The Beyond News

Austria is a landlocked East Alpine country in the southern part of Central Europe. It is composed of nine federated states (Bundesländer), one of which is Vienna, Austria's capital and largest city. It is bordered by Germany to the northwest, the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia to the northeast, Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. Austria occupies an area of 83,879 km2 (32,386 sq mi) and has a population of nearly 9 million people. While Austrian German is the country's official language, many Austrians communicate informally in a variety of Bavarian dialects.

Austria initially emerged as a margraviate around 976 and developed into a duchy and archduchy. In the 16th century, Austria started serving as the heart of the Habsburg Monarchy and the junior branch of the House of Habsburg – one of the most influential royal dynasties in history. As an archduchy, it was a major component and administrative centre of the Holy Roman Empire. Early in the 19th century, Austria established its own empire, which became a great power and the leading force of the German Confederation, but pursued its own course independently of the other German states following its defeat in the Austro-Prussian War in 1866. In 1867, in compromise with Hungary, the Austria-Hungary Dual Monarchy was established.

Austria was involved in World War I under Emperor Franz Joseph following the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, the presumptive successor to the Austro-Hungarian throne. After the defeat and the dissolution of the Monarchy, the Republic of German-Austria was proclaimed with the intent of union with Germany, but the Allied Powers did not support the new state and it remained unrecognized. In 1919 the First Austrian Republic became the legal successor of Austria. In 1938, the Austrian-born Adolf Hitler, who became the Chancellor of the German Reich, achieved the annexation of Austria by the Anschluss. Following the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945 and an extended period of Allied occupation, Austria was re-established as a sovereign and self-governing democratic nation known as the Second Republic.

Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy with a directly elected Federal President as head of state and a Chancellor as head of the federal government. Major urban areas of Austria include Vienna, Graz, Linz, Salzburg and Innsbruck. Austria is consistently ranked in the top 20 richest countries in the world by GDP per capita terms. The country has achieved a high standard of living and in 2018 was ranked 20th in the world for its Human Development Index. Vienna consistently ranks in the top internationally on quality-of-life indicators.

The Second Republic declared its perpetual neutrality in foreign political affairs in 1955. Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955 and joined the European Union in 1995. It plays host to the OSCE and OPEC and is a founding member of the OECD and Interpol. Austria also signed the Schengen Agreement in 1995, and adopted the euro currency in 1999.

Foods in Austria :
(1) Tafelspitz : 

This dish contains beef boiled in a broth and is considered Austria’s national dish.  It is traditionally served with apples, horseradish and chives sauce.

(2) Selchfleisch :

 This dish contains meat that has been smoked then cooked and served with sauerkraut and dumplings. 

(3) Wiener Schnitzel :

 One of Austria’s most famous dishes, it is a speciality of Viennese cuisine.  Wiener Schnitzel is a very thin, breaded escalope of veal that is then deep fried. 

(4) Erdapfel Salat :

 Austrian potato salad that is marinated in vinegar, oil, salt and pepper.  It is a favourite side dish for Wiener Schnitzel.

(5) Sachertorte :

 This is a chocolate cake filled with apricot jam that is traditionally served with whipped cream.

(6) Apfelstrudel : 

In English, this is Apple Strudel.  It contains layers of thin pastry with apple filling, cinnamon and raisins. 

Weather & geography in  Austria  :

Austria's landscapes include major and minor mountain ranges, hills and plains. Weather conditions vary only slightly across the country, the lowland regions in the north and east have more continental influenced conditions with colder winters and hotter summers with moderate precipitation throughout the year.Austria is a small, predominantly mountainous country in Central Europe, approximately between Germany, Italy and Hungary. It has a total area of 83,871 square kilometres (32,383 sq mi), about twice the size of Switzerland.The landlocked country shares national borders with Switzerland (a non-European Union member state, which it borders for 158 km, or 98 mi) and the principality of Liechtenstein (also a non-EU member state, of which it borders for 34 km or 21 mi) to the west, Germany (801 km or 497 mi) and the Czech Republic (402 km or 249 mi) and Slovakia (105 km or 65 mi) to the north, Hungary to the east (331 km or 205 mi), and Slovenia (299 km or 185 mi) and Italy (404 km or 251 mi) to the south (total: 2,534 km or 1,574 mi).

The westernmost third of the somewhat pear-shaped country consists of a narrow corridor between Germany and Italy that is between 32 km (19 mi) and 60 km (37 mi) wide. The rest of Austria lies to the east and has a maximum north–south width of 280 km (173 mi). The country measures almost 600 km (372 mi) in length, extending from Lake Constance (German Bodensee) on the Austrian-Swiss-German 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, Tyrol, 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.

Per day Cost in Austria  :
How much money will you need for your trip to Austria? You should plan to spend around €117 ($139) per day on your vacation in Austria, which is the average daily price based on the expenses of other visitors. Past travelers have spent, on average, €30 ($35) on meals for one day and €20 ($24) on local transportation.

History of Austria  :

The history of Austria covers the history of Austria and its predecessor states, from the Early Stone Age to the present state. The name Ostarrîchi (Austria) has been in use since 996 AD when it was a margravate of the Duchy of Bavaria and from 1156 an independent duchy (later archduchy) of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.

Austria was dominated by the House of Habsburg and House of Habsburg-Lorraine (Haus Österreich) from 1273 to 1918. In 1806, when Emperor Francis II of Austria dissolved the Holy Roman Empire, Austria became the Austrian Empire, and was also part of the German Confederation until the Austro-Prussian War of 1866. In 1867, Austria formed a dual monarchy with Hungary: the Austro-Hungarian Empire (1867–1918). When this empire collapsed after the end of World War I in 1918, Austria was reduced to the main, mostly German-speaking areas of the empire (its current frontiers), and adopted the name The Republic of German-Austria. However, union with Germany and the chosen country name were forbidden by the Allies at the Treaty of Versailles. This led to the creation of the First Austrian Republic (1919-1933).

Following the First Republic, Austrofascism tried to keep Austria independent from the German Reich. Engelbert Dollfuss accepted that most Austrians were German and Austrian, but wanted Austria to remain independent from Germany. In 1938, Austrian-born Adolf Hitler annexed Austria to the German Reich with the Anschluss, which was supported by a large majority of the Austrian people. Ten years after the Second World War Austria again became an independent republic as the Second Austrian Republic in 1955.Austria joined the European Union in 1995.