Geography/Austria
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Fast Facts
Official Name: Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich)
Form of Government: Parliamentary Republic
Population: approx. 8 millions
Area: 83,845 square km (32,373 square miles)
Land use: forest 43% (36,053 square km / 13,920 square miles), farm land 32% (26,830 square km / 10,359 square miles), urban areas 13% (10,900 square km / 4,209 square miles), high alpine terrain 10% (8,384.5 square km / 3,237.3 square miles), lakes 2% (1,677 square km / 647.5 square miles)
Largest Cities: Vienna (population: 1.8 million), Graz (population: 240,000), Linz (population: 200,000), Salzburg (population: 140,000), Innsbruck (population: 120.000), Klagenfurt (population: 90.000)
Subdivision: 9 States: Vienna (Vienna), Burgenland (Eisenstadt), Lower Austria (St. Poelten), Upper Austria (Linz), Steiermark (Graz), Salzburg (Salzburg City), Tyrol (Innsbruck), Carinthia (Klagenfurt), Vorarlberg (Bregenz)
Language: German ("Austrian" is a dialect related to Bavarian).
Time Zone: Central European Time (CET) with daylight saving time in summer.
Daylight Saving (Start): last Sunday in March
Daylight Saving (End): last Sunday in October
National Borders
Today
Austria is a small, predominantly mountainous country geographically located in Central Europe between Germany, Italy and Hungary. It has a total area of 83,845 square km (32,373 square miles), about twice the size of Switzerland and slightly smaller than the US state of Maine. The landlocked country shares national borders with Switzerland (164 km / 102 miles)) and the principality of Liechtenstein (35 km / 22 miles)) to the west, Germany (784 km / 487 miles) and the Czech Republic (362 km / 225 miles) and Slovakia (91 km / 56.5 miles) to the north, Hungary to the east (346 km / 215 miles), and Slovenia (311 km / 193 miles) and Italy (430 km / 267 miles) to the south. The total length (circumference) of the countries borders is: 2,563 km / 1,592.5 miles.
The westernmost third of the somewhat pear-shaped country consists of a narrow corridor between Germany and Italy that is between thirty-two (20 miles) and sixty km (37 miles) wide. The rest of Austria lies to the east and has a maximum north-south width of 280 km (174 miles). The country measures almost 600 km (373 miles) in length, extending from Lake Constance (German: Bodensee) on the Austrian-Swiss-German border in the west to the Neusiedler See (Lake Neusiedl) 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.
Historical
1517 - 1714: The Empire where the sun doesn't set
The Habsburg dominions had grown to their largest extent when Charles V (also Charls I of Spain) inherited Aragon, Naples, Sicily, Sardinia, Castile, Navarre, Granada, the Spanish possessions in the Americas (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica,, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Venezuela) and the Spanish crown. Charles V had become Sovereign of the Netherlands, Count of Flanders, Duke of Brabant, Duke of Milan, Duke of Luxembourg, Duke of Burgundy, King of Aragon, King of Castile, King of Naples and Sicily, King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, King of the Romans (or King of the Germans) and Holy Roman Emperor.
In 1556, Charles abdicated his various titles, giving his Spanish empire (Spain, the Netherlands, Naples and Spain's possessions in the Americas) to his son, Philip II of Spain. He passed his dynastic Austrian lands and the Holy Roman Empire to his brother, Ferdinand, and thus split the Habsburg dominions into two parts as Charles no longer believed a such vast empire could be ruled successfully by one man alone. The spanish line of the Habsburgs died out ... triggering the War of the Spanish Succession in 1701 as both, Austria and France made dynastic claims on the country. The Habsburgs lost Spain in 1714, but gained several provinces in northern Italy in the treaty of Utrecht.
Borders of Austro-Hungary in 1914 (First World War)
As a multi-national empire and great power in an era of national awakening, Austria found its political life dominated by disputes among the eleven principal national groups. The Ausgleich was supposed to be a first step in a compromise to address the national and social problems the empire faced. The Habsburg dynasty ruled as Emperors of Austria over the western and northern half of the country and as Kings of Hungary over the Kingdom of Hungary which enjoyed some degree of self-government and representation in joint affairs (principally foreign relations and defense). The federation bore the full name internationally of "The Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Crown of St. Stephen". The capital of the state was Vienna. The Austro-Hungarian Empire was geographically the second largest country in Europe after the Russian Empire, and the third most populous (after both Russia and the German Empire). The territory it covered today has a population of about 73 million.
It consisted of Austria, Czech Republic, Slovenia, the regions of Trentino-Alto and Friuli-Venezia (northern Italy), Croatia, Silesia, Ukraine (Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, Chernivtsi), Romania, Montenegro, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Transylvania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, and other parts of Europe such as regions of Lombardia and Veneto in Italy, most of Belgium and parts of northern Switzerland and south-western Germany.
Landform Regions
Austria may be divided into five unequal geographical areas. The largest part of Austria (62%) is occupied by mountains of the Alps, but in the east, these give way to a part of the Pannonian plain, and north of the river Danube lies the Bohemian forest, a lower granite mountain range. Almost half of the country is forested area and about a third is usable for agriculture and wine growing.
River Danube
The Danube has its source in the southwestern German Black Forest and flows through Austria before emptying into the Black Sea. It is the only major European river that flows eastwards, and its importance as waterway as been enhanced by the completion in 1992 of the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal in Bavara, which connects the Rhine and Main rivers with the Danube and makes barge traffic from the North Sea to the Black Sea possible. The Danube has been an important international waterway from centuries and belongs to a small group of rivers – including the Rhine, Congo, Mississippi and Amazon – which are the primary natural passageway through their respective continents. Together with the eastern Alps, the Danube has also been the most important factor in shaping the Austrian landscape. Frequent changes between narrowing and widening valleys are characteristic of the Danube valley. Along its path, the river is a source of drinking water for about ten million people.
The Danube flood plain, a green ribbon along the shores of the river between the conurbations of Vienna and Bratislava is the largest natural riparian wetlands in Central Europe, which are still to a high degree ecologically intact. They are vitally influenced by the practically free-flowing stretch of the River Danube, which in this area still has the characteristic phenomena of an alpine stream, and represent a complexity of ecosystems with an enormous diversity of habitats, offering home and refuge to many endangered plants and animals species. The protected floodplains provide a natural overflow for floods and guarantees high-quality drinking-water. They also act as filter and climate regulator for the whole region. The water quality of the river ranges from Class II west of Vienna to Class II-III (aquatic life and recreation, ie: swimming) east of Vienna.
The Alps
Three major ranges of the Alps – the Northern Calcareous Alps, the Central Alps and the Southern Calcareous 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; At 3,797 m, Grossglockner is the tallest mountain in the country. As a general rule, the farther east the Northern 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 land-form regions. Just over 28% of Austria is moderately hilly or flat.
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 Leithagebirge, which forms the southern lip of the Viennese Basin, where the steppe of the Hungarian Plain begins. The granite massif of the Bohemian Forest, 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% of Austria's area. Notable is the Manhartsberg Mountain, a granite ridge that separates the Waldviertel (Wood Quarter) from the Wineviertel (Wine Quarter) regions of Lower Austria.
Forests Regions
With almost half of the Austrian territory covered by forests, Austria is one of the most forested countries in Europe and one of the last densely populated. The majority of the woods are in Alpine regions. Due to its rich topographical diversity Austria has a large array of plants; Oaks and beech trees at low altitudes, and at higher elevations conifers flourish. Orchids, Edelweiss and poppies are quite common here. Typical for the country are the deciduous forests (oak, beech) and the mixed forests (beech, fir) plus woos of fir, larch and pine in the higher altitudes. Flowers like edelweiss, gentians, alpine carnations, arnicas, alpine roses, heathers, ornaments Austrian land with different colors. Grazing grounds and meadows occupies the norther alps. Scrub forests, deciduous forests and steppe moors are predominant in Austria.
Central European animals such as deer, stags, rabbits, pheasants, foxes, badgers, martens and partridges can easily be seen in Austria. Alpine animals like Chamois, groundhogs, eagles and mountain jackdaws are dominant in Austrian regions. Heavily wooded southern and central mountainous regions are famous for variety of small bears. Lipizzaner (pure white horse ), Ibex (a mountain goat with huge curved horns) and marmots and chamois (horned goat like an antelope) are some valuable assets of the Austrian fauna. Red-deer stag, fallow-deer stag, mouflon ram, roe-deer buck and wild-boar are found in the region.
Agricultural and Wine growing Regions
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. Almost half the Austrian territory is covered by forests, the majority of which is in Alpine regions. Less than one-fifth of Austria is arable and suitable for conventional agriculture and wine growing. The percentage of arable land in Austria increases in the East as the country becomes less alpine. More than one-fifth of Austria is pasture and meadow located at varying altitudes. Almost half of this is grassland consists of high 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.
As a wine producing country, Austria is divided into four wine growing regions: 'Weinland Oesterreich' comprises the federal states of Niederösterreich (Lower Austria) and Burgenland with a total of 12 wine growing areas: 'Steirerland' with its three Styrian wine regions, and 'Wien' (Vienna), Austria's capital, which comprises 700 hectares (1,730 acres) of vineyards. The other states of Austria are collectively referred to as 'Bergland Oesterreich' (mountain country Austria), where small vineyards are thinly scattered. The average harvest yields around 2.5 million hectoliter (66 million gallons) of wine, the largest part of which is consumed in Austria. Although Austrians consume 73% of their own production, exports have increased considerably over the past years.
Transit
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 east-west 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 re-assume 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. Traffic on the Autobahn going through the Brenner Pass has, for example, increased from 600,000 vehicles per year in the early 1970s to over 10 million per year in the early 1990s. One quarter of the traffic crossing Austria consists of semitrailers used for heavy transport. The opening of Eastern Europe has only exacerbated the problem of transit traffic.
The Alpine valleys through which much of this traffic passes are unusually vulnerable to ecological damage. Narrow valleys are not conducive to dissipation of noise or pollutants caused by motor vehicles. Inversions — cold layers of air that trap warm layers of air or warm layers of air that trap cold layers in the valleys and lowlands — also seasonally contribute to the magnitude of the pollution problem. Austria has negotiated with the EU to set limits on the amount of commercial transit traffic, especially through Tyrol. Work is also under way to develop a "piggy-back" system of loading semitrailers on to flatbed railroad cars in southern Germany and northern Italy, transporting them through Tyrol by rail.
