienna). Dialects: Burgenland Croatian. Classification: Indo-European, Balto-Slavic, Slavic, South, Western. Comments: Croatian spoken in Burgenland differs extensively from that spoken in the Republic of Croatia and intelligibility is difficult. Some dialects heavily influenced by German [deu] . Christian. More Information German, Standard [deu] Vorarlberg state. Status: 1 (National). Statutory national language (1929, Constitution, Article 8), constitution reinstated 1945. Dialects: Kärntnerisch. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, High German, German, Middle German, East Middle German. More Information Hungarian [hun] Burgenland, Lower Austria, Styria, and Vienna states. 40,600 in Austria (2003 UNSD).

Ethnic population: 60,000 (Laakso et al 2013). Status: 4 (Educational). Statutory language of provincial identity in 7 districts in Burgenland (1976, Ethnic Groups Act, Articles 13–15). Alternate Names: Magyar. Dialects: Oberwart. Classification: Uralic. More Information Romani, Sinte [rmo] 6,270 in Austria (2003 UNSD). Status: 2 (Provincial). Statutory language of national identity (1993, Federal Act of 16 December). Alternate Names: Romanes, Sinte, Sinti. Classification: Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Intermediate Divisions, Western, Romani, Northern. Comments: Non-indigenous. Christian. More Information Slovak [slk] 10,200 in Austria (2003 UNSD). Status: 5 (Dispersed). Statutory language of national identity (1976, Ethnic Groups Act, Article 1(2)). Alternate Names: Slovencina, Slovenský Jazyk.

Classification: Indo-European, Balto-Slavic, Slavic, West, Czech-Slovak. Comments: Non-indigenous. More Information Slovene [slv] Carinthia and Styria states. 24,900 in Austria (2003 UNSD). Status: 5 (Dispersed). Statutory language of provincial identity in South Carinthia (1955, Treaty of Vienna). Alternate Names: Slovenian, “Windisch” (pej.). Classification: Indo-European, Balto-Slavic, Slavic, South, Western. Comments: Most do not consider themselves Slovenians, but Carinthians, belonging to the German culture. Separated by the Karawanken Mountains from the larger group of Slovenes in Slovenia. Formerly called “Windisch” pejoratively, an archaic form of Slovene, heavily influenced by German. Some use dialects, but others losing dialect knowledge. Many hear standard Slovene in church. More Information Swabian [swg] Tyrol state: Ruette district, around the town of Ruette. Status: 5 (Developing).

Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, High German, German, Upper German, Alemannic. Comments: Non-indigenous. More Information Walser [wae] Tyrol state: Paznauntal area; Brandnertal, Silbertal, Reintal, Schricken, Lech, Warth, Galtur; Vorarlberg state: Grosses Walsertal, Kleinwalsertal, Tannberg areas;. 8,080 in Austria (2000). Status: 6b (Threatened). Alternate Names: Walscher. Classification: Indo-European, Germanic, West, High German, German, Upper German, Alemannic. Austria: History Austria History During the past 10 centuries, the term Austria has designated a variety of geographic and political concepts. In its narrowest sense Austria has included only the present-day provinces of Upper and Lower Austria, including Vienna; in its widest meaning the term has covered the far-flung domains of the imperial house of Hapsburg. Its present connotation—German-speaking Austria—dates only from 1918. This article deals mainly with the history of German-speaking Austria.

For wider historical background, see Holy Roman Empire ; Hapsburg ; Austro-Hungarian Monarchy ; Hungary ; Bohemia ; and Netherlands, Austrian and Spanish . The Rise of Austria Austria is located at the crossroads of Europe; Vienna is at the gate of the Danubian plain, and the Brenner Pass in W Austria links Germany and Italy. From earliest times Austrian territory has been a thoroughfare, a battleground, and a border area. It was occupied by Celts and Suebi when the Romans conquered (15 B.C.–A.D. 10) and divided it among the provinces of Rhaetia, Noricum , and Upper Pannonia . After the 5th cent. A.D., Huns, Ostrogoths, Lombards, and Bavarians overran and devastated the provinces. By c.600, Slavs from the east had occupied all of modern Styria, Lower Austria, and Carinthia. In 788, Charlemagne conquered the area and set up the first Austrian (i.e., Eastern) March in the present Upper and Lower Austria, to halt the inroads of the Avars.

Colonization was encouraged, and Christianity (which had been introduced under the Romans) was again spread energetically. After Charlemagne's death (814) the march soon fell to the Moravians and later to the Magyars, from whom it was taken (955) by Emperor Otto I . Otto reconstituted the march and attached it to Bavaria , but, in 976, Otto II bestowed it as a separate fief on Leopold of Babenberg , founder of the first Austrian dynasty. Emperor Frederick I raised (1156) Austria to a duchy, and, in 1192, Styria also passed under Babenberg rule. The 11th and 12th cent. saw the height of Austrian feudalism and also witnessed the marked development of towns as the Danube was converted to a great trade route. After the death (1246) of the last Babenberg, King Ottocar II of Bohemia acquired (1251–69) Austria, Styria, Carinthia, and Carniola .

Fearing his power, the German princes elected (1273) Rudolf of Hapsburg German king. Rudolf I asserted (1282) his royal prerogative to reclaim the four duchies from Ottocar and incorporate them in his domains. After the murder (1308) of Rudolf's son, Albert I , the German princes balked at electing another member of the ambitious family. Albert's ducal successors enlarged the Hapsburg holdings by acquiring Tyrol (1363) and Trieste (1382) and extended their influence over the ecclesiastic states of Salzburg, Trent , and Brixen (see Bressanone ), which, however, remained independent until 1803. Marriage allowed Albert II to be elected German king in 1438. Beginning with Albert II, the rulers of the Holy Roman Empire were always chosen from the Hapsburg dynasty. Despite their vast imperial preoccupations, the emperors always considered German Austria the prized core of their dominions. During the long reign of Frederick III (1440–93), the protracted Hapsburg wars with France began.

In 1526, Austria, Bohemia, and Hungary were united under one crown (see Ferdinand I , emperor). In the same year Vienna was besieged for two weeks by troops of the Ottoman Empire under Sulayman the Magnificent, who had made a forceful advance into Europe. The Turkish threat to Austria ebbed and then climaxed again in the second siege of Vienna in 1683. The patterns of medievalism were weakening in Austria, especially as the money economy spread, and in the 16th cent. the commercial revolution diminished the importance of Austrian trade routes and of the ancient gold and silver mines of Tyrol and Carinthia. Economic and political instability in the 16th cent. precipitated the spread of the Protestant Reformation, which the Hapsburg rulers attempted to counter by nurturing the Counter Reformation. The alliance then formed between church and state continued throughout the history of the monarchy. The Austrian peasantry, especially in Tyrol, had gained some advantages in the Peasants' War of 1524–26; in general, however, the rising, backed by some Protestants but not by Luther, was defeated.

Suppression of Protestantism was at first impossible, and, under Maximilian II, Lutheran nobles were granted considerable toleration. Rudolph II and Matthias pursued policies of partial Catholicization, and, under Ferdinand II, anti-Protestant vigor helped to precipitate the Thirty Years War (1618–48). Protestant Bohemia and Moravia, defeated by the Austrians at the White Mt. (1620), became virtual Austrian provinces. Austria proper remained relatively unscathed in the long holocaust; after the Peace of Westphalia the Hapsburg lands emerged as a distinct empire, whereas the Holy Roman Empire drifted into a mere shadow existence. The Austrian Empire The monarchy, although repressive of free speech and worship, was far from absolute; taxation and other powers rested with the provincial estates for a further century. Emperor Charles VI (1711–40), whose dynastic wars had drained the state, secured the succession to the Hapsburg lands for his daughter, Maria Theresa , by means of the pragmatic sanction .

Maria Theresa's struggle with Frederick II of Prussia in the War of the Austrian Succession (see Austrian Succession, War of the ) and the Seven Years War opened a long struggle for dominance in the German lands. Except for the loss of Silesia, Maria Theresa held her own. The provincial estates were reduced in power, and an efficient centralized bureaucracy was created; as the nobles were attracted to bureaucratic service their power as a class was weakened. Maria Theresa's husband, Francis I , became Holy Roman emperor in 1745, but his position was largely titular. The major event of Maria Theresa's later reign was the first partition of Poland (1772; see Poland, partitions of ); in that transaction and in the third partition (1795) Austria renewed its eastward expansion. Joseph II , who succeeded her, impetuously carried forward the reforms which his mother had cautiously begun. His attempts to further centralize and Germanize his scattered and disparate dominions met stubborn resistance; his project to consolidate his state by exchanging the Austrian Netherlands for Bavaria was balked by Frederick II.

An exemplar of "benevolent despotism" and a disciple of the Enlightenment , Joseph also decreed a series of revolutionary agrarian, fiscal, religious, and judicial reforms; however, opposition, especially from among the clergy and the landowners, forced his successor, Leopold II , to rescind many of them. In Joseph's reign the Austrian bourgeoisie began to emerge as a social and cultural force. Music and architecture (see Vienna ) flourished in 18th-century Austria, and modern Austrian literature (see German literature ) emerged early in the 19th cent. In the reign of Francis II , Austria was drawn (1792) into war with revolutionary France (see French Revolutionary Wars ) and with Napoleon I . The treaties of Campo Formio (1797) and Lunéville (1801) preluded the dissolution (1806) of the Holy Roman Empire, and in 1804, Francis II took the title "Francis I, emperor of Austria." His rout at Austerlitz (1805) led to the severe Treaty of Pressburg (see Pressburg, Treaty of ).

An upsurge of patriotism resulted in the renewal of war with Napoleon in 1809; Austria's defeat at Wagram led to the even more humiliating Peace of Schönbrunn (see under Schönbrunn ). Austria was forced to side with Napoleon in the Russian campaign of 1812, but in 1813 it again joined the coalition against Napoleon; an Austrian, Prince Karl Philipp von Schwarzenberg, headed the allied forces. The Congress of Vienna (1814–15; see Vienna, Congress of ) did not restore to Austria its former possessions in the Netherlands and in Baden but awarded it Lombardy, Venetia, Istria, and Dalmatia. As the leading power of both the German Confederation and the Holy Alliance , Austria under the ministry of Metternich dominated European politics. Conservatism and the repression of nationalistic strivings characterized the age. Nevertheless, the Metternich period was one of great cultural achievement, particularly in music and literature.

The revolutions of 1848 shook the Hapsburg empire but ultimately failed because of the conflicting economic goals of the middle and lower classes and because of the conflicting nationalist aspirations that set the revolutionary movements of Germans, Slavs, Hungarians, and Italians against each other. Revolts were at first successful throughout the empire (see Risorgimento ; Galicia ; Bohemia ; Hungary ); in Vienna the revolutionists drove out Metternich (Mar., 1848). Emperor Ferdinand granted (April) a liberal constitution, which a constituent assembly replaced (July) with a more democratic one. After a new outbreak Vienna was bombarded, and the revolutionists were punished by troops under General Windischgrätz . Prince Felix zu Schwarzenberg became premier and engineered the abdication of Ferdinand in favor of Francis Joseph . Absolutism returned with the dissolution of the constituent assembly. Austrian leadership in Germany was reasserted at the Convention of Olmütz in 1850. Alexander Bach intensified (1852–59) Schwarzenberg's centralizing policy, thus heightening national tensions within the empire.

But economic prosperity was promoted by the lowering of internal tariff barriers, and several reforms dating from 1848 were upheld, notably the complete abolition of feudal dues. The military and political weakness of the empire was demonstrated by the Austrian loss of Lombardy in the Italian War of 1859. Attempts to solve the nationalities problem—the "October Diploma" (1860), which created a central legislature and gave increased powers to the provincial assemblies of nobles, and the "February Patent," which transferred many of these powers to the central legislature—failed. Prussia seized the opportunity to drive Austria out of Germany. After involving Austria in the war over Schleswig-Holstein in 1864, Bismarck found an easy pretext for attacking. Overwhelmingly defeated by Prussia at Sadová (or Sadowa; also know as the battle of Königgrätz) in 1866 (see Austro-Prussian War ), Austria was forced to cede Venetia to Italy. With this debacle Austria's political role in Germany came to an end. A reorganization of the government of the empire became inevitable, and in 1867 a compromise (Ger.

Ausgleich ) with Hungarian moderate nationalists established a dual state, the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy . But the realm, a land of diverse peoples ruled by a German-Magyar minority, increasingly became an anachronism in a nationalistic age. Failure to provide a satisfactory status for the other nationalities, notably the Slavs, played a major role in bringing about World War I . Important developments in Austrian society during this period were the continued irresponsibility of the nobility and the backwardness of the peasantry, the growth of a socialist working class, widespread anti-Semitism stimulated by the large-scale movement to Austria of poor Jews from the eastern provinces, and extraordinary cultural creativity in Vienna. The disastrous course of the war led to the breakup of the monarchy in 1918. Charles I renounced power; after a peaceful revolution staged by the Socialist and Pan-German parties, German Austria was proclaimed (Nov. 12) a republic and a part of Greater Germany. Modern Austria The Treaty of Saint-Germain (1919) fixed the present Austrian borders and forbade (as did the Treaty of Versailles) any political or economic union (Ger. Anschluss ) with Germany.

This left Austria a small country with some 7 million inhabitants, one third of whom lived in a single large city (Vienna) that had been geared to be the financial and industrial hub of a large state. The Dual Monarchy had been virtually self-sufficient economically; its breakup and the consequent erection of tariff walls deprived Austria of raw materials, food, and markets. In the postwar period, starvation and influenza exacted a heavy toll, especially in Vienna. These ills were followed by currency inflation, ended only in 1924 by means of League of Nations aid, following upon chronic unemployment, financial scandals and crises, and growing political unrest. "Red" Vienna, under the moderate socialist government of Karl Seitz , became increasingly opposed by the "Black" (i.e., clericalist) rural faction, which won the elections of 1921. The cabinet of Social Democrat Karl Renner was succeeded by Christian Socialist and Pan-German coalitions under Schober , Seipel , and others. Unrest culminated, in 1927, in violent riots in Vienna; two rival private militias—the Heimwehr of the monarchist leader E. R.

von Starhemberg and the Schutzbund of the socialists—posed a threat to the authority of the state. Economic crisis loomed again in the late 1920s. National Socialism , feeding in part on anti-Semitism, gained rapidly and soon absorbed the Pan-German party. Engelbert Dollfuss , who became chancellor in 1932, though irreconcilably opposed to Anschluss and to National Socialism, tended increasingly toward corporative fascism and relied heavily on Italian support. His stern suppression of the socialists precipitated a serious revolt (1934), which was bloodily suppressed by the army. Soon afterward a totalitarian state was set up, and all independent political parties were outlawed. In July, 1934, the National Socialists assassinated Dollfuss but failed to seize the government. Kurt von Schuschnigg succeeded Dollfuss. German pressure on Austria increased; Schuschnigg was forced to legalize the operations of the National Socialists and to appoint members of that party to cabinet posts. Schuschnigg planned a last-minute effort to avoid Anschluss by holding a plebiscite, but Hitler forced him to resign.

In Mar., 1938, Austria was occupied by German troops and became part of the Reich. Arthur Seyss-Inquart became the Nazi governor. In 1943, the Allies agreed to reestablish an independent Austria at the end of World War II. In 1945, Austria was conquered by Soviet and American troops, and a provisional government was set up under Karl Renner. The pre-Dollfuss constitution was restored with revisions; the country was divided into separate occupation zones, each controlled by an Allied power. Economic recovery was hindered by the decline of trade between Western and Eastern Europe and by the division into zones. Austria was formally recognized by the Western powers in 1946, but because of Soviet disagreement with the West over reparations, the occupation continued. On May 15, 1955, a formal treaty between Great Britain, France, the United States, the USSR, and Austria restored full sovereignty to the country. The treaty prohibited the possession of major offensive weapons and required Austria to pay heavy reparations to the USSR. Austria proclaimed its perpetual neutrality. In 1955 it was admitted to the United Nations.

By the 1960s unprecedented prosperity had been attained. Austria had joined the European Free Trade Association in 1959, but association with the European Economic Community (Common Market) was held back by Soviet opposition. Politically, a nearly equal balance of power between the conservative People's party and the Socialist party resulted in successive coalition cabinets until 1966, when the People's party won a clear majority. They were ousted by the Socialists in the 1970 elections, and Bruno Kreisky became chancellor. A long-standing dispute with Italy over the German-speaking population of the Trentino–Alto Adige region of Italy was dealt with in a treaty ratified in 1971. In 1983 the Socialist government fell, and the Socialists were forced to form a coalition with the far-right Freedom party. Austria captured world attention in 1986 when former UN secretary-general Kurt Waldheim was elected president despite allegations that he had been involved in atrocities as a German army staff officer in the Balkans during World War II.

Also in 1986 the Socialists (subsequently the Social Democrats) and the People's party again joined together in a "grand coalition," with Social Democrat Franz Vranitzky as chancellor; it retained control of the government through the 1990s. Austria began a partial privatization of state-owned industries in the late 1980s and entered the European Union (EU) in 1995. Waldheim was succeeded as president in 1992 by Thomas Klestil, the candidate of the People's party; Klestil was reelected in 1998. In 1997, Chancellor Vranitzky resigned and was replaced by Social Democrat Viktor Klima. In the Oct., 1999, elections, the People's party placed third, just barely behind the far-right Freedom party, whose leader, Jörg Haider, was criticized as demagogic and nativist. The electoral results complicated the formation of a stable new government, which was only achieved in Feb., 2000, when Wolfgang Schüssel of the People's party became chancellor of a People's party–Freedom party coalition.

Austria was quickly ostracized by other EU nations because of the Freedom party's participation in the government, and Haider—who had not joined the government—subsequently resigned as party leader. The sanctions imposed by the EU came to be regarded as threatening by smaller EU countries, however, and on the recommendation of an EU fact-finding commission they were lifted in Sept., 2000. Feuding within the Freedom party led to the collapse of the government two years later. Elections in Nov., 2002, were a major setback for the Freedom party, which was a distant third, while the People's party won a plurality. Despite the collapse of their coalition several months before, the People's party again formed (Feb., 2003) a government with the Freedom party, with Schüssel as chancellor. A little more than a year later, in Apr., 2004, Heinz Fischer, a Social Democrat, was elected president; his victory, the first by a Social Democrat since 1986, was regarded as a sign of voter unhappiness with the government.

A split in the Freedom party led party leader Haider to form (2005) the Alliance for Austria's Future and exclude extremist Freedom party members, and the Alliance replaced the Freedom party in the government. In the Oct., 2006, parliamentary elections the Social Democrats won the largest number of seats, besting the People's party, but Social Democratic leader Alfred Gusenbauer needed to form a coalition in order to govern, and by the end of 2006 he had not succeeded in doing so. The Freedom party finished third in the voting, while Haider's Alliance finished fifth, after the Greens. In Jan., 2007, the Social Democratic and People's parties formed a coalition government with Gusenbauer as chancellor, but the government collapsed in July, 2008. The Sept., 2008, elections saw the Social Democrats again win a plurality, but with slightly less than 30% of the vote; the two far-right parties combined nearly equaled that. Haider died in an automobile accident the following month. In December, the Social Democratic–People's party coalition was re-formed, with Social Democrat Werner Faymann as chancellor.

Fischer was reelected president in Apr., 2010. The share of the vote won by the Social Democratic and People's parties further eroded, to 27% and 24% respectively, in the Sept., 2013, parliamentary elections; two months later, they again formed a coalition government, with Faymann as chancellor. Sections in this article: Geography of Austria Geography of Austria Mother Earth Travel > Country Index > Austria Travel Information Austria is a small, predominantly mountainous country located in south-central Europe. It has a total area of 83,859 square kilometers, about twice the size of Switzerland and slightly smaller than the state of Maine. The landlocked country shares national borders with Switzerland and the tiny principality of Liechtenstein to the west (200 kilometers together), Germany (784 kilometers) and the Czech Republic and Slovakia (568 kilometers together) to the north, Hungary to the east (346 kilometers), and Slovenia (311 kilometers) and Italy (430 kilometers) to the south. The westernmost third of the somewhat pear-shaped country consists of a narrow corridor between Germany and Italy that is between thirty-two and sixty kilometers wide.

The rest of Austria lies to the east and has a maximum north-south width of 280 kilometers. The country measures almost 600 kilometers in length, extending from Lake Constance on the Austrian-Swiss border in the west to the Neusiedler See on the Austrian-Hungarian border in the east. The contrast between these two lakes--one in the Alps and the other a typical steppe lake on the westernmost fringe of the Hungarian Plain--illustrates the diversity of Austria's landscape. Seven of Austria's nine provinces have long historical traditions predating the establishment of the Republic of Austria in 1918: Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Styria, Carinthia, Salzburg, Tirol, and Vorarlberg. The provinces of Burgenland and Vienna were established after World War I. Most of Burgenland had been part of the Kingdom of Hungary, but it had a predominantly German-speaking population and hence became Austrian. Administrative and ideological reasons played a role in the establishment of Vienna as an independent province. Vienna, historically the capital of Lower Austria, was a socialist stronghold, whereas Lower Austria was conservative, and both socialists and conservatives wanted to consolidate their influence in their respective provinces.

Each province has a provincial capital with the exception of Vienna, which is a province in its own right in addition to being the federal capital. In Vienna, the City Council and the mayor function as a provincial parliament and provincial governor, respectively. Landform Regions The two best-known features of the Austrian landscape are the Alps and the Danube River. The Danube has its source in southwestern Germany and flows through Austria before emptying into the Black Sea. It is the only major European river that flows eastward, and its importance as an inland waterway has been enhanced by the completion in 1992 of the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal in Bavaria, which connects the Rhine and Main rivers with the Danube and makes possible barge traffic from the North Sea to the Black Sea.

The major rivers north of the watershed of the Austrian Alps (the Inn in Tirol, the Salzach in Salzburg, and the Enns in Styria and Upper Austria) are direct tributaries of the Danube and flow north into the Danube Valley, whereas the rivers south of the watershed in central and eastern Austria (the Gail and Drau rivers in Carinthia and the M�rz and Mur rivers in Styria) flow south into the drainage system of the Drau, which eventually empties into the Danube in Serbia. Consequently, central and eastern Austria are geographically oriented away from the watershed of the Alps: the provinces of Upper Austria and Lower Austria toward the Danube and the provinces of Carinthia and Styria toward the Drau. The Alps cover 62 percent of the country's total area. Three major Alpine ranges--the Northern Alps, Central Alps, and Southern Alps--run west to east through Austria. The Central Alps, which consist largely of a granite base, are the largest and highest ranges in Austria.

The Central Alps run from Tirol to approximately the Styria-Lower Austria border and include areas that are permanently glaciated in the �tzal Alps on the TiroleanItalian border and the High Tauern in eastern Tirol and Carinthia. The Northern Alps, which run from Vorarlberg through Tirol into Salzburg along the German border and through Upper Austria and Lower Austria toward Vienna, and the Southern Alps, on the Carinthia-Slovenia border, are predominantly limestone and dolomite. At 3,797 meters, Grossglockner in Carinthia is the highest mountain in Austria. As a general rule, the farther east the Northern Alps and Central Alps run, the lower they become. The altitude of the mountains also drops north and south of the central ranges. As a geographic feature, the Alps literally overshadow other landform regions. Just over 28 percent of Austria is moderately hilly or flat: the Northern Alpine Foreland, which includes the Danube Valley; the lowlands and hilly regions in northeastern and eastern Austria, which include the Danube Basin; and the rolling hills and lowlands of the Southeastern Alpine Foreland.

The parts of Austria that are most suitable for settlement--that is, arable and climatically favorable--run north of the Alps through the provinces of Upper Austria and Lower Austria in the Danube Valley and then curve east and south of the Alps through Lower Austria, Vienna, Burgenland, and Styria. Austria's least mountainous landscape is southeast of the low Leitha Range, which forms the southern lip of the Viennese Basin, where the steppe of the Hungarian Plain begins. The Bohemian Granite Massif, a low mountain range with bare and windswept plateaus and a harsh climate, is located north of the Danube Valley and covers the remaining 10 percent of Austria's area. Human Geography Land-use patterns in Austria change from Alpine to non-Alpine regions. Approximately one-tenth of Austria is barren or unproductive, that is, extremely Alpine or above the tree line. Just over two-fifths of Austria is covered by forests, the majority of which are in Alpine regions. Less than one-fifth of Austria is arable and suitable for conventional agriculture. The percentage of arable land in Austria increases in the east as the country becomes less Alpine.

More than one-fifth of Austria is pastures and meadows located at varying altitudes. Almost onehalf of this grassland consists of high-lying Alpine pastures. Historically, high Alpine pastures have been used during the summer for grazing dairy cattle, thus making space available at lower altitudes for cultivating and harvesting fodder for winter. Many of the high pastures are at altitudes of more than 1,000 meters. Although agriculture in mountainous areas was at one time economically viable, in recent decades it has survived only with the help of extensive subsidies. A concern of farmers in these mountainous regions is that membership in the European Union might entail a curtailment of these subsidies and the end of Alpine agriculture. If this occurs, many areas will be reclaimed by nature after centuries of cultivation. Although the Alps are beautiful, they make many areas of Austria uninhabitable. Austria's so-called areas of permanent settlement--regions that are cultivated, continuously inhabited, and used for transportation, but do not include forests, Alpine pastures, or barren land--cover only four-tenths or 35,000 square kilometers of the country.

The great majority of the area of permanent settlement is in the Danube Valley and the lowlands or hilly regions north, east, and south of the Alps, where approximately two-thirds of the population live. In the country's predominantly Alpine provinces, most of the population live in river valleys: Bregenz on the shores of Lake Constance in Vorarlberg; Innsbruck on the Inn River in Tirol; Salzburg on the Salzach River in Salzburg; and Klagenfurt on the Gail River in Carinthia. The higher the Alps are, the less inhabitable they become in terms of soil, microclimate, and vegetation. Conversely, the lower and broader the Alpine valleys are, the more densely populated they become. Tirol illustrates most clearly the relationship between Alpine geography and habitation. As the most mountainous province (less than 3 percent of the land is arable), it is the most sparsely inhabited, with an area of permanent settlement of only 15 percent. Because of the Alps, the country as a whole is one of the least densely populated states of Western and Central Europe. With ninety-three inhabitants per square kilometer, Austria has a population density similar to that of the former Yugoslavia.

Austria's national borders and geography have corresponded very little. Since the fall of the Roman Empire, the Alps and the Danube have not served to mark political boundaries. Even within Austria, provincial borders were only occasionally set by the ranges and ridges of the Alps. Although the Alps did not mark political boundaries, they often separated groups of people from one another. Because in the past the Alps were impassable, inhabitants isolated in valleys or networks of valleys developed distinct regional subcultures. Consequently, the inhabitants of one valley frequently maintained dialects, native or traditional dress, architectural styles, and folklore that substantially differed from those of the next valley. Differences were great enough that the origins of outsiders could easily be identified. However, mass media, mobility, prosperity, and tourism have eroded the distinctness of Alpine regional subcultures to a great extent by reducing the isolation that gave them their particular character. Despite the Alps, Austria has historically been a land of transit. The Danube Valley, for centuries Central Europe's aquatic link to the Balkan Peninsula and the "Orient" in the broadest sense of the word, has always been an avenue of eastwest transit.

However, Europe's division into two opposing economic and military blocs after World War II diminished Austria's importance as a place of transit. Since the opening of Eastern Europe in 1989, the country has begun to reassume its historical role. By the early 1990s, it had already experienced a substantial increase in the number of people and vehicles crossing its eastern frontiers. Within the Alps, four passes and the roads that run through them are of particular importance for north-south transit. The Semmering Pass on the provincial border of Lower Austria and Styria connects the Viennese Basin with the M�rz and Mur valleys, thus providing northeast-southwest access to Styria and Slovenia, and, via Carinthia, to Italy. The Phryn Pass between the provinces of Upper Austria and Styria and the Tauern Pass between the High Tauern Range and the Low Tauern Range of the Central Alps in Salzburg, provide access to the Mur Valley in Styria and the Drau Valley in Carinthia, respectively. The highways that run through these passes are important northwest-southeast lines of communication through the Alps.

The Phyrn highway has been nicknamed the "foreign workers' route" because millions of "guest workers" in Germany use it to return to their homes in the Balkans and Turkey for vacation. Many Germans and northern Europeans also use it in the summer months to reach the Adriatic coast. After the outbreak of hostilities in Yugoslavia in the summer of 1991, however, a substantial amount of this traffic was rerouted through the Danube Valley and Hungary. The most important pass in the Austrian Alps is the Brenner Pass, located on the Austrian-Italian border in Tirol. At 1,370 meters, it is one of the lowest Alpine passes. The Inn Valley and the Brenner Pass historically have been an important and convenient route of north-south transit between Germany and Italy, and they provide the most direct route between Europe's two most highly industrialized regions--Germany and northern Italy. Climate The Alps serve as a watershed for Europe's three major kinds of weather systems that influence Austrian weather. The Atlantic maritime climate from the northwest is characterized by lowpressure fronts, mild air from the Gulf Stream, and precipitation.

It has the greatest influence on the northern slopes of the Alps, the Northern Alpine Foreland, and the Danube Valley. The continental climate is characterized by low-pressure fronts with precipitation in summer and high-pressure systems with cold and dry air in winter. It affects mainly eastern Austria. Mediterranean high-pressure systems from the south are characterized by few clouds and warm air, and they influence the weather of the southern slopes of the Alps and that of the Southeastern Alpine Foreland, making them the most temperate part of Austria. One peculiarity of the Mediterranean weather systems is the f�hn, a warm air mass that originates in the African Sahara and moves north rapidly, periodically raising temperatures up to 10�C in a short period of time. Many people respond to this rapid weather change with headaches, irritability, and circulatory problems. During the winter, the rapid warming that accompanies a f�hn can thaw the snow cover in the Alps to such an extent that avalanches occur. Given the importance of Alpine skiing for the Austrian tourist industry, December is the month during which the weather is watched with the greatest anticipation. As a rule, Atlantic maritime weather systems bring snow, and continental weather systems help keep it.

However, a predominance of cold, dry continental systems or warm Mediterranean ones inevitably postpone the beginning of the ski season. In the summer, Mediterranean high-pressure systems bring warm, sunny weather. SOURCE: Library of Congress Country Studies/Area Handbook Refworld | World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Austria : Slovenes of Carinthia and Styria World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Austria : Slovenes of Carinthia and Styria Publisher 2008 Cite as Minority Rights Group International, World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - Austria : Slovenes of Carinthia and Styria, 2008, available at: [accessed 18 January 2017] Disclaimer This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. Profile Slovenes, like Burgenland Croats, were traditionally agricultural and badly affected by the post-war decline in agriculture.

However, there are examples of specifically Slovene enterprises in a variety of sectors, mainly timber- processing, but also clothing, and often in collaboration with counterparts over the border in Slovenia. The Slovenian-speaking area covers 41 local authorities in southern Carinthia. The Carinthian Slovene population fell from 66,463 in 1910 to 12,554 in 2001. In Styria numbers fell from 3,838 in 1934 to 2,192 in 2001. Slovene organizations estimate the total number in all of Austria to be 50,000, most of whom live in Carinthia, with 3,000-5,000 in Styria. Most Styrian Slovenes live in the capital, Graz, and the rest live along the border with Slovenia. However, the bilingual area of Styria is confined to a small number of villages near the towns of Bad Radkersburg/Radgona, Soboth/Sobota and Leutschach, where the Roman Catholic Church provides services in Slovenian.

A federal decree on the status of Slovenian as an official language listed only 91 villages in eight local authorities in 2000. The provincial government of Styria refuses to recognize the Slovenes, but they gained representation on the Slovene ethnic advisory council to the federal government in December 2003. The Carinthian Slovenes are represented but have not always cooperated because the 1976 Ethnic Groups Act restricts their constitutional rights. The two main Slovene organizations are the left-wing Zveza sloveskih organisatij/Zentralverband der Karntner Slovenen, and the conservative Narodni svet koroskih Slovencev/Rat der Karntner Slovenen. They formed a single list to contest local elections and won 51 seats on 24 local councils. Historical context The independent principality of Carantani was founded by the Slovenes in the seventh century and at its height extended to Salzburg, South Tyrol and Styria. By the Reformation the Slovene-speaking area had retreated roughly to a line across the centre of what is now the province of Carinthia, pushed back by German-speakers.

When the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (SHS), later renamed Yugoslavia, was founded in 1918 it claimed and occupied southern Carinthia. This led to a plebiscite in 1920, called to determine the territorial affiliation of the area; 59 per cent were in favour of remaining part of Austria, 41 per cent for joining the SHS. There followed intense activity to Germanize the region, reaching its peak under the Anschluss, when all Slovene teachers were removed and lands were taken from Slovene farmers and distributed to German settlers. Slovene wording was even removed from gravestones. Carinthia was the only area of Austria with strong, organized resistance to the Nazi occupation. Yugoslavia's territorial claims, which had some support among the Slovene population, were settled under the 1955 Austrian State Treaty. In order to gain Slovene support, the State Treaty offered better conditions to the Slovene minority than have ever been delivered. For example, Slovenian primary schooling has been a hotly contested issue for five decades in Carinthian politics.

Federally funded secondary schools became targets of anti-Slovene demonstrations by German nationalists, whose activities were sometimes openly supported by provincial officials and government institutions. The Minority Schools Act of 1988 is considered to have reinforced segregationist tendencies. The federal government set up bilingual road signs in 1972, but these were destroyed by nationalist mobs in 123 villages. The police did not intervene. In 2000 there were bilingual road signs in 63 villages in seven local authorities. The 1976 Ethnic Groups Act significantly curtailed the minority rights set out in the State Treaty. Slovenian organizations have tried to fight these restrictions and refused to cooperate with the Federal ethnic advisory councils. Both streams of Carinthian Slovene political thought - the Zentralverband, which strongly supported a Yugoslav presence in Carinthia, and the Rat, which favoured upholding ties with Austria - have criticized post-war Austrian policy for giving in to German nationalistic forces in Carinthia.

The Zentralverband and Rat also came together under the Carinthian Unity List to contest elections to the Carinthian legislature, and the first Carinthian Slovene was elected to the Austrian Parliament in 1986. Current issues There are a few bilingual kindergartens, and bilingual education is provided for the first three years of primary school. Secondary-school pupils can register for Slovene language instruction for four lessons a week, and for Slovene as a subject. The provincial government of Carinthia is openly anti-Slovene and has fought bitterly against the provision of Slovene education. Provision in primary schools is limited to the designated bilingual areas. Secondary education follows federal government policy, but this is administered by the provincial authorities. In 1995 the languages of all neighbouring countries, including Slovenia, were offered in secondary and higher education throughout Austria.

In 2001 and again in 2006, the right-wing governor of Carinthia Jorg Haider, a leading member of the Freiheitliche Partei Osterreichs (FPO) and then of the Bundnis Zukunft Osterreich (BZO), refused to comply with Federal Constitutional Court decisions ordering him to put up bilingual Slovene and German language place-name signs in municipalities where Slovenes are 10 per cent of the population (previously the requirement was 25 per cent). He threatened to close Slovene- language kindergartens and stop Slovene language broadcasts. The BZO won 25 per cent of the Carinthian vote in the October 2006 elections, making it the second largest party in the province. The anti-Slovene campaigns of right-wing groups such as Karntner Heimatdienst have not been discouraged by the governing parties. However, some local councils are supportive and the Slovene language is used unofficially in public life at this level. The provincial government of Styria refuses to recognize the Styrian Slovenes. However, their cultural organizations have received support from federal funds.

The federal government allowed a Styrian Slovene to represent the community on the Slovene Group Advisory Council from December 2003. There is no broadcasting in Slovene for the Styrian Slovene community. Copyright notice: © Minority Rights Group International. All rights reserved.

Question: Styria and Carinthia are states in which country?
Answer: Austria