Facts about Austria

Facts about Austria 

Austria is officially called the Republic of Austria. In German it is called Osterreich which means "eastern kingdom" or "eastern empire".

Austria is a landlocked country, with a land area of 83,855 km² (32,377 mi²).

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German is the official language of Austria and is spoken by over 88% of the population. Other local languages include Hungarian, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Turkish and Polish.

Austria has a population of over 8 million people (8,221,646) as of July 2013.

Vienna is the capital and largest city of Austria, with a population over 1.7 million.

Austria is bordered by 8 countries, Germany and the Czech Republic to the north,Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west, Slovenia and Italy to the south, andHungary and Slovakia to the east.

Austria is a mountainous country due to its location in the Alps, two-thirds of the country sits over 500m (1,640 ft) above sea level. The highest point is the mountain of Grossglockner at 3,798 metres (12,461 ft).

Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, Austria was one of the great powers of Europe under the Habsburg ruled Austro-Hungarian Empire.

In 1938, Austria was incorporated into Nazi Germany and ceased to exist as an independent country until 1955 when it officially became independent again.

Austria has some of the highest standards of living in the world.

Austria joined the European Union in 1995, and the Euro currency in 1999.

As of 2013, Austria has 20 Nobel Prize laureates including seven in Physiology or Medicine, five in Chemistry, three in Physics and Economist Friedrich Hayek.

Austria is home to some of the most famous classical music composers the world has ever seen including Joseph Haydn, Franz Liszt, Franz Schubert, Anton Bruckner, Johann Strauss and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Arnold Schwarzenegger was born and raised in Austria before moving to America to become a Hollywood actor. Christoph Waltz who won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2010 is also from Austria.

Many famous scientists have come from Austria, including Ernst Mach, Christian Doppler and the famous psychologist Sigmund Freud.

Alpine skiing is a very popular sport in Austria, as are snowboarding and ski-jumping. The city of Innsbruck hosted the Winter Olympics in 1964 and 1976.

Football (soccer) is a popular team sport in Austria, the national team came 4th in the 1934 World Cup Finals and 3rd in 1954. The country also co-hosted the 2008 European Championships with Switzerland.

Wiener Schnitzel is a typical Austrian main dish and the dessert "Strudel" or "Apfelstrudel" (filled with apple) was created in Austria.