Austria: the country?

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Petra M

Today's Austria is what remains of a once larger country known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire which began in 1867, and stretched from the border of Switzerland to Transylvania in the East, to Bohemia in the North and Herzegovina to the South. This Empire collapsed during the First World War which began when Franz Ferdinand heir to the throne was assassinated in Sarajevo.
Before that, it was known as the Austrian Empire (or Osterreich - means Eastern Empire in English, but later "latinized" to Austria) which was part of the Holy Roman Empire in Europe (it was the "eastern edge" of that empire), and did not include the lands of Hungary. But, it was still ruled by the Habsburgs royal family who had been in power since 1400's.
Today, this country is formally known as The Republic of Austria (Republik Osterreich) since 1919 (from the peace treaty of Saint Germain). The origins of modern Austria dates back to 1,000 AD when it had the status of a duchy. The name "Ostarrichi" is first documented in an official document from 996. Since then this word has developed into the German word Ã–sterreich. It is comprised of nine states, and it's capital is the city of Vienna (also the largest city in Austria) - which is famous in itself for being a musical and artistic centre in Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries. The seat of power is in the Austrian Parliament in Vienna. The head of state is the Federal President, who is directly elected. The chairman of the Federal Government is the Federal Chancellor, who is appointed by the president. Austria has a population of approx. 8,500,000. It is a largely mountainous country due to the Alps along the western and southern areas, with the eastern area being lowlands and plains including the Danube valley. Here are a couple of great websites for a history overview:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Austria
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107301.html
And this is a great website for attractions in Austria:
http://www.austria.info/

Cheers,

Petra M, Vancouver

KiWi

Its currency is the Euro, and they are very big on Small cars there. They speak german, and are a peaceful/neutral country in regards to war or political policy. &0% of the population is senoirs and i know all this because i am a student in austria who has a scholarship in a university there. the have school that only goes till 9th grade and then they may chose to go four yrs of college or start a career from scrach.

marya

Hi! You could look up some old answers on Austria here in yahoo.questions -there is a lot there or look in Wikipedia or type in Austria and tourism in google . With these methods you get much more than you can handle. Assignments mean, fortunately, that you have to do some work!
Alles Gute!
from marya

Lt. Dan reborn

Austria has a northern border with Germany which was known as Tirol.. Now there are no border guards or even a place to slow down, you're just in another country.
Austria has an autobahn, but there is a speed limit unlike Germany.
Austria has the Winter Olympic site at Innsbruck, the mountains are beautiful and the valleys are lush, green and spectacular.
Austria was actually the birthplace and childhood home of that most unfavorite person Adolf Hitler.
Austria of course uses the German language, but has very close historic ties with Italy. You can actually speak German in a lot of northern Italy with no problem, bonus for Austrian tourists!

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