Austri (German: Österreich, literally "the Eastern Realm" or "Eastern Empire") is a land-locked alpine country in Central Europe bordering Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west, Germany and Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east and Slovenia and Italy to the south. Austria, along with neighboring Switzerland, is the winter sports capital of Europe. However, it is just as popular for summer tourists who visit its historic cities and villages and hike in the magnificent scenery of the alps.
Austria is a federal republic comprised of nine federal-states:
§ Carinthia (Kärnten)
§ Lower Austria (Niederösterreich)
§ Salzburg
§ Styria (Steiermark)
§ Tyrol (Tirol)
§ Upper Austria (Oberösterreich)
§ Vienna (Wien)
§ Vienna (Wien)
§ Graz
§ Linz
§ Salzburg
§ Zell am See - one of the most important alpine tourist towns in Austria (Europa Sport Region)
§ Kaprun - part of the Europa Sport Region
§ Wörthersee - one of Austria's warmest lakes
§ Bodensee - a big lake situated in Vorarlberg and shared with Switzerland and Germany
§ St. Anton - a popular ski resort in Austria on the Vorarlberg-Tyrolian border
§ Pinswang - one of the most ancient settlements of the North Tirolean Ausserfern, on the border with Bavaria and a short walk or drive to King Ludwig's castle
Today's Austria is what was once the German speaking core and center of power for the large multi-ethnic Austro-Hungarian Empire. This empire stretched eastwards from present-day Austria through much of east-central and south-central Europe. While Prussia united the German states to the north into one "Germany" in the latter part of the 19th Century, Austria remained oriented eastwards towards its empire. However, from the start of the 20th century, the political history of Austria has been closely linked to the misfortunes and disasters of modern German history, mainly the First and Second World Wars and their aftermath.
The modern republic of Austria came into being in 1918 as a result of its defeat in World War I. In its wake, the empire split into Austria's current borders, Hungary, southern Poland (which also came from the Russian and German empires), Czechoslovakia and most of Yugoslavia. Following an unresisted invasion and annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938, Austria more or less functioned as a part of Nazi Germany during the Second World War. Thus the majority of the population initially supported Hitler and their incorporation into Germany. Austrian soldiers also fought in the Wehrmacht, cities were bombed heavily by the Allies and concentration camps existed on Austrian soil (e.g. Mauthausen near Linz). In 1945, Austria was divided into zones of occupation like Germany. However unlike Germany, Austria was not subject to any further territorial loses. A State Treaty signed in 1955 ended the Allied and Soviet occupation, recognized Austria's independence, and forbade future unification with Germany. A constitutional law of that same year declared the country's "perpetual neutrality", which was a condition for Soviet military withdrawal, and saved Austria from Germany's fate of a divided nation with a divided capital. This neutrality, once ingrained as part of the Austrian cultural identity, has been called into question since the Soviet Union's collapse of 1991 and Austria's entry into the European Union in 1995. A prosperous country, Austria entered the European Monetary Union in 1999, and the Euro currency replaced the Schilling in 2002.
Culture
Like its closely related neighbor Germany, Austria is a federation. Each of its nine federal states has a unique and distinct culture.
Austrians aren't easy to categorize. In fact, the only reason Austrians stand out from their European neighbors is that they don't stand out from the rest for anything in particular. Austrians are moderate in their outlook and behaviour. Being at Europe's crossroads, their culture is influenced from several sides. The stereotype of the yodeling, thigh slapping, beer-swilling xenophobe may apply to a few individuals but it certainly doesn't apply to the majority of Austrians.
The average Austrian on the street is likely to be friendly yet somewhat reserved and formal, softly spoken and well mannered, law abiding, socially conservative, rooted, family oriented, conformist and somewhat nepotistic, a Catholic at heart, not particularly religious but a follower of tradition, well educated if not as cosmopolitan as his/her European cousins, cynical, and equipped with a dry, sarcastic sense of humor.
Many Austrians derive their identity from their Bundesland, or province. For instance, the typical inhabitant of Carinthia would say he/she is Carinthian first and Austrian second. Hence, patriotism concerning the nation as a whole is seldom shown and foreigners are often disturbed by the lack of enthusiasm that can be observed e.g. on national holiday. The fact, that Austrians dislike demonstrations of national identity, can however also be explained partly by the historical experiences Austria has made during the Third Reich, since due to the horrors of that time some bad taste will always adhere to any manifestation of national pride.
Most Austrians like to enjoy the good life. They spend a lot of time eating, drinking and having a good time with friends in a cozy environment, and are therefore very hospitable. Members of the older generation can be conservative in the sense that they frown upon extremes of any shape and form and, in general, are averse to change. They enjoy one of the highest living standards in the world and want to keep it that way.
Austria doesn't have a well defined class system. However, cultural differences between the urban and rural populations can be huge. Culture also varies from region to region, but to a lesser extent. As a very general rule, the further to the West the location and the more rural the environment, the more socially conservative people become.
Due to the lack of overall patriotism and the commonness of regional identity, Austrians as a big entity like to define themselves merely by what they are not. It's important to stress that Austrians are not Germans, even though German is the official and universal language. Arguably, Southern Germany and Bavaria in particular is a close cultural relative of Austria in many ways. You may not even notice harsh changes at all in people's accent and appearance when crossing the border between the two countries. Likewise, South Tyrol in northern Italy, with its Austrian history is culturally very similar. But Northern and Eastern Germany (north of the Main River) are a different world altogether and in some aspects no more similar to Austria than, say, its southerly neighbor Italy! While the common language may appear the same on paper, in spoken word its not and the cultural divide between the northern german speaking world and the alpine region is large. It is perhaps this that makes Austrians think in a collective sense that they are very proud to hold on to regional tradtions and boast of what they are not, mainly German! Whatever the similarities and differences between Austria and Germany may be, comparisons will not be appreciated by Austrians, neither will the use of terms like "German", "Teutonic" or "Germanic" for things that are Austrian. Certainly, Austria and Germany are sister nations and enjoy warm relations but case in point, Mozart was Austrian, or a Salzburger for the record, not German!
Politics
Austria is a parliamentarian, federal republic consisting of nine federal states (see list above). The official head of the state is the federal president, who is voted directly by the people every six years. However, his/her function is mainly representative, and the chancellor, appointed by the parlament, runs most of the day-to-day politics. The parliament is voted every four years and consists of two chambers : The Nationalrat (where laws are passed) and the Bundesrat (which basically can reject laws). There are five major parties in Austria: The social democrats (SPÖ), the Austrian people's party (ÖVP), the freedom party (FPÖ) which recently split into two parties (FPÖ and the alliance for the future of Austria BZÖ) and the green party. The current government consists of a coalition of SPÖ and ÖVP.
Geography
Contrary to popular perceptions, Austria is not all about mountains. While the Alps do cover 3/4 of the country dominating the provinces of Vorarlberg, Tyrol, Salzburg, Styria, Upper Austria and Carthinia, the eastern provinces of Lower Austria, the Burgenland and the federal capital of Vienna are more similar to the geography of the neighboring Czech Republic and Hungary. This diverse mix of landscapes is packed into a relatively small area of size. Glaciers, meadows, alpine valleys, wooded foothills, gently rolling farmland, vineyards, river gorges, plains and even semi-arid steppes can be found in Austria.
One quarter of Austria's population lives in Greater Vienna, a European metropolis, located where the Danube meets the easternmost fringe of the Alps, not far from the border with Slovakia and its capital Bratislava.
Virtually all government, financial and cultural institutions, as well as national media and large corporations are based in Vienna, due largely to history and geography. Thus, the capital dominates Austria's cultural and political life and is clearly a world unto its own. It has little to do with the rest of mainly rural Austria and outside of Graz and Linz there really are no other large scale cities in the country. There is a playful joke told in Vorarlberg province regarding the dominance of Vienna regarding national affairs that reads, "the people of western Austria make the money and Vienna spends it."
Climate
Austria has a temperate continental climate. Summers last from early June to mid-September and can be hot in some years and rainy in others. Day-time temperatures in July and August are around 25° C (77° F), but can often reach 35° C (95° F). Winters are cold in the lowlands and very harsh in the Alpine region with temperatures often dropping below -10° C (14° F). Winters last from December to March (longer at higher altitudes). In the Alpine region large temperature fluctuations occur all year round and nights are chilly even in high summer. The northern Alps are generally a lot wetter than the rest of the country. The South East (Styria and Carinthia) is dry and sunny. The area around Vienna often experiences strong easterly winds.
No comments:
Post a Comment